Hey friends

Lately I’ve been thinking about how being too good at your job can actually backfire. You become the go-to person, the hero in every crisis… and then you realize you’re stuck.

Promotions pass you by, not because you’re not capable, but because no one else can do what you do.

Being irreplaceable isn’t a badge of honor; it’s a trap. The real power move is training someone to take over. It sounds risky, but it’s the exact shift that frees you up to grow, lead, and finally get noticed for the right reasons.

The Big Idea

Have you ever met someone new and immediately decided you didn't like them? Or seen a movie trailer and thought "That looks terrible" without knowing much about it? We all do this because our brains make super quick decisions about everything. But here's the problem: those quick decisions are often wrong because we don't have enough information yet. A smart scientist named Daniel Kahneman discovered that most people make up their minds in just a few seconds, then spend all their time looking for reasons to prove they were right. But the smartest people do something different. They wait to get more information before deciding what they think.

Here's how you can be smarter about making decisions: First, slow down and don't decide important things right away. Second, look for reasons you might be wrong. If you think your new boss is mean, try to notice times when she's actually nice. Third, ask questions instead of judging quickly by saying "tell me more" when someone tells you something surprising. Finally, gather information first, then let your gut feeling decide. It's like doing research before writing a report. Get the facts first, then form your opinion. Your brain will make better decisions when you feed it better information.

Takeaways

• Your first impression is often wrong because you don't have enough information
• Smart people wait to collect more facts before making up their minds
• Most people spend their time proving they were right instead of finding the truth
• Asking questions gets you better information than judging quickly
• Your gut feelings work better when you feed your brain more facts first

Try This:

• Next time you meet someone new, wait a whole week before deciding if you like them
• When you think something is "stupid" or "boring," ask yourself what might actually be good about it
• Practice saying "tell me more about that" instead of immediately agreeing or disagreeing
• Before buying something you really want, wait one day and write down three reasons why you shouldn't buy it
• When someone makes you angry, count to ten and ask them to explain what they meant

Deep Dive

Why You’re Not Achieving (Even Though You’re Always Busy) Being busy doesn't always equal success... ​Read full story →​

From my Toolkit

The more I use Artificial Intelligence the slower I work with it. Sounds weird. But when I first started, I tried to "one-shot" everything. I would ask it for the entire report in one prompt. The results were questionable at best. Now I take this slower. The tool in my box of tricks this week is about how to use a step-by-step process when creating with AI.

To get better results from ChatGPT, avoid one-shot prompting and use a simple 3-step process instead. First, use a meta prompt to ask ChatGPT how best to approach your task. This helps align on structure and tone. Second, create an outline together based on the suggested approach. Third, iterate section by section, giving feedback and refining the content until it meets your needs.

• 🧠 Meta Prompt: Ask ChatGPT how to approach the task before starting
• 🗂️ Outline: Co-create a structure or plan before writing the full content
• ✍️ Iterate: Build and improve the output step by step with feedback

Let me know what you thought of this email. I read every reply.

Have a great week ahead.

Jonathan