The Wrong Way to Use AI
You are using AI wrong. You are using it to sound smarter in emails. You are using it to generate content that sounds like everyone else's content. You are using it to avoid thinking instead of to think faster. These uses of AI feel productive. They are not. They are adding a layer of mediocrity between you and the work that actually matters.
Do This: Use AI to Draft Fast, Not to Think for You
Use AI to generate a first draft of something you would have written anyway. A project plan. A performance review. A technical design doc. The draft is not the final product. The draft is the starting point that saves you the blank-page problem. You then edit, sharpen, and make it actually good. The AI gets you to 40%. You get to 100%.
Not That: Do Not Use AI to Generate LinkedIn Posts
Do not use AI to generate content that you are going to post as your own.
First: it sounds like AI.
Second: it sounds like everyone else's AI-generated content.
Third: the value you provide as a professional is your specific thinking.
If the AI is writing your posts, the posts have no value. Use AI to think through an idea, not to produce the post.
Do This: Use AI to Analyze and Synthesize
Give AI your meeting notes and ask it to identify the three decisions made, the two open questions, and the one action item that matters most. Give it your research notes and ask it to find the patterns you missed. Give it your draft and ask it to find the weaknesses. AI is powerful for analysis, not just generation.
Not That: Do Not Trust AI to Give You Facts
AI generates plausible information. Plausible is not the same as correct. If you ask AI for statistics, market data, or facts about specific companies, it will give you confident-sounding wrong answers. Use AI for reasoning and drafting. Verify the facts yourself.
The Prompt That Changes Everything
When you are stuck on something: ask AI what you are missing. Not what it would do. What you are not seeing. The best prompts do not ask AI to solve the problem. They ask AI to reframe the problem in a way you have not considered.
