This week: The end of the year is almost here. Let’s use AI to spot emerging trends, plan your next business moves, and build practical skills to put those plans into action.

Hi Reader

Yesterday, while in the Starbucks drive-through, I asked my favorite question. The one that signifies the end of the year is nigh. "When are cranberry bliss bars dropping this year?" The barista blinked and looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. Then said, "Dang, I can't believe it's already that time of year."

I feel like I've been saying that every day for about a month now. I had big plans for 2026. And now that we're staring down a new year, it's time to create my strategic plan for 2027.

Free Strategic Planning Webinar

If you are interested in building your strategic plan for 2027, follow along with me (and my trusty AI companions) for an upcoming SCORE Event.

Plan Your 2027 Business With AI
​Tuesday,, Nov. 3; noon (Mountain)
​Register Here​

Trends Reports Are Trending

The year's end also means we're about to see a whole slew of trusty trends reports. Trends for everything from paint colors to denim choices to the top words we used this past year are about to flood our feeds.

There are a few reasons why trends reports are so popular. One, people love to read them. Did we spot a cultural phenomenon before everyone else? And two, people who write trends reports establish themselves as an authority in their industry.

If you're thinking about writing a trends piece this year, see how AI can help by reading this week's featured blog post. Read Now​

Thank You, Cassaundra Gomez (City of Albuquerque)

Earlier this year I did a two-day AI training for the City of Albuquerque, and just received this MOST LOVELY testimonial.

Thank you Cassaundra! Want to explore AI training for your team? Book a Vision Call and let's talk!

Practical AI Returns

I'm having a great time teaching my first Practical AI cohort and learning so much from my students. One comment I heard from a number of people is they didn't love a four-week commitment. So, I am bringing back the cohort, but splitting it into two, separate two-week segments. Each one is just $299. (Save when you book both programs.). Learn More ​

That's it from the home front! I hope the end of the year is looking bright and rosy for you all!

Monica

Featured Post
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Use AI to Spot Emerging Trends
​If you’re a thought leader or an established industry organization, publishing a trends piece builds trust with your audience. If you’re planning a trends report, here's how AI can help.

Read: Using AI to Spot Trends →

Around the Blog

🔵 Your Voice is Power: Your voice has the power to move people to action. Don't let AI write you out of your own story.

🔴 The AI Did It: Why Humanizing AI Hurts Everyone: Treating AI like a thinking or “rogue” being isn’t harmless. It’s becoming a shield for bad decisions, absent leadership, and weak systems.

🟡 How I Use AI in My Business: Less Complexity, More Relationships: Learn how I use AI to reduce business friction, strengthen relationships, manage knowledge, and build practical systems that support better human work.

What I'm Reading

🔴 Maybe Chatbots Shouldn’t Get to Say ‘I’ or ‘Me’: It's like MIT professor Sherry Turkle and I have co-written the same playbook... "the arc of the book ended up as—reality needs you." [Wired]

🟡 Check Your Sources, Invest in Critical Thinking: What do Large Language Models, tungsten, carbon, dry ice, and Thomas Edison have in common? If you want to nerd out over why AI hallucinates, Neil deGrasse Tyson breaks it down. [Star Talk//Facebook]

🔵 Anthropic Offers £145k for London Personal Assistant Amid AI Agent Boom: No shortage of irony that the company whose product is supposedly going to replace all humans needs a six-figure human assistant to make it happen. [City AM Media Group]

Practical AI for Business Leaders (Returns)

If you're looking to level up your AI skills just in time for the new year, this is the place to start.

This live, two-week cohort is designed for executives, founders, and business leaders who want to drive more value with AI.

Over the course of two weeks (and four sessions), you'll learn how to use AI to level up your sales & marketing efforts. Two sessions are dedicated to teaching; the other two are Implementation Labs. You can put the lessons into motion, or you can bring your burning AI questions. The time is yours to use as you like.

HURRY: The cohort starts Tuesday, November 3. If you want to participate, grab your seat now.

Upcoming Events

Use AI Without Losing Your Values or Your Voice​
Tuesday, Oct. 27; noon (Mountain); Free
​Register Here​

Plan Your 2027 Business With AI
​Tuesday, Nov. 3; noon (Mountain); Free
​Register Here​

Practical AI
​Use AI to strengthen your business strategy, sharpen your competitive advantage, and improve sales and marketing.
Starts Tuesday, Nov. 3; $299
​Learn More​

Agentic AI
​Use AI to uncover business opportunities, identify smarter ways to work, and build your first AI assistant to support your business.
Starts Tuesday, Dec. 1; $299
​Learn More​

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