I use AI every day. It drafts proposals, outlines blog posts, summarizes meetings, and even helps prep for client calls. It saves time, sharpens execution, and makes life easier.
But here’s the mistake I see too many people make: They expect AI to do the thinking.
It won’t.
AI is fast, but it’s not wise AI can generate five paragraphs in two seconds. But are they aligned with your strategy? Your client’s goals? Your voice? That still takes human judgment.
Speed without direction is just fast noise.
It doesn’t understand nuance I’ve asked AI to write content before and thought, “Well… technically, this is fine. But it misses the point.” Why? Because it doesn’t know what matters most. It doesn’t know your team’s dynamics, your client’s unspoken concerns, or how trust actually works in your industry.
It’s a tool, not a replacement AI can help you do the work. It can’t decide what work is worth doing. That’s strategy. That’s context. That’s leadership. It’s like hiring the fastest assistant on earth who still needs clear direction—every single time.
How to use AI the right way:
Use it to generate first drafts, not final decisions
Let it automate low-value tasks so you can focus on high-value thinking
Pair it with your judgment, not your abdication
The real risk isn’t that AI replaces us The real risk is that we stop thinking, stop leading, and stop learning—because we assume AI will handle it.
It won’t. It’s here to help. But it still needs you at the helm.
I’m not interested in hype. I care about tools that save time, improve output, and help me lead better.
So when AI entered the picture, I didn’t dive in headfirst. I tested. I questioned. And now? I use it daily—not as a novelty, but as a real assistant.
Here’s what I use, what it’s replaced, and how it’s changed how I work.
1. Brainstorming and outlining What I used to do: Stare at a blank page, jot disconnected ideas, reorganize them endlessly. What I do now: Ask AI to generate outlines based on a topic I’m thinking through—blog posts, internal comms, training content. Result: I start 10x faster. I still tweak and guide the structure, but I’m never starting cold.
2. First drafts of communication What I used to do: Spend too much time rewriting emails or announcement drafts to strike the right tone. What I do now: Feed a few bullet points to AI and ask for a clear, professional first draft. Result: It cuts my writing time in half. I still personalize and trim—but the heavy lifting is done in seconds.
3. Meeting prep and research What I used to do: Search LinkedIn, dig through old emails, skim websites for client or prospect info. What I do now: Ask AI to summarize a company, recent news, or role-specific concerns for the person I’m meeting. Result: I walk into meetings sharper—with context and talking points ready.
4. Naming and titling What I used to do: Lose time picking a blog title or subject line. What I do now: Ask AI for 10 options and pick one. Result: Better titles. Faster decision-making.
5. Idea vetting What I used to do: Bounce ideas off a colleague or let them sit for days while I thought them through. What I do now: Use AI as a sounding board—asking “What are the downsides?” or “What would a skeptic say?” Result: Faster clarity. Still human judgment—just faster.
What AI hasn’t replaced:
My judgment
Strategy
People skills
Trust
Leadership
AI doesn’t replace the hard stuff. But it helps me get to the hard stuff faster. And that’s the point.
AI can draft an email, summarize a meeting, write code, and even crank out a blog post like this one (with help). But there’s one thing it still can’t do:
Run a real project.
We’ve tried. We’ve experimented with AI for status reports, timelines, risk assessments, and backlog grooming. It’s impressive—fast, helpful, and often accurate. But project management? That’s still human territory.
Here’s why:
1. AI can’t read the room. Deadlines shift. Priorities change. A stakeholder’s “no big deal” tone in an email actually means “I’m about to escalate this.” AI doesn’t catch nuance. It doesn’t read body language, office politics, or tension over Teams calls. Project leaders do.
2. Projects don’t follow scripts. Even the best Gantt chart goes sideways by week two. People get sick. Budgets get cut. A client pivots. AI is great at pattern recognition—but projects are often the opposite: messy, emotional, and unpredictable. Leading through ambiguity takes real-time judgment, not pre-trained algorithms.
3. Relationships still matter. A lot. When things go south (and they will), people want to talk to someone they trust—not a chatbot. A seasoned project lead knows how to listen, adjust, empathize, and reset expectations without blowing up the timeline—or the relationship.
4. AI doesn’t know your business. It knows businesses in general. It doesn’t know your unique challenges, team dynamics, or what happened last quarter that’s still lingering in the background. Good project leadership isn’t just about tasks. It’s about context—and context still requires a human brain.
That said—AI is an amazing co-pilot. It can flag risks faster. Draft communication. Generate insights from sprint notes. But it’s not leading the call, navigating egos, or rescuing a deliverable gone off the rails. That’s you.
In consulting, there’s a saying: “If they’re not billing, they’re costing.”
That’s technically true. But it misses something bigger.
At Intertech, we’ve come to realize that our most valuable consultants aren’t always the ones billing every hour. Sometimes, the people on the bench are driving the most important transformation in our business.
Right now, that transformation is AI.
Here’s how we’re using bench time strategically:
1. Training on AI tools and frameworks Rather than rushing consultants into the next project, we give them structured time to learn tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and AI-assisted test generation platforms. The result? They re-enter projects faster, more capable, and AI-enabled.
2. Standardizing AI in our dev process We’re using bench cycles to build internal playbooks for applying AI—from proposal writing to automated documentation to code review. These aren’t “nice to haves.” They’re practical assets that increase velocity and quality across the board.
3. Prototyping with purpose Benched consultants are experimenting with real-world use cases: generating scaffolding code, refactoring legacy modules, streamlining unit test creation, and integrating AI-driven analytics into apps. It’s hands-on R&D—without the overhead of a live project.
4. Supporting AI adoption across teams Having AI-fluent consultants available helps us accelerate adoption across project teams. They’re building demos, advising PMs, and helping clients understand what’s possible. They’re our internal accelerators.
5. Staying ahead of client expectations Clients are asking: “What’s your AI strategy?” Our bench consultants are a big part of the answer. They’re not just staying billable—they’re making sure we stay relevant.
Bottom line? A smart bench strategy isn’t just about cost control. It’s about innovation. Done right, your non-billing consultants might be your most valuable team members—because they’re building the future you’ll soon be charging for.
Take a walk through any office, wait online for others to join a Teams or Zoom call, or bump into an old co-worker at Starbucks——you’ll hear the same concern:
“Is AI going to take my job?”
It’s a fair question. Unless you’re in a profession that involves fixing plumbing, laying concrete, or replacing brake pads, it’s hard not to feel like the digital tidal wave of AI might wash you out of relevance.
But here’s the thing: AI isn’t just a threat. It’s a tool. One that’s already helping most of us—whether we realize it or not.
Like right now. You’re reading something that was written by a human (me) and shaped by an AI assistant. I still had to think, edit, and guide it. But it helped me get here faster—and better. It’s not a replacement. It’s a force multiplier.
Fear is normal. Staying afraid is optional. The worst thing to do with AI is nothing. To bury your head and hope this all blows over. Spoiler: it won’t.
The second worst thing? To become a doomsday narrator in your own story.
The better option is this: get curious. Learn how to use it. Let it help you. Because once you stop seeing AI as a rival and start using it like an ally, everything changes. Along with helping you, look how it can help those who work with or for you. At Intertech, everyone, including the admin is reading a book or attending a course on AI for their job.
Here’s how to stay relevant—and even thrive—with AI:
1. Become a “human-AI hybrid.” The people who succeed in the next decade won’t be the ones who avoid AI. They’ll be the ones who use it daily—and pair it with judgment, emotional intelligence, and common sense. Think you + AI = amplified value. For my software application development firm, like mine, AI represents the challenge that AI will reduce our billable hours. This is the reality of the future. Either we embrace it, or others will surpass what we can deliver.
2. Use it to eliminate the junk work. AI is great at first drafts, summaries, idea generation, and repetitive tasks. Let it take care of the shallow work so you can focus on the deep stuff—strategy, creativity, relationships, leadership.
3. Focus on what AI can’t do (yet). Things like building trust, mentoring a junior colleague, closing a deal with nuance, or navigating politics inside a client’s organization. That’s still very much human territory. Strengthen your relationships with clients, employees, partners, or others.
4. Stop waiting for perfect. Start experimenting. Use ChatGPT, CoPilot, or others. Not sure where to start? Tell AI about your job and ask for feedback. Try an AI meeting note taker. Let AI generate a first pass on a report. You don’t have to be an expert. You just have to start. Every new skill starts with awkwardness.
5. Ask AI to help you with AI. Open up to AI and share what you’re about, what you do, your goals, and where you have questions and want answers. Have it be a dialogue not a one-and-done question. Guide the AI on the journey not vice versa. Expect to be surprised. The more you interact with your AI, the more it learns about you and will guess what you want next. And, finally, a good thing about AI is to think how often it calls in sick, gets tired of you asking it to answer the same question, or doubts what it’s saying… zero.
Bottom line? Yes, I will change work. It already is. But it’s not coming to replace the people who adapt—it’s coming to help them outperform everyone else.
So the question isn’t “Will AI take my job?”
It’s “Am I willing to evolve with it?”
And if you’re already using AI to draft blogs, answer emails, and prep for meetings… congratulations. You’re not behind. You’re ahead.
