[🐝U] a chainsaw, tow rope & snow plow STILL didn't ...

🎧 Listen to the “really-me” shake things up in the audio version 🎧

Out here, you don’t get much of a learning curve.

You either figure out what the land expects of you…
or it teaches you the hard way.

When the land teaches you the hard way

Heavy snow.
(I’ve already plowed 138km with my ATV… & the forecast says we’re not close to done.)

Highway-speed winds…
snapping trees you couldn’t wrap your arms around
like they were toothpicks.
(People in this area keep chainsaws & tow ropes in their vehicles as standard equipment.)

You prepare.
You deal with it.
You move on.

& then April 1st hit.

A loud boom.

The kind you don’t question…
because your whole body already knows something’s wrong.

The whole trailer started shaking.

My first thought was wind... some freak gust, something knocked loose.
So I went outside… circled the entire trailer…
looking for what needed dealing with.

Nothing.
& somehow… that made it worse.

I came back inside… & just stopped.
Didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.

You know that moment where your body goes quiet before your brain catches up?

That.

Eyes scanning every window like a periscope …
& I had no idea what I was even looking for.

It wasn't until a business nearby posted on Facebook that I found out.
Epicenter 10 minutes from here.

An earthquake.
In central Alberta.

Flat prairie.
No fault lines.
No warning.

Not something you plan for.

I had a chainsaw & tow rope in the truck.
& a heavy duty plow attached to an ATV.

But this?
I had nothing for this.

You can’t prepare for the unexpected, until it’s expected.

Here’s what hit me after.

I've been working with a client based in California, where earthquakes are a fact of life.

She knows the ground’s going to shake.
She just doesn’t know when…
& she builds things anyway.

People don't avoid the state because earthquakes happen.
They build differently.
Retrofit.
Reinforce.
Know the exits.

They prepare for the shake even when they can't predict it.

That’s the relationship you want with uncertainty.

Not avoidance.
Not paralysis.

Preparation.

You don’t wait for the shaking to stop…
You build for when it starts.

ways we respond to the shake

AI is the earthquake nobody had on their business bingo card.

& right now I'm watching people respond to it 3 ways.
→ The 1st group is waiting it out.
Hoping this all settles down.
Heads down, carrying on, hoping things go back to “normal”.
Treating AI like a weather event that'll pass if you just get through the season.

→ The 2nd group panicked…
& handed the keys to AI.
Letting AI do the thinking, writing, positioning, strategy ... all of it.
Outsourcing the part that was supposed to be them.

→ & then there’s the 3rd “Goldilocks” group.
Still in the room.
Watching.
Thinking.
Building differently.

My client’s unexpected quake

My California client went quiet on me for a bit.

Turns out she wasn't being flaky.
A business consultant she'd hired had AI bots that built client websites... buried in the package, something she hadn't clocked when she signed on.

The ground had already shifted under her…
She didn’t even know what she was standing on.
& she didn't know how to tell me.
So she avoided the conversation.

When we talked it through, she also told me about a friend who'd hired a developmental editor to help structure a book she's writing. The editor's job was to bring real expertise... guide, push back, ask hard questions.

Instead, the editor was taking each section & running it through AI.
Then delivering it back as "done" without checking it.

Changed quotes.
Wrong stats.
The friend's own ideas, mangled & returned to her like a finished product.

That’s not using a tool.
That’s hiding behind one.
It’s faking expertise with a shortcut... & charging for it.

It's happening in marketing too.
Agencies delivering identical content to multiple clients... same post, different logo.
The clients have no clue
& even when they do, don’t realize how much worse that’s making things for them.
So quietly, steadily, they become more invisible.

Nobody knows who's on 1st

Here's what I told her...

The problem isn’t AI.
The problem is… nobody knows who’s playing which position.

There’s an old comedy routine by Abbott & Costello…
& it explains this perfectly.

Where Abbott’s trying to tell Costello the player names on a baseball team.

The 1st baseman's name is “Who”.
2nd base is “What”.
3rd base is “I Don't Know”.

What follows is a few minutes of pure, brilliant chaos...
not because anyone's stupid,
but because nobody established the rules before the conversation started.

That's what's happening inside a lot of businesses right now when it comes to content.

Who's on first ... who's actually writing this? The expert? The AI? Both? Neither?
What's on second ... what is it actually saying, & does it sound anything like you?
I Don't Know's on third ... because the AI did it, & nobody checked.

The only problem is in business, nobody's laughing.

Good content has always needed 3 positions filled.

-> The expert ... the person who actually knows the subject cold.
The real point of view.
The hard-won experience that can't be prompted into existence.

-> Costello (AI) ... fast, prolific, great at structure & drafts.
But without someone keeping it in check, it'll confidently tell you the wrong guy is on first & you never know the difference.

-> Abbott ... the voice person. The one who keeps the expert honest, asks "does this actually sound like you?", catches what Costello got wrong, & makes sure what comes out the other end is still recognizably human.
Abbott isn't the star of the show.
But without Abbott, the whole bit falls apart.

& right now?
A lot of businesses are running onto the field… with 1player.

& it’s costing a lot of time & money...

whether they're the client or the contractor...
you can’t assume Costello (AI) can play all 3 positions.

No matter how brilliant at his job, that job’s not "replace everyone else on the roster."

When AI is the expert, the voice, & the fact-checker... who's on 1st is anybody's guess.

& your audience is the one standing there confused, wondering why nothing you put out feels like you anymore.

The fool hands Costello (AI) the whole roster & walks off the field.
The April 1st version of your content strategy.

Check your roster

Look at the last piece of content that went out under your name.

Or if you're the contractor, the last thing you delivered.

Ask yourself honestly:

-> Who's on 1st? Is the actual subject matter expert in the room... or just assumed to be?

-> What's on 2nd? Is the content saying something real, specific, & recognizably yours... or does it sound like it could have come from anyone?

-> Who's playing Abbott? Is there a real human whose job it is to catch what Costello gets wrong & make it sound like you?

If you're hiring someone…
→ have you asked which position they're actually filling... & who's covering the others?

When you're the contractor …
→ can you tell your client clearly which position you're in?

If the answer to any of those is "I'm not sure"...
that's where trust quietly starts slipping
… long before anyone can explain why.

What I told my client:
→ You're the expert.
→ AI gives you the structure.
→ I'm your Abbott... I make it sound like you, & I keep Costello in check.

3 different positions.
3 specific contributors.

She said: "Yes. That feels much better. I'm more comfortable with that."

Project's back on & we’ve added to the scope!

The earthquake on April 1st wasn't a prank.
This AI shift isn't either.

You can't predict when the ground moves.
But you can absolutely decide what & how you build
so when it does, you're still standing.

Now hit reply & let me know ...
which position’s the weakest link in your business right now?
Who's on first,
What's on second,
or is it all I Don't Know's on third?

Make it a great unshakeable week!
EG

PS ... if you just realized nobody's playing Abbott in your content, that's a fixable problem. In 1 conversation, we’ll figure out what's missing & what to do about it.

PPS:

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