Hey,
Last Thursday we shifted from operational AI to something most people never try: using AI as a strategic advisor.
Here is the difference. Most prompts ask AI to do a task faster. Write this email. Summarize this document. Fix this code. That is operational AI. It saves minutes.
Strategic AI asks a different question entirely: should I be doing this at all? The framework is four parts: Situation (where are you now, in facts and numbers), Options (3-5 paths you have already considered), Criteria (what you actually care about, stated explicitly), and Blind Spots (what you might be missing). The fourth part is where the magic happens. Ask AI "what am I not seeing?" and it surfaces risks, assumptions, and second-order effects you did not consider.
We ran it live on a real scenario: a marketing agency owner at 60 hours a week, deciding whether to drop her three low-value clients. AI did not make the decision for her. It evaluated every option against her criteria and flagged a reputation risk she had not thought about. That is the shift. Not better answers. Clearer thinking.
Same question: "Should I switch jobs?"
Before (operational prompt):
Help me write a pros and cons list for switching jobs. I'm a developer at a mid-size company considering a startup offer.
After (strategic prompt):
I'm a mid-level developer at a 50-person company earning $95k. A 10-person startup offered $80k + 1.5% equity. Current job: stable, boring, learning nothing new. Options: (1) stay and negotiate internal move, (2) take the startup offer, (3) stay and build side projects for 6 months, (4) job hunt for something between the two. Criteria: learning velocity, financial floor ($70k minimum), commute under 40 min, team quality. What am I not seeing?
Same tool. Different question. The second one gets you an analysis that holds your whole situation at once, not a generic list.
This week on the blog:
The final workshop in the series. You know how to prompt. You know how to build workflows. You know how to think strategically with AI. This week, you build something real. Come with your laptop. Leave with a deliverable.
30 spots. Already registered? You will get a separate reminder with the joining link.
Talk soon,
Merryl