Redact before you send
One AI Move #2I needed to send the document. I did not need to share everything in it. So I stopped editing PDFs manually. Now I upload the file into AI and tell it exactly what must be removed. Names. Emails. Pricing. Entire sections if needed. The key is specificity. I do not say “clean this up.” I say, redact every email address. Remove all pricing figures. Black out the section titled Compensation Structure. Then I download the new file and open it once to confirm nothing sensitive remains. The AI does not decide what is private. I do. Drop this in: “Review the attached PDF. Permanently redact the following:
Replace each redacted area with a solid black bar and return a new PDF with redactions fully applied so the original text cannot be recovered.” Control what leaves your desk. Structure first. Share second. Run it. Chuck |
ONE AI MOVE
One AI Move #4 Most AI answers are bloated. Not wrong. Just unfocused. That is usually my fault. If I ask an open question, I get an open response. So I add a constraint. “Only tell me what I need to act on today.” The moment you limit the response, the output sharpens. Constraints force priority.They cut noise.They surface what matters. The AI does not choose the frame.I do. Precision is not the model’s job.It’s mine. Run it.Chuck
One AI Move #3 I rarely trust the first answer. Not from people.Not from AI. After I get a response, I ask one more question: “What am I missing or not considering here?” That’s it. The first answer gives direction. The second question exposes blind spots. Assumptions. Risks. Angles the model did not surface the first time. Most people stop at “good enough.” I press once more. The AI does not decide when thinking is finished. I do. Press once.Think twice. Run it. Chuck
One AI Move #1 I talk faster than I type. So I stopped typing first drafts.Here's what I do now. I record a 60 second voice memo. Just me talking through the problem and what I'd recommend. Then I copy the transcript, paste it into AI, and ask it to turn that into a short proposal with four sections. Problem, Solution, Benefits, Next Steps.The AI doesn't write the proposal. I did. Out loud.The AI just organizes what I already know. I still edit for tone and numbers. But the thinking was...