The Level #136

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Hey hey!

I'm about to tell you something I've been pretty embarrassed about for months.

I am behind on AI. Way behind. This week's issue is my confession, why I think a lot of us are in the same spot, and one small favor I am asking of you at the end.

But first, it sucks that SO many consultants and coaches I speak with are embarrassed about how far behind they are in their use of AI. Please know there’s no shaming or blaming happening here.

Show up as you are and we’ll work through this together!

Expert Insight of the Week

Microsoft just surveyed 20,000 knowledge workers who already use AI for its 2026 Work Trend Index. 65% of them worry about falling behind if they do not keep pace with the technology. And 45% say it feels safer to stick to their existing goals than to redesign how they work.

Read that again. The majority of people already using AI are afraid THEY are behind. And nearly half are so uncomfortable they would rather stay put.

So if you have been quietly feeling like everyone else got the memo and you missed it, you are in the statistical majority. Including me.

This Week’s Shift: From pretending to keep up → learning & working in public

The confession

I'm a multi-million dollar founder and CEO. We have a Chief AI Officer on staff.

And I still have not set up an AI coworker to take the dozens of repeated tasks that take the wind from my sails week after week.

I’ve been doing by hand what an AI coworker should be doing for me. Inbox triage. Note-taking. Automatic follow-ups.

None of us got into this work for that. We got into it for the work only we can do, and the busywork was never the dream.

And it’s my job to stay 3 steps ahead and pave the path for you, but I got behind this year.

Here’s what I’m doing about it:

Starting this month, our Chief AI Officer, Monica, is walking shoulder to shoulder with me so we can identify the highest and best uses of AI, for me, right now, and implement them using Claude Cowork.

First up: we sit down and add proper context to my Claude Cowork, one step closer to building my new AI coworker. I will report back on what works, what flops and what I wish someone had told me sooner. All of it, right here.

→ Your Next Move

For one day this week, keep a running list of every task you do that you have done before. Don't fix anything yet. Just look at the list at the end of the day and circle what a capable coworker could take off your plate. That list is your starting line, and you will want it for what comes next in this series.

Why This Matters

You don't have a Chief AI Officer. When you sell your expertise, your hours ARE the business, which means every hour spent on repeatable busywork is an hour of capacity you cannot sell, invest or rest with. Buying those hours back is the closest thing to free money in a service business. That is why I am doing this out loud instead of in private. If I figure this out, we figure it out together.

I made a 2-minute Maven survey asking where you actually are with AI. No judgment, no wrong answers. I have a hunch a lot of us are further behind than we admit out loud, and I want to find out if I'm right:

[Tell me where you're at]

To fixing it out loud,

 - Amanda

P.S. If you know someone who is secretly behind too, quietly sure they missed the window, the LinkedIn version of this confession is here: [POST HERE]. Send it to them, just so they know they are not the only one. 💜

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