This week I was quoted in the Australian Financial Review. I called AI “like having a team with four extra members.” (AFR source) That wasn’t an exaggeration. It’s exactly how I use it in my daily work: not only as a chatbot, but as a strategy team.
Let’s say I’m preparing for a high-stakes client session. I need research, ideas, angles, fast. In the past, I’d gather together a few trusted colleagues, block hours to prep, and get there eventually. Now I chain together several AIs. I can get the depth and perspective without needing a team meeting, and best of all it saves me at least an hour a day. See the 3 tips below for how it plays out in practice.
Comments on the newspaper article here.
3 Tips to Use AI Like Your Strategy Team
1. Use AI as a collaborative team member
Research shows that we humans tend to give up too easily when brainstorming and problem solving. Creativity experts such as Dr Brian Drofn Bird say: “The best way to come up with good ideas is to come up with many ideas.” AI helps us do this. And yes, its faster. For example, when I’m preparing a keynote talk, I jot down the ideas I have. Then I run them through ChatGPT to see if I am missing better ideas. Keep iterating, don’t accept the first answer you get.
2. Chain your AI together
Don’t rely on one tool to do everything. Know what they are good at. I chain together AIs like this:
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Perplexity does my real-time in-depth strategic research. It’s better than Google, not stuffed with paid ads and keyword-stuffed rubbish. It’s designed to go to the Web first, whereas with most other AI tools, you need to point it to go to the Web rather than its Large Language Model (its own knowledge base).
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ChatGPT is my favourite for ideation, or work requiring excellent logic.
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Claude helps refine tone and wording in beautiful Plain English, though honestly, ChatGPT is closing that gap fast.
If you aren’t prevented by your corporate AI usage policies, try different tools, each has a different strength. And if you’re responsible for your AI policy, you may want to re-think this or talk to me.
3. Use AI to pressure-test strategy in advance
Before a meeting, use GenAI to simulate different stakeholder perspectives or challenge your assumptions with controversial viewpoints. You’ll walk in better prepared, and probably two steps ahead.
Maybe you’re starting to understand why I say that in the long term, I see the bottom 80% of the consulting industry disappearing. Value needs to be added in creating real business change in collaboration with humans, not only delivering recommendations that AI can produce.
In this period of transition as we integrate AI into our business, I intend to help as many organizations and people as I can. I’m looking forward to seeing my most curious and innovative-hungry readers at my upcoming live AI Masterclass on August 19th.
Join us here: A 90 day plan to launch AI in your Business.
“The future of strategy isn’t about who has the most knowledge. It’s about who collaborates the most intelligently.”
Lisa Carlin
PS More Ways to Accelerate your Strategy
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About Lisa Carlin
Lisa Carlin is a Strategy Execution Specialist. She works with business leaders to go from strategy to plan to result, in tough environments. Her clients love having her expertise and guidance to navigate their workplace culture and use AI to achieve success.
Lisa is author of the globally acclaimed newsletter, Turbocharge Weekly, read by 8,000 business leaders.
Lisa’s career includes roles at McKinsey and Accenture, then running her own business since 1999. Over this time she has delivered over 50 implementations with a 96% success rate.