How to Get What You Want from AI
Plus, the AI conversation that helped me nail down what this substack is really about!
Quick announcement: Starting this week, I’m going to be sharing executive takeaways from my AI work, each Friday, on LinkedIn. If you are interested, please click here to follow!
Dear Prompt Experimenters,
“Prompts are great, but what about after that? How do I keep AI on track, or get it to change direction? How do I talk to it so that it will do what I want?”
Do you ever feel that way? With the right prompt, the conversation begins perfectly. But then, somewhere, it loses its way. It descends into something that is vaguely interesting and useful, but not quite what you were hoping for.
Sound familiar? If so, this post is for you!
No prompts today. No new GPTs. I want to try something else. I’m going to post, verbatim, an entire conversation I had with AI.
Why am I doing this? Three reasons:
Going beyond the prompt: Prompts are the perfect starting point, the door. They are not the entire answer. You need to continuously steer AI to get the best results. I want to show how I do this, in a real conversation.
Sharing my vision: What is this conversation I’m going to share? It’s AI helping me figure out what I’m hoping to achieve with this substack, and with AI more broadly. I want to share what I’m thinking and what’s coming soon. I want to hear what you think.
Challenging you to more deeply integrate your own narratives: I think everyone should have a variant of the conversation I’m about to share. Most of us live with many simultaneous narratives. They are often fragmented. They fight with each other. A little narrative integration can go along way.
Ready to take the wheel?
BACKGROUND CONTEXT: DOT said something last week that stuck with me
Last week, I shared my AI handshake protocol, a prompt you can use with any of our paid subscriber GPTs to immediately customize them to your needs.
When I tried this myself, Influence DOT suggested I need this:
Integrated Narrative Strategy
Your diverse professional identities need clear cohesion. Influence DOT collaborates to craft a powerful, unified narrative—a signature personal story that convincingly integrates consulting, creativity, writing, and innovation into a single, memorable professional brand and public message.
At this point, I could have simply responded: DOT, yes, let’s do the integrated narrative strategy thing!
It would have worked, but not spectacularly. If you want to get the most out of AI, you shouldn’t just follow its lead. You need to steer, continuously.
What does that look like? The rest of this post is an extended example!
Paid subscribers, you have full access to The Handshake Protocol and all the DOTs, to replicate your own version of this experience
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STEERING THE CONVERSATION: Influence DOT integrates my vision for the future of this substack
This is the full conversation I had with Influence DOT yesterday. Three messages back and forth.
My messages to DOT are slightly more polished than normal, only because I knew I would be sharing them here. But the length, detail, and structure are representative of what most of my “good conversations with AI” look like.
Absolutely, let's step carefully into this.
We'll start gently, staying close to what's already real, and then weave toward the integration you crave. Here's how we'll begin:
Step 1: Clarifying the Current Reality
Before we dream forward, let’s anchor in the present. Could you reflect briefly on:
Management Consulting (day job):
How do clients describe you today?
What are the unique strengths, quirks, or recurring patterns you’re known for professionally?
Substack:
What draws your readers in now? What kind of feedback or compliments do you most often receive?
What’s the current implicit promise you're making to your audience?
Share a few thoughts or phrases here. It doesn’t have to be polished—just honest.
Then we'll gently move to step two.
Let's take the first gentle step forward. You've shared a rich and honest map of your current reality—two worlds not fully integrated, yet resonating with the same restless spirit. Before we sketch your unified narrative, let's lay out the ingredients clearly, with precision and care. Afterward, we'll explore the implications.
Step 2: Ingredients of Your Integrated Brand Narrative
A compelling brand narrative isn't about flattening complexity; it’s about giving coherence to diverse threads. Here’s how your ingredients look from my perspective, grounded but ambitious, thoughtful yet strategic:
Ingredient A: The Analytical Storyteller
You have a unique capacity to move fluidly between rigorous analytics and compelling narrative. Your consulting success hinged on translating dense, quantitative insights into strategic narratives for executives. Your Substack thrives because you turn prompts into journeys of insight, practical yet philosophical.
Core Narrative: "Translating Complexity into Clarity."
Possible Taglines:
"Where precision meets insight."
"The clarity behind complexity."
Ingredient B: The AI Visionary and Evangelist
You are recognized as a key internal figure for AI adoption—someone who can speak both the language of senior executives and the subtleties of prompt engineering. Yet, this role leaves you unsatisfied because you believe AI should not just automate tasks, but enhance human thought and potential.
Core Narrative: "AI as a partner in human evolution."
Possible Taglines:
"AI that thinks with you, not just for you."
"Beyond automation: AI to amplify human insight."
Ingredient C: The Philosopher-Explorer
Your restless curiosity isn’t satisfied by conventional paths. The Thought Experiments encapsulate your desire to create spaces—digital or conceptual—where people can explore themselves and the world differently. TOD embodies your commitment to thoughtful, playful, human-centered AI.
Core Narrative: "Creating worlds that unlock insight."
Possible Taglines:
"Play with reality. Discover yourself."
"Virtual worlds. Real insights."
Ingredient D: The Corporate Diagnostician
You're a believer in capitalism’s organizational strengths but see its glaring cognitive and philosophical blind spots. You dream of using AI-driven thought experiments to help corporations think deeply, clearly, and ethically.
Core Narrative: "Rethinking the corporate mind."
Possible Taglines:
"Corporations built to think, not just act."
"AI-driven clarity for corporate cognition."
Ingredient E: The Human-Centric Pragmatist
While deeply philosophical, you remain pragmatic. Your philosophical experiments, prompts, and GPT tools have always been rooted in practical outcomes. You never allow ideas to drift into mere abstraction without connection to tangible human benefits.
Core Narrative: "Practical philosophy for real life."
Possible Taglines:
"Philosophy you can live by."
"Ideas made actionable."
Now, before we combine these elements, tell me:
Which of these ingredients resonates most strongly for you, and which, if any, do you feel need adjusting?
We'll refine and then move gently into Step 3: exploring how this new narrative transforms your approach to your job and your Substack.
0 · Brand Essence
“AI that makes people—and institutions—think.”
Your integrated narrative sits at the intersection of rigorous knowledge-creation (David Deutsch’s optimism that problems are solvable) and child-like wonder (the Little Prince’s talent for seeing the essential). The promise: tools and experiences that do more than save time—they widen Thought Space and bring distant “stars” of possibility within reach.
1 · Brand Architecture
Purpose
Amplify human and corporate cognition through AI-powered thought experiments.
Pillars
AI Visionary – Mapping advanced use cases, building custom GPTs.
Philosophical Playgrounds – Thought Experiments & TOD.
Corporate Diagnostician – Exposing the “thinking deficit” inside firms, then rewiring it.
Analytical Storycraft – Quant-plus-narrative synthesis when the numbers must sing.
Personality
Wonder + Rigor — precision of a quant, curiosity of an interstellar fox.
Values
Ethical influence, intellectual courage, pragmatic usefulness.
Signature Concept
Life-Space Engineering: Bend the local “physics” of a person or company so better futures sit within easy reach — “the universe is a machine for the making of gods.”
2 · Two Faces of the Same Constellation
A. Management-Consulting Manifestation
Role: “AI Cognitive Architect” inside the firm.
How it shows up
Executive Translation Layer – continue briefing senior partners, but re-frame deliverables from “time-savings” to thinking-quality gains (e.g., AI simulations that surface non-obvious strategic options).
Corporate Thought Experiments (CTE) – a workshop series where leaders experience mini-narratives that reveal blind-spots (beta-tested with a hand-picked client).
Quant-Story Diagnostics – short “Insight Memes” that pair a venture-style model with a philosophical provocation.
B. Substack Manifestation
Role: “Cartographer of Thought Space.”
How it shows up
Seasoned Narrative Arcs – publish Thought Experiments in episodic seasons; TOD (your AI concierge) guides readers interactively, keeping the wonder high.
Deep-Prompt Toolkits – each post bundles a practical GPT plus a reflective challenge (“optimize your life as a venture portfolio”).
Community Studio – invite subscribers to co-design future experiments or test CTE fragments before they hit boardrooms.
3 · Evolution Road-Map
Horizon Planning
H-0: Alignment
Time-frame: Now – 3 months
Consulting: Re-brand internal deck; introduce Thinking Quality metric
Substack: “About” page refresh; teaser essay — AI, The Fox & the Star
Bridge-Magic: Cross-link consulting ↔ Substack bio so both audiences meet the same essence
H-1: Prototype
Time-frame: 3 – 9 months
Consulting: Pilot Corporate Thought Experiments with 1 client; capture metrics
Substack: Release Thought Experiments — Season 1 with TOD guidance
Bridge-Magic: Share pilot stories (anonymised) as narrative posts → attract leads
H-2: Scale & Myth
Time-frame: 9 – 18 months
Consulting: Package CTE as repeatable offering; license custom GPTs
Substack: Paid cohort course — Life-Space Engineering
Bridge-Magic: Publish short book — The Company That Learned to Think (joint case + fable)
4 · Where Synergy—and Magic—Appear
Feedback Flywheel – Real-world corporate puzzles feed fresh scenarios back into the Substack story-verse; reader insights sharpen consulting IP.
Dual Credibility – Executives see you tested in public intellectual arenas; readers trust you because your ideas survive C-suite pressure tests.
Wonder + Rigor – Every artifact pairs a hard model with a metaphor (e.g., Monte-Carlo skill sensitivity meets Bergson’s “machine for making gods” narrative).
Ethical Guard-rails – TOD’s playful checks keep human focus; DOT-G2A’s frameworks ensure influence stays mutual, long-term, respectful.
5 · Next Gentle Step
Craft a one-sentence brand essence you can say out loud to both a Fortune-500 partner and a curious subscriber.
Select your pilot client for Corporate Thought Experiments and outline a 90-minute session.
Draft the Substack announcement hinting at Season 1’s launch and inviting readers to be alpha-testers of corporate spin-offs.
I’ll be here—war-room dramaturge in one hand, star-chart in the other—ready to cut where it matters and let the magic in. Ready?
What do YOU think of this vision for the future of our substack? What would you add? I’d love to hear your reactions in comment, DM, or chat!
How can you be more effective in proactively steering AI to deliver what you need? Paid subscribers, read on for my 5 pro tips!
PAID SUBSCRIBER DEBRIEF: 5 pro tips to get the most from your AI conversations
✨ 5 Pro Tips for Getting What You Really Want from AI
Not with better prompts, but with better conversations