Strategy: how work changes when everyone has the same AI
20 articles by Melissa Kolbe.
Three ways to pay. Only one of them is a decision you own.
How Do You Budget for AI in 2027? Pick the Meter Before the Model.
A metered AI price moves with how you use it and with the calendar, so you cannot budget it by model name.
Designed to be safe in the way a fenced playground is safe.
Your IT Team’s AI Restrictions Are Telling You More Than They Think
Sanctioned-tool-only AI policies manage a privacy gap on paper while creating a skill gap in practice.
AI Productivity Has a Hidden Cost. It’s Called the Learning Penalty.
AI builds polished dashboards while thinning the population of people who know when the data is wrong.
When Everyone Has the Same AI, Your Business Experience Becomes the Edge
When everyone has the same AI, the bottleneck moves from building things to knowing what to build.
AI Can Complete Your Tasks. It Can’t Do Your Job. Here’s the Difference.
AI completes tasks, but a job is context, judgment, and implicit requirements no benchmark captures.
January: collect everything. December: build something.
I Wrote 100 Posts About AI. Here’s What I Got Wrong.
I was too bullish on AI agents, which don't fix broken processes but automate them faster.
AI Fluency Required. Definition: TBD.
“AI Fluency Required” — The Job Skill Nobody Can Define
Employers hire people who use ChatGPT when they need people who have a system for using AI.
AI Isn’t Hard—If You Can Clearly Explain Your Needs
Prompting an AI isn't coding, it's communicating clearly and strategically.
The Widening AI Gender Gap: New Research Confirms Women Marketers’ Concerns Are Valid (And Valuable)
Women’s caution toward AI is a competitive asset, not a limitation to overcome.
AI Marketing Teammates: How One Person + AI Can Outperform Traditional Teams
A Harvard/P&G trial of 776 professionals found individuals using AI matched teams working without it.
AI’s SMB Revolution in 2025: The Trends That Matter—and the Myths to Ignore
The biggest AI ROI comes from the process reengineering it forces, not from the tools.
Stop Just Automating: How Top Marketing Teams Really Use AI (New Research)
Teams that stop at automation leave value behind; top performers pair automation with strategic enhancement.
The SMB Advantage: Why 2025’s AI Revolution Favors the Bold and Nimble
The AI advantage is about speed, not size, and SMBs are built for speed.
80/20 Rule for AI Marketing
Find the 20% of marketing tasks eating 80% of your time and apply AI there first.
The AI Marketing Skills Gap: Start Upskilling Now for 2025 and Beyond
66% of marketers call AI make-or-break for next year, yet 67% are held back by lack of education.
10 Essential Lessons for AI-Powered SMB Marketing: A Beginner’s Roadmap to Success
Start with small, specific tasks like subject lines and post ideas instead of overhauling your whole marketing strategy.
AI and Women in Marketing: Bridging the Gap and Seizing Opportunities
90% of women call generative AI crucial for career growth, yet only 35% feel equipped to use it.
AI Revolution in Marketing: Transitioning from Task Doer to AI Director
Knowledge workers are shifting from doing tasks to directing AI, which is a mindset change, not a tools change.
The SMB’s Guide to AI Adoption: From Beginner to Pioneer
AI adoption is not all-or-nothing, and SMBs can start with specific use cases without overhauling the business.
The Hidden Power of Soft Skills in AI Development and Adoption
Empathy, collaboration, leadership, adaptability, and communication decide whether AI systems meet real human needs.
The AI Strategist
One email a week: the newest post, what I'm reading, and the occasional odd find. Written for people running small and growing businesses, not for AI insiders.