{"id":45633,"date":"2026-06-29T12:04:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strtgy.design\/articles\/augmented-leadership-using-ai-for-strategy-not-just-emails\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T12:50:18","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T11:50:18","slug":"augmented-leadership-using-ai-for-strategy-not-just-emails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strtgy.design\/en\/strtgy-notes-en\/augmented-leadership-using-ai-for-strategy-not-just-emails\/","title":{"rendered":"Augmented Leadership\u2122: Using AI for Strategy, Not Just Emails"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cAI won\u2019t replace people. But other people\u2014the ones augmented by AI tools\u2014will become increasingly competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Logan Kilpatrick,<\/strong> Google DeepMind, formerly OpenAI<\/p>\n\n

\u25cf\u2191<\/p>\n\n

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At last Wednesday\u2019s webinar, I asked the attendees, \u201cWho\u2019s using AI for their strategy, not for writing emails or code?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Almost nobody raised a hand.<\/p>\n\n

And yet, that\u2019s exactly why they were all there.<\/p>\n\n

The exocortex question<\/h2>\n\n

I don\u2019t know if we\u2019ve realized it yet, but we are\u2014or will be very soon\u2014the first humans to have an exocortex<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

You read that right: an exocortex<\/strong>, meaning an external cognitive capability you can use as if it were your own. Not a tool that executes tasks, but an extra brain that reasons, synthesizes, and makes suggestions. In business, it\u2019s the difference between a calculator and a partner.<\/p>\n\n

The fact is, you\u2019re no longer competing with people who know more. AI has unlocked access to knowledge, just as the internet did some time ago. You\u2019re competing with those who make better use of this exocortex, which\u2014unlike the one inside our skulls\u2014can be enhanced and, above all, shared.<\/p>\n\n

How autonomous is AI in business already? Two real-world examples<\/h2>\n\n
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In March 2023, just after GPT-4 launched, designer Jackson Greathouse Fall started an experiment called HustleGPT<\/a>: he gave AI one hundred dollars and a single instruction\u2014make as much money as possible, without doing anything illegal. He simply followed its instructions.<\/p>\n\n

The AI chose a name, designed the brand, built the website, and set the advertising strategy, acting like a CEO. But the business never took off: actual revenue remained at just a few hundred dollars. The point wasn\u2019t the profit; it was seeing a machine make operational decisions autonomously.<\/p>\n\n

And it\u2019s not an isolated case.<\/p>\n\n

People are already talking about companies of one<\/strong>\u2014tiny businesses generating enormous numbers. One example cited is a business generating $1.8 billion in revenue, managed with AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

In 2022, Chinese company NetDragon Websoft even appointed an AI, Tang Yu, as CEO of a subsidiary<\/a>. In the months that followed, Business Insider reports, the stock outperformed the Hang Seng Index. Extreme cases, admittedly, but that\u2019s the direction things are heading.<\/p>\n\n

How are you using it?<\/h2>\n\n

Most people in business use AI like a very fast automatic typewriter. Ask for what you need and you get a huge amount of text that very often nobody reads.<\/p>\n\n

And that\u2019s a big problem, because an exocortex<\/em> isn\u2019t there to help you do what you already do, only faster. It\u2019s there to help you think of things you wouldn\u2019t have thought of on your own<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

There is, however, a catch\u2014and it\u2019s why so many people are disappointed: an exocortex is only as good as the context you give it.<\/p>\n\n

Without a strategy that\u2019s shared and accessible to everyone<\/strong>, AI works blindly and gives you generic answers.<\/p>\n\n

But if your strategy is written down, with objectives, metrics, targets, and priorities clearly laid out, then this second brain has something to work with and becomes truly useful<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

To use AI for business strategy, you don\u2019t start by buying yet another subscription. You start by codifying your strategy so that everyone\u2014humans and agents alike\u2014can read it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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The age of augmented leadership doesn\u2019t reward those who know the most<\/h3>\n\n

It rewards those who put an external capability to work in service of a clear strategy. Individual talent still matters, but on its own, it\u2019s no longer enough to keep pace with the market.<\/p>\n\n

The good news is that the advantage is no longer just technical; it\u2019s strategic\u2014and will become increasingly so.<\/p>\n\n

Unlike models, you\u2019re in control of your strategy.<\/p>\n\n

In the Augmented Leadership webinar, I covered all this in detail, with examples, tools, and a live demo. The full recording is online, with the bonuses included.<\/p>\n\n