AI, AI, AI—the buzz is real! But how can we use AI effectively without feeling threatened by it—or, worse, creating endless identical outputs from the same prompt?

This week on #ToughStuff, I sat down with the amazing Stephanie Leue to talk about how to use AI smartly. As always, her insights made me reflect on my own AI journey: from skepticism to curiosity, through irritation with “all the same content,” and finally learning to use AI as a "bouncing ideas friend".

Here are my top three takeaways from our conversation:
• 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. Like it or not, AI is here to stay. Embrace curiosity and explore how it can save you from boring tasks. For me, it’s been a game-changer for note-taking and tone-checking—how has AI been helping you?

• 𝐃𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬. The hardest parts of product management—strategic thinking, creativity, and relationship-building—are uniquely human. AI can’t understand human nature or create meaningful connections. You can. Make it your differentiator.

• 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥. AI tools are evolving fast. Keep exploring, but never stop applying critical thinking.

AI won’t replace you, but it can supercharge your work—giving you more time for the real hard parts.

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