We had a great ask from a reader about what to do with all of the requests they are getting from their boss who has an AI subscription and can’t fight back with their own.

This person is in a real pickle because their boss has access to company data and can inherently out maneuver you at every turn. Everyone’s thoughts on AI aside, it absolutely leads to people who are already happily removed from the details (senior leaders) empowered to be even further removed from those details.

Normally this doesn’t matter because you could’ve denied and deflected but with AI they can immediately fact check you and it’s likely wrong. Fighting back and directly filling out reports is not an option. Using your basic copilot is not an option.

What I think is overlooked is that the pen has become more commoditized than the proverbial sword and if you want your boss to respect you as a thought leader, you must pick up the proverbial sword.

I see 3 really easy ways to take up the sword:

1. Move to pen and paper for your reports and responses.
   1. Leverage snail mail for your weekly reports. By reducing the frequency at which requests are received and made your boss will try extra hard to make sure the entire request is correct and ensure they stay within scope. Fax machines work too. They’re far harder to figure out these days.
2. Physically call them and excitedly talk through the request. If the AI is being used to speed up interactions with you, make yourself even more available.
3. Ask your parents to call your boss. I didn’t have parents that would help me out when my teacher was being a meanie but I know some of you do. Maybe your mom or dad can call (even better your dad/mom happen to run the company). The more things change, the more they stay the same.

If you have questions feel free to write in. I also need suggestions on fixing the UI of the site. Managing this is far more difficult than I thought.