Just Make the AI Work Smarter Not Harder

I hate when someone says, “Work smarter, not harder.”

It feels condescending. Like, somehow I’m no good at what I do, or at the very least, I should be doing it differently. 

But, it really is an excellent strategy. And as for “doing it differently” — yeah, maybe I should be. So, look in the mirror, then look around, and find a better approach or system. 

The same is true for your team or organization. 

How do we get more done or more out of this team?

We could be asking this because we believe the team isn’t performing or isn’t producing at the level that it should. Or we could be asking because, regardless of how the team is performing, we need more. 

So the first thing we do is tell them to work harder. 

Working harder doesn’t require any risk. It just takes doing more of the same and yelling louder. Go faster and work more hours! More people. More hands. More muscles. Less sleep. Less thinking. 

Working smarter (ie, finding a new way) requires risk. You must first acknowledge that your current way isn’t the best. Then you have to find new ways. And inevitably, try things that might not work. Any time you try stuff that might not work, your butt is on the line. 

Enter AI.

AI is the easiest “work harder” button we’ve ever been given. It can draft ten versions, iterate 100 times, run all night, and it doesn’t complain or ever need a mental health day. 

So just sprinkle AI over that and make the AI work harder, right?

Just like with yourself or your team, if you work harder on the wrong problem, you just get more wrong faster. More noise. More issues. More busywork that isn’t progress.

More output doesn’t necessarily mean more of what you need. What you need is to solve the problems. You still need to take the risk. You still need to try the things that might not work. 

Make the AI work harder, sure. 

But first, ensure you’re, and by extension, it is, working smarter.