The new AI tools aren't going away. This isn't a fad you can wait out until things settle down or stop changing. (You know change is constant, right?)

What's happened over the last three years is a fundamental shift in what computing systems can help us do. That's not hype.

It's a new baseline.

And it means the leaders and teams who figure out how to use these tools well are going to out-pace the ones who don't.

Below are some of what I'm recommending. These are based on my experience with rolling out large-scale ERP and warehouse systems when I was an IT director as well as launching an innovation practice inside a large company.

Start with yourself, not your team.

Before you roll out AI training for your people, spend real time in the tools yourself. Get a couple of different accounts and tools, and play around with them. Try stuff. Break stuff.

You can't coach what you haven't experienced. Ten minutes a day experimenting can teach you as much or more than a webinar - and that's coming from someone who teaches AI in workshops and webinars!

Experimentation beats a big rollout plan.

You don't need a company-wide strategy on day one. Probably eventually, but not on day one.

You need a few leaders who've broken things, created content and documents, found what actually saves time, and can speak to it honestly. That credibility matters more than a polished plan.

Then upskill your people, deliberately.

Once you know what works, teach it. Not as a mandate, but as a practical skill your team needs the same way they need email or spreadsheets.

Have you personally used one of these tools this week?

If the answer is no, that's the gap to close first, before you ask anyone else to close theirs.

Getting ready for what's next,

Micah Ray

P.S. If you need help training your leaders or your team on this, email me. I mostly use and specialize in Claude by Anthropic, but I've got real hands-on experience across the major LLMs, agent platforms, and AI content tools. Happy to help you figure out where to start. Reply to this email, or book a short call with me.