🧭 THIS WEEK AT AI SECOND ACT
Howdy, the end of the year is upon us, and certainly, I can’t wait to wind down. I am sure many of you are the same. I definitely hope everyone here has a great Christmas and Holiday time and will send more wishes next week! Not sure if I’ll publish over that time, possibly not.
Christmas came early, however, with the humbling of England in the Ashes 2nd test match at Brisbane. Almost as good as the result was reading about it in the English press! You’ll see a picture on the web version this week. This is what you’ll look like if you don’t adapt to AI!
Hopefully, you’ll find the design/colours a bit better. I spent some time trying to clean it up, also on the published web versions.
btw, quote blocks were screwed up last week - now fixed, see last week's edition here - How to find AI Use Cases in 15 minutes.
I appreciate all readers and any sharing my content here, and hope something was useful at least in a small way.
I got positive feedback last week! Yay! —> Though it was from Dad, so not sure if that counts?!
I also got some great feedback, thanks Victor, hence our topic today —> Frameworks, how to tie all this stuff together! Part 1 or 2.
If you’re enjoying this newsletter, please share it! Forward this to a friend/colleague and have them subscribe at aisecondact.com/subscribe. Thanks!
👉 You can also just hit "Reply" and let me know what you want more (or less) of, or use the poll to give feedback.
My goal is to make this as valuable and practical as possible as we navigate the new AI era. 🚀
🧰 AI NEWS + LEARNING
Here are a few things I found recently:
Kind of funny article, how much OpenAI struggled to have the models follow basic commands like use less ‘—’ - maybe AI is not as advanced as we think?
Google Workspace Studio - Simple agent creation anyone can build! Haven’t tried it yet, but it looks great.
🗺️ FEATURED INSIGHT
Thanks again, Victor, for some feedback!
"Great tactics, but I need a unifying structure. Something to connect the dots."
Fair point.
Over six months, I've shared prompts, templates, meeting kits, reporting hacks, and team playbooks. But I never gave you the map that ties it all together.
The ADAPT Framework for AI Adoption
Here's a simple model you can try:
A — Assess (Where are you now?)
Your current AI literacy
Your team's readiness
Your org's risk tolerance
D — Discover (What's possible?)
Find use cases hiding in your calendar and your daily/weekly work
Test tools without betting the farm
Learn what actually works vs. hype
A — Apply (Quick wins first)
Start with personal productivity
Then team processes
Then cross-functional workflows
** Short aside here —> what is rarely mentioned in hype news is the impact on the tools at an organization. Rarely, if ever (or at least in some crazy slow fashion), will IT simply agree to rip up all tools and swap in ‘AI-friendly’ tools. A huge part of figuring out how AI can add real value is how it can use and integrate with existing processes and tools.
P — Propagate (Scale what works)
Document and share wins
Build internal champions
Create repeatable playbooks
T — Transform (Embed in operations)
Integrate AI into decision-making
Shift from project to capability
Measure business impact, not activity
Where Past Newsletters Fit
I went back through the archive and mapped everything to the framework:
ASSESS — Know where you stand
DISCOVER — Find what's possible
APPLY — Get quick wins
PROPAGATE — Scale what works
TRANSFORM — Embed in operations
This isn't purely linear. As AI tools evolve (and they're evolving fast), you'll revisit Discover regularly. I still do. The difference is you'll move through the stages faster each time.
Your Homework This Week
Which ADAPT stage are you in right now?
Hit reply and tell me. I'll respond with the specific posts and tools that match where you are.
Until next week,
Weekly AI strategies for operating executives
— Brett
👉 Hit “Reply” and share your experience — I read every one!
Picture by me!