"Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat.”
There’s a copycat trend on social driving me nuts right now.
Looks like this:
“Comment ‘doubtful’ for my secret on how I booked 57 calls in 5 minutes using AI.”
I’m sure you’ve seen MANY varieties over the past 6 months.
Everyone is pitching miraculous AI automation tools. Websites redesigned overnight. Logos created in 15 seconds. Entire marketing teams replaced.
And the hook? …
The offer / tactic / tool will auto-magically plug-in and work for every single business … immediately.
***
Sorry, friends.
They’re lying to you.
You can collect every prompt pack and AI workflow on the internet and still end up totally stuck.
Here’s what’s really happening — change is moving wicked-fast, and panic sells well. So folks are trying to capitalize on the gold rush.
But tools don’t make informed brand decisions, and marketing automation without strategy just sends you in the wrong direction ( … at a million miles an hour).
You need a solid foundation FIRST.
AI tools reward brands that already know:
Who they’re for
What specific problem they solve
And exactly how to move someone from “curious” to “client”
For everyone else, it just amplifies the gaps.
***
So, before you add another tool, prompt, or system to your operations, ask yourself these questions:
What problem do we actually solve?
Who are we uniquely equipped to help?
What action do we want that person to take after one visit to our website?
What proof (visual + message) are we showing that makes that action feel trustworthy and obvious?
What happens after they take that step?
If those questions feel harder than they should, that’s not surprising.
It’s the work most businesses skip — and then try to outrun with tools.
Getting clear on who you’re for, what you actually do, and how someone moves from interest to action is the core of what we do inside our programs.
Real, foundational decisions that make everything else work better.
Change isn’t slowing down.
But with the right foundation, you don’t have to chase it.
***
Maybe the problem isn’t what you think.
Most professional speakers, coaches and consultants don’t have a talent problem …
They have a business model problem.
One month is full; the next is unpredictable. Keynotes come and go, but consistency never happens.
My friend Steven Rowell, founder of the Strategic Speaker Institute, has a free guide which introduces a proven way to double your speaking income with larger, stickier corporate contracts.
If you’re ready to replace feast-or-famine with a repeatable, high-value offer, Steven’s guide is where that shift begins.
Victory Points
By: Mike Shary
My board-game-loving, copywriter extraordinaire and mentor, Dad ❤️
Whistle Stop is a route-building train game for two to five players, where you zigzag across a map of tiles you build from the East Coast toward the West.
You start with a handful of tiny locomotives and a few whistle tokens. On your turn, you spend those tokens to move a train along the tracks, drop off cubes in small towns for quick rewards, or hold out for bigger payouts from the large cities waiting near the edge of the board. As the game goes on, players add new track tiles to the map, opening shortcuts, strange detours, and tempting new delivery spots.
The clever twist is that the network will never look the same twice.
A tile you place to help your own train might suddenly give a rival a better route. A town that looked worthless early on becomes a key stop once the cargo mix changes.
You do well when you stay flexible and treat each new piece of track as an opportunity to improve your plan instead of clinging to the path you drew in your head at the start.
That mindset is pure branding work. Your market shifts, platforms change, and a competitor lays new “track” with their offers every week. If you see those changes only as threats, you freeze. A skilled brand strategist helps you treat them as fresh junctions: chances to adjust your message, refine your positioning, and open new routes to the clients you want most.
If you like thoughtful train games where smart pivots matter more than perfect planning, Whistle Stop is a charming addition to your collection that will deliver infinite replays and fun.
Make it a great week! 🙌
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