1-2-1: The most expensive habit isn't being wrong

The leaders I work with who have read the most about AI are usually the ones who've shipped the least with it.

You can name three new models. You haven't shipped a single piece of work with any of them.

1 Principle

The most expensive habit isn't being wrong. It's never starting.

Most leaders I work with have spent eighteen months reading about AI. They have opinions on which model is best. They have not produced a single piece of work AI helped them ship. Twenty minutes of doing beats twenty hours of thinking about doing.

2 Things Top of Mind

#1 The bookmark folder

I had a coaching call recently with a senior leader who's been "getting into AI" for over a year. They could name every model release, every Anthropic announcement, every relevant Substack writer. Twelve subscriptions on AI. A bookmark folder full of articles. When I asked what they'd actually shipped with AI in those eighteen months, the answer was a blog post draft they'd never published. The reading wasn't preparation. It was the substitute.

This week: Block 20 minutes tomorrow. Pick one piece of real work you need to do this week. Hand it to Claude. Ship whatever comes back, even if it's worse than what you'd have done alone. The data is more valuable than the perfection.

#2 The thread you keep meaning to come back to

You've got a Slack channel, a Notion page, or a notes app called "AI things". It has forty links. You add one every few days. You haven't opened any of them in two weeks. You tell yourself you'll get to them on the weekend. The weekend comes. You read three articles. You add five more. The collection grows. The system never starts.

This week: For one week, no new AI articles. Pick one tool you've already heard about. Use it three times on real work. Reading is the comfort. Shipping is the data.

1 Question

What's the last real task AI helped you ship?