This week: Stop competing with AI as a thinker. Start using it to think better.

Hi Reader:

Last week I had a fun time talking all about AI for strategic planning at a local NAWBO meeting. (Thanks Caren, for the invite.) The attendees were all at various levels of using AI, which meant I got to focus more on better outcomes than convincing people why they should use AI.

Inevitably, a question came up about AI not understanding someone's world. I hear this question a lot, and I rarely have a great answer.

The question is a hedge... "I don't need AI because it doesn't get *my* world." But my answer also tends to be a hedge. No, AI doesn't get your world. It doesn't "get" anything at all. It simply pattern matches for the best responses, then pattern matches some more when you don't like the first response.

This week, my underwhelming response kept tap dancing around my brain, until I started envisioning little brain tokens (nope that's not right; nope, nope, nope) dropping onto my mental screen. Which is when I realized AI is VERY much like playing Tetris.

In this week's blog post, I break down exactly how AI and Tetris are alike. Drop the pieces, clear the board. And then I talk about the larger idea behind the question. Stop trying to compete with AI. It will always be faster at organizing data and finding patterns than you.

But it will never be *better* than you. Instead, think of using AI to design "You. Amplified."

Monica

PS , I'll be talking about AI on Tuesday Jan. 27 for my local SCORE (ABQ) chapter: AI for Strategic Planning. Join the session, and I'll show you how to use my Evolution Worksheet. You'll walk away with the start of your very own Strategic Plan in 60 minutes or less.

And thanks to the City of Albuquerque for sponsoring this event, and SCORE ABQ for keeping their webinars free.

This Week's Article

AI Isn't Thinking. It's Just Playing Tetris

Your AI is playing a game of pattern completion with a limited board and no understanding of what the words mean. It’s matching shapes, not grasping concepts.

Once you realize it’s just a high-stakes game of Tetris, you can stop competing with it as a "thinker" and start mastering it as a tool to help you think better.

You don't need to be smarter than the patterns; you just need to be the one who knows which blocks belong on the board.

What I'm Reading

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🔵 Anthropic Publishes Claude's "Constitution" Anthropic released a foundational document that shapes Claude's values and behavior—and anyone can use it freely. The constitution explains why they want Claude to behave certain ways. Most interesting: a section on "Claude's nature" acknowledging uncertainty about whether AI might have consciousness or moral status. [Anthropic]

🟢 What's Next in AI: Context Graphs Trace the Why Right now your AI sees data across silos—CRM tracks deals, support tools see tickets, finance systems see invoices—but none see why exceptions happen. Why did the VP approve a deal that was smaller than usual? Foundation Capital calls this missing layer "context graphs": tracing decisions by the reasoning and the data that led to an action (especially an exception). Their bet? The next trillion-dollar platforms won't add more AI—they'll capture the judgment calls living across systems and in people's heads. [Foundation Capital

🟠 Only 6% See Real AI Results—Here's What They Do Differently McKinsey's latest AI survey found that only 6% of companies report meaningful bottom-line impact from AI. What do the six percent do differently? Not more tools but better workflow redesign. High performers don't bolt AI onto existing processes; they fundamentally rethink how work gets done. [McKinsey]

Work With Me

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✨ Clarity Snapshot — Get unstuck, fast. In a single session, we'll pinpoint your strategic advantage and define the gap between what you deliver and how it's perceived. You'll walk away with a clear framework and three moves to make this week. No lengthy analysis. Just clarity and momentum.

📈 Need a Speaker? — Give your team the tools they need to think strategically about AI. Fresh frameworks, overcoming blank page syndrome, and turning big ideas into momentum.

📘 Schedule a Free Vision Call — Ready to use AI to build a powerful, fast-moving strategy? Schedule a free Vision Call to talk where you’re going in 2026.

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