Frame the real problem
Use the four pre-prompt questions to define the end state, material inputs, gaps, and sequence before opening the chat.
THINK · BRIEFOfficial companion workbook for Sharp Minds, Better Machines
Run the sequence yourself.
The book explains why your business experience is your biggest AI advantage. This free workbook helps you put that advantage to work on one real decision.
Get the free workbookOne decision. Nine stages. A result you can act on.
9STAGES
01Think→02Brief→03Define the standard→04Generate→05Validate→06Challenge→07Refine→08Reality-check→09Act
01 / FROM THE BOOK TO THE WORK
The book gives you the system. This workbook helps you run it.
In Chapters 5–11, the book develops seven practices for doing better work with AI. The workbook turns those practices into a nine-stage working sequence by making Generate and Act explicit—so you can move from a well-framed problem to a decision that survives contact with the real world.
Seven practices. Nine stages. One sequence.
Get the paperback on Amazon02 / THE GAP
The first answer is a starting point, not the best achievable result.
Polish tells you nothing about whether the answer fits. The output can still be generic, built on missing context, fragile assumptions, or a version of your business that does not exist. The difference is rarely a secret prompt. It is the experience, judgment, and specificity you bring to the exchange.
“The AI is the tool.
You are the system.
03 / INSIDE THE WORKBOOK
One decision.
A disciplined path.
This is not another list of prompts. It is a working document designed to stay beside you while you do consequential work with AI.
Set the standard and test the result
Decide what good looks like before you see the output, expose the assumptions underneath it, and attack the recommendation before you trust it.
DEFINE THE STANDARD · VALIDATE · CHALLENGEMake it usable
Refine the work against a clear standard and force it through the realities of budget, people, timing, skills, and capacity.
REFINE · REALITY-CHECK · ACT04 / HOW TO USE IT
Bring something real.
- ChoosePick one decision where getting it right creates value—and getting it wrong creates a problem.
- WorkMove through the sequence in order. Record what changes as your context and judgment enter the exchange.
- NoticeWatch for the moment the output shifts from generally plausible to specific, defensible, and usable.
Free download
Bring one decision.
Leave with a better one.
Get the complete Working Sequence workbook, including the nine-stage map, self-diagnostic, worked example, guided decision pages, and one-page run sheet.
Haven’t read the book yet? Start with the book overview ↑