Cheatsheet: AI won't replace you. But it will expose you.
The one sentence
Section titled “The one sentence”AI won’t replace you. But it will expose you.
The amplifier rule
Section titled “The amplifier rule”Nothing in, nothing out. AI makes what’s already there louder. Clear input, clearer output. Confused input, confused output, faster.
The human delta (what AI can’t do for you)
Section titled “The human delta (what AI can’t do for you)”| Component | What it is |
|---|---|
| Judgment | Choosing between correct-looking options |
| Context | Knowing what this situation needs |
| Taste | Recognizing “okay” vs. “right” |
| Trust | Accountability to the people relying on you |
The split (run this on any recurring task)
Section titled “The split (run this on any recurring task)”| Task | Mechanical parts | Judgment parts |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly status update | Pulling numbers, summarizing threads, drafting prose | Which blockers matter, which number opens, who gets copied |
| Hiring screen | Summarizing resumes, drafting interview notes | Which candidate to advance, why, what signal to weigh heaviest |
| Customer email thread | Drafting tone variants, summarizing a long thread | Whether to concede, when to escalate, what not to put in writing |
The delegation rule
Section titled “The delegation rule”Delegate mechanics. Keep judgment.
- Good: “Draft three options for this email. I’ll pick one.”
- Bad: “What should I do about this supplier?”
Before you delegate, ask yourself
Section titled “Before you delegate, ask yourself”- Can I describe what “done well” looks like in one sentence?
- Is this mechanical, or is it judgment disguised as mechanical?
- What’s my baseline (not “perfect,” my own 20-minute result)?
- What will I do with the time this gives me back?
Prompt patterns (what good delegation sounds like)
Section titled “Prompt patterns (what good delegation sounds like)”| Don’t ask | Ask instead |
|---|---|
| ”What should I do?" | "Draft three options. I’ll pick one." |
| "Is this a good idea?" | "List the three biggest risks of this plan. Include one I might miss." |
| "Write the whole thing for me." | "Summarize these notes into five bullets I can review in two minutes." |
| "Fix this." | "Point out anything that reads unclear, then show me a tightened version.” |
The pattern: give it a bounded, mechanical task and keep the judgment move for yourself.
Words to delegate vs. words to keep
Section titled “Words to delegate vs. words to keep”- Delegate: draft, summarize, reformat, pull, extract, outline, compare, list, transcribe, rephrase
- Keep: decide, choose, approve, trust, escalate, prioritize, commit, communicate
Pitfalls to dodge
Section titled “Pitfalls to dodge”- Delegating judgment instead of mechanics
- Comparing AI output to perfect instead of to your baseline
- Quitting after one bad output (iterate, like with any colleague)
- Waiting to be “expert” before starting (you get expert by starting)
- Treating AI as magic (silent in, silent out)
Signal you’re doing it right
Section titled “Signal you’re doing it right”- The same task takes less time, and the judgment part is now where your hour actually goes
- You notice yourself rejecting AI outputs more, not fewer, as you get sharper at the ask
- Your coworkers can tell the work is better, but can’t quite say why
The next move
Section titled “The next move”Split one recurring task from your week into Mechanical and Judgment columns. Circle one mechanical item. Write one sentence describing what success would look like. Take that into lesson 2.