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There’s a lot of chatter right now about an AI bubble, fueled in part by a perception that productivity gains from AI are largely illusory. I can’t speak to the market, and whether AI is broadly overvalued or undervalued, but I can tell you that in the past year alone, AI has completely transformed how I work. Looking at the tools today that didn’t exist a year agodeep research, browser agents, the big leaps in performance for all the latest modelsthere’s a host of ways AI can speed up or enhance many tasks of knowledge workers, especially journalists. As an independent journalist, I’m perhaps a little less constrained than most (my AI policy is whatever I want it to be), and AI has made me rethink how every part of the job gets done. So bubble or not, that shift is already here. To better articulate this and highlight tools and techniques that are broadly useful, I’ve broken down several ways I use AI in my writing, researching, and reporting. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/mediacopilot-logo-ss.png","headline":"Media CoPilot","description":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for Media CoPilot. To learn more visit mediacopilot.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} The most intuitive way to organize this is by walking through the story processfrom developing ideas to hitting publish to sharing on social media. Here are 10 ways I use AI as a journalist and content creator: Beat monitoring: The set of stories that any individual reporter needs to keep up with is different, and AI’s ability to personalize and summarize is extremely helpful here. I find ChatGPT Pulsewhich doesn’t just compile stories, but explains why they’re relevant to your work and includes other personal info (like your schedule)to be extremely helpful, but it’s also constrained to the Pro plan ($200/month). A stripped-down, but still useful tool is scheduled tasks in ChatGPT or Perplexity, where you craft a prompt that searches for the latest stories you’re interested in and sends it to your inbox. Accelerated skimming: Once I land on an article that I’m interested in, I often read the summary before deciding if I want to spend the time reading. There’s a dedicated button for this in Perplexity’s Comet browser, and there are a host of browser extensions that do this for Chrome. On X, I find the ability to simply reply to any post with “@grok what is this post about?” for a short, instant explanation to be a huge time-saver, especially for memes and trends I’m seeing for the first time. Going deeper: When Google’s NotebookLM made its big splash last fall with its ability to create instant conversational podcasts, many dismissed it as a gimmick. But I find the feature to be an incredibly useful tool for getting primed on a topic or news story. You can either drop a single URL in the folder or use the new Fast Research feature to find a story, generate your audio overview, and boomyou have a short podcast all about the thing you’re researching. Listen at 1.5x speed to blaze through it even faster. Story ideas: Finding the connections and missing angles in between stories will always be a mostly human-driven process, but NotebookLM is a good partner here as well. Prompting it to suggest story ideas based on the questions implied or not answered in the set of articles in the notebook is often a great starting point for a story idea. Getting in the weeds: Once I know the idea I’m running with, it’s time to research. AI is obviously great at this, specifically the deep research tools that have emerged in the past year. I use them all, but differently: Perplexity is excellent for a first passit’s fast, but typically not as thorough as the others. I generally find Gemini to be the best at finding sources on the web, but less great at prioritizing them. My go-to for serious research is ChatGPT, which I find to be the most thorough. It’s also excellent for turning its deep research abilities inwarddirecting them at a large set of files in a Google Drive or Dropbox folder (via Connectors). Targeting highly specific information: When the key to your story is a singular document or piece of data, it’s helpful to outsource the task of finding it to a browser agent. For example, court documents are typically kept in hard-to-navigate services like PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records). Just finding the right case often involves performing several searches, especially if you’re unsure of the exact names involved or the specific court. When given clear tasks like this, a browser agent like Comet or ChatGPT Atlas is the perfect research intern, usually finding exactly what you’re looking for in just a few minutes. Writing coach: Now that I’ve gathered and processed all the background material, it’s time to write. For my columns and original reporting, I don’t let AI write for me, but I do often use it as a coach. I’ve crafted a Custom GPT to act as an inquisitive interviewer: probing me with several questionsverballyrecording my long responses, and then assembling them all into an outline once I’m done. From there, I’m off to the races, sometimes returning to the coach when I go in an unexpected direction. The process helps me write in about half the time as before. Writing intern: I write a news igest for my Thursday newsletter, with each item coauthored by AI. For these short blurbs, I’ve built a Claude Project that’s trained on my style, the digest format, and the target audience. Once given a story or news trend, it writes a one-paragraph summary in my style, which I then edit and add to. It turns a 15-minute process into something that takes about five minutes. (And, yes, I’m fully transparent to my audience when AI acts as a coauthor.) Copy desk: Everything I write goes through my AI copy desk: First, a Custom GPT looks at it critically but constructively, suggesting edits (and sometimes further research) to make the piece stronger. Then another GPT does a proofreading pass, aimed at making it either more newsy or conversational, depending on the context. Importantly, neither GPT does automatic rewritesthey’re all suggestions that I can take or leave. Social media manager: Finally, once the piece is live, I have specific prompting that writes social copy for LinkedInboth for my personal profile and The Media Copilot company page. In this case, I don’t manually paste anything into an assistant on the web, but instead use Zapier, an automation tool that automatically generates the social post and queues it up for my review. That saves a lot of back-and-forth between browser windows and ensures I never miss a post. I hope you see a pattern in what I’ve laid out: Each process involves AI bringing things to my attention, but it prioritizes my attention. In my view, AI is an extraordinary accelerant for specific tasks in story creation, but the process needs human review and judgment throughout. And while AI can be a helpful writing “intern” for very specific formats, I keep the text in anything substantive (such as this column) human written. That human centricity will remain, no matter how intelligent and automated parts of the process get. While I don’t doubt that AI will continue to improve, the point of using it is to sharpen, accelerate, and amplify how I communicate with audienceshuman audiences. Machines can be great partners, but the moment they become the focus is when we stop communicating and are just creating “content.” The media just experienced an era dominated by SEO, algorithms, and lowest-common denominator thinking. Let’s not do that again. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/03\/mediacopilot-logo-ss.png","headline":"Media CoPilot","description":"Want more about how AI is changing media? Never miss an update from Pete Pachal by signing up for Media CoPilot. To learn more visit mediacopilot.substack.com","substackDomain":"https:\/\/mediacopilot.substack.com\/","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
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Below, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic shares five key insights from his new book, Dont Be Yourself: Why Authenticity Is Overrated (and What to Do Instead). Chamorro-Premuzic is the chief innovation officer at ManpowerGroup, a professor of business psychology at University College London and at Columbia University, cofounder of Deeper Signals, and an associate at Harvards Entrepreneurial Finance Lab. Whats the big idea? Authenticity is overrated and can backfire, especially at work. Success comes from strategic self-presentation, empathy, and balancing personal freedom with responsibility to others. Listen to the audio version of this Book Biteread by Chamorro-Premuzic himselfbelow, or in the Next Big Idea App. 1. Authenticity isnt the life hack its cracked up to be Authenticity has become one of the most celebrated traits in every single area of life, especially in the workplace. But this trenddespite its well-intentioned beginningshas not gone according to plan. What was initially supposed to free people from the pressures of conformity in the workplace is backfiring in surprising ways. Excessive praise of being ‘true to yourself’ can fuel narcissism, extreme individualism, and a disregard for obligations to others. While research in positive psychology shows that feeling aligned with ones true self can boost mood and well-being, societys obsession with authenticity has a darker side. Excessive praise of being true to yourself can fuel narcissism, extreme individualism, and a disregard for obligations to others. This cultural phenomenon often harms more than it helps, especially in professional settings. 2. The four traps of authenticity For leaders who want to be competent, effective, and create an inclusive and diverse working culture, it is important to avoid the four authenticity traps. The following mantras seem to propel beneficial behaviors, but can actually hurt objective career success: Always be honest with yourself and others. Most people think of themselves very positively, but decades of research show this self-perception is largely biased and often misaligned with how others see them. Even when we are self-aware, honesty isnt always what others want. They often prefer encouragement, positive feedback, or polite social interaction over unfiltered truth. Always stay true to your values. Following your values blindly can be dangerous if those values are harmful, destructive, or antisocial. History is full of leaders who acted consistently with their values but caused great harm. Even for ordinary people, rigid adherence to ones values can prevent self-reflection, fuel polarization, and make always follow your heart misleading advice. Dont worry about what others think. The idea that we shouldnt worry about how others see us is unrealistic because humans naturally perceive the world through others perspectives and rely on social feedback to grow. Ignoring others input may preserve a self-image of heroism, but it prevents real development as leaders, colleagues, and human beings. Bring your whole self to work. Our whole selfincluding the grumpy, impulsive, or self-centered partsis rarely fully welcomed at work, so telling people it is safe to express themselves is a bit of a trap. Organizations should focus on creating inclusive environments that balance self-expression with being a responsible, collaborative team member, recognizing where personal freedom ends and obligations to others begin. 3. Authenticity can hurt career and leadership outcomes Career and leadership success require strategic self-presentation. Rather than imposing an unedited self on others, people benefit from deliberately managing how they are perceived. This involves understanding the social context, adapting to the needs of others, and making intentional choices about what to share and how to share it. Effective impression management isnt manipulative; its a practical way to achieve real-world goals without compromising integrity. 4. Effective leadership is about managing perception Leadership is less about indulging in self-expression and more about creating value for others. Leaders must distinguish when trustworthiness becomes oversharing, understanding how to manage emotions and communicate effectively rather than engage in inappropriate self-disclosure. Authenticity without strategic awareness can lead to missteps. It is crucial that employees receive information in a way that helps them grow. Authenticity without strategic awareness can lead to missteps, whereas thoughtful communication fosters influence, loyalty, and effective collaboration. 5. Authenticity is a rare privilege Complete self-expression is often a luxury of the powerfula privilege for the elite. Only those with status can impose their unfiltered selves with fewer consequences. But for most people, this approach risks professional and social setbacks. Success comes from balancing authenticity with empathy, collaboration, and awareness of social and organizational norms. Dont just be yourself. Be strategically, responsibly, and thoughtfully yourself. Enjoy our full library of Book Bitesread by the authors!in the Next Big Idea App. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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Annoying peers are hard enough to deal with. Things get even more complicated when the annoying person is your boss. As with peers, there are several ways that a boss can be annoying. Unfortunately, you have to tread lightly with many (though not all) bosses. To be clear, the focus here is on annoying bosses, not toxic ones. A boss who is a narcissist, a harasser, or who sows mistrust isnt just annoying, theyre bad for you and the organization. Im going discuss four things that may seem petty, but if you start dreading your engagements with your boss (or resenting them for their foibles), it can come back to hurt your working relationship. The cipher Some people are blessed with the ability to communicate clearly. They open their mouths, and full paragraphs of well-formed sentences spill out that illuminate whatever they are talking about. But, as Steve Martin once said, Some people have a way with words, and others . . . uh . . . not . . . have a way. If your boss is in that latter category, they may ask you to do things, give you feedback, or generally talk about things going on at work that you dont fully understand. It might be tempting to nod along with them and then try to figure it out later. That avoids an awkward discussion, but it probably causes more problems than it solves. Instead, develop a routine with your manager to summarize the outcome of meetings/discussions at the end. Tell your boss that this is to help you remember. Then, repeat back the important bits. Your boss will correct anything you get wrong. As an added bonus, this exercise might give your boss additional words and phrases they can use to talk to you about similar things in the future. The micromanager A boss who gets into the details of your work is frustrating, because youd like to be able to complete what youre doing without constant oversight. There are two common reasons why bosses micromanage. When someone gets their first supervisory role, they are usually in a transition from front-line work to management. Because their job (up to that point) involved doing something just like what you are doing now, it may be hard for them to let go of the details of the work to focus on what they need to do with their new position. For these bosses, it is often okay to have a gentle conversation in which you ask questions about their new responsibilities and provide a subtle reminder that the front-line work is not part of their day-to-day any longer. The second typical source of micromanagement is anxiety. When your boss is not confident in their leadership or when they feel threatened by other factors at work, they may clamp down on the people working for them to ensure that nothing goes wrong. While this tactic may make them feel better, it makes everyone else miserable. There are two things you can do here. First, create a schedule of checking in with your boss every so often. Youd like to get that to once a week if you can, but you may have to start by doing it at the end of a work shift, or every two days, and gradually work your way to once a week. Second, provide a shared document of the status of projects. This record is helpful anyhow, because it can be used when something goes wrong with a project. If your boss has access to the status of key projects, they may be less likely to pester you for those details and add suggestions about how they would approach things. The forgetter One of the Big Five personality characteristics is conscientiousness, which reflects the degree to which you focus on details and follow rules. Some bosses are highly conscientious, and they are up on the details of every project. Others are not. When your boss is not conscientious, they may be great at giving strategic and tactical advice, but they may forget things later. They may miss meetings that dont make it to their calendar, or forget something they told you they would do later. A forgetful boss needs more constant reminders than a conscientious one. Follow up meetings with a written summary of key points and any specific information you need from your boss later. Send that summary by email. Even bosses who arent that conscientious are likely to check their email and to respond to direct requests on those emails. If there are particular things you need to get from your boss by a specific date, coordinate with their admin if they have one. Try to ensure that key dates and requests get on their calendar. Often, a forgetful boss is aware that things slip through the cracks, and so they have a system to help them keep from dropping too many balls. The (long-winded) storyteller One thing about being the boss is that people feel like they need to listen to you. Some bosses (particularly those who have been in a leadership role for a while) get used to having an audience, and they may use meetings and even hallway conversations as an opportunity to regale you with stories. A good storyteller keeps it brief and relevant. If your boss is not a great storyteller, then seeing them wind up to tell a long tale can send shivers of dread up your spine. You may have to bear a certain number of these storiesparticularly if youre sitting in the break room. But, you should try to have something scheduled up against meetings you have with your boss so that you have something you need to get to. That way, if your boss does launch into an epic narrative, you have a good reason to excuse yourself and move on.
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During college, a friend convinced me to take an improv comedy class. An introvert by nature, I was way out of my depth. On the first day, I was so nervous I thought I might faint. But I ended up loving itand learning a lot. In addition to silly warm-ups to get rid of inhibitions (zip, zap, zop, anyone?), I discovered the magic of Yes, and . . . In improv, Yes, and is more than just a phrase; its a mentalityto accept whatever idea or proposition is thrown at you, no matter how outlandish, rather than shutting it down. This mantra helped the flow of our improv performances, but it turned out to be a great life lesson as well. From that point on, I tried practicing it outside of the theater as well. In the workplace, Yes, and means being an optimisttrying to see the value in someones idea, instead of knee-jerk shooting it down. As Ive discovered, pessimism can be an insidious force that quietly takes root in teams and drags down performance, morale, and creativity. On an individual level, research shows that pessimists are five times as likely to burn out as optimists, less likely to be highly engaged at work, and less likely to have strong relationships with their colleagues. Leaders play a crucial role in shifting mindsets from pessimism to optimism. But it takes more than motivational quotes or town halls. Here are three practical ways to foster optimism at the workplace. 1. Model solution-oriented thinking Let me start by clarifying that pessimism isnt inherently negative. Some experts say that pessimists bring unique leadership strengths to the table, like protecting resources and correcting course. Pessimists’ work tends to be more thorough, accurate, and carefully considered. Problems arise, however, when a negative take doesnt offer an alternative solution. For example, when you reject a proposed new product concept because you assume the market is already saturated. By responding to challenges with curiosity instead of cynicism, leaders set a tone that their teams learn to follow. In the example above, rather than flat-out rejecting the idea, you could explore what might differentiate your version or uncover a niche the competition has overlooked. Solution-oriented thinking doesnt mean accepting every idea. It means pinpointing the root of your opposition and remaining open to possibilities that move the discussion forward. 2. Acknowledge challenges without harping on them Like anything else, there is such a thing as too much optimism. At that point, its called toxic positivitywhen people are forced to act upbeat even if thats not what theyre feeling, or when they are asked to ignore reality. At best, toxic positivity is unhelpful; at worst, it hurts morale. Employees can start to feel like theyre being gaslit. For example, imagine a team project that has been derailed for reasons beyond the members control, but a leader insists on meeting a clearly impossible deadline. This kind of blind optimism might motivate the team, but its more likely to cause mistakes, burnout, and erode trust. Real optimism isnt toxic positivity. Leaders should aim for a balance between honesty and forward-thinking plans: acknowledge challenges without being paralyzed by them. Set realistic goals, and adjust deadlines when needed, without letting momentum and drive fall slack. Celebrate progress After two decades as CEO, Im a firm believer that complete failure is extremely rare. Even events that feel like total setbacks often contain small victories worth celebrating. As leaders, its crucial to always search for wins, no matter how small, and acknowledge them. For example, lets say your marketing team launches a bold campaign that doesnt quite hit the desired moment of virality. Its still worth celebrating the teams innovation while reflecting on what could have been done differently. This will help to ensure that the team is willing to experiment with bold ideas in the future, seeing each effort as part of a larger vision of improvement. Celebrating progress builds momentum even in the face of losses and reminds teams that their efforts are valued. You can Yes, and their creativity, even if the idea didnt become the massive success you hoped for. In the long run, this will help cultivate a realistically optimistic outlook.
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It was once common practice for medtech companies to fill shelves with devices, each designed to solve a single problem. That approach made sense when innovation was measured by the number of products launched each year. But healthcare has evolved. Hospitals and clinical buyers arent looking for more hardware, theyre looking for integrated solutions that connect data, service, and outcomes. A hardware-only mindset simply doesnt meet the need anymore. Todays most successful medtech companies deliver a comprehensive experience that integrates five core pillars of innovation: Hardware that forms the clinical foundation Software that connects the experience Data that drives continuous improvement Services that ensure proper use and support, and Logistics that bring everything together at the point of care Together, these pillars create a medtech ecosystem that transforms one-off transactions into end-to-end solutions embedded in care. FIVE PILLARS OF MEDTECH Medicine is changing quickly with the advances of high-tech products and diagnostic tools. For medtech companies to keep up, they need to transition from a clinic-based environment to using digital tools that capture data, improve workflows, and complement real-world, in-person support. The companies that win are those that make the five pillarshardware, software, data, services, and logisticsoperate as one system inside the customers workflow. In new markets in particular, its not enough to just offer a physical product. For instance, at Paragonix, that means supporting the entire organ transplant process from organ screening to organ recovery to organ transport and eventual delivery for transplant, so teams have everything they need. So rather than selling a single product, were supporting the entire workflow. This is where real value in medtech comes to play, and thats how companies are going to win the market. Winning requires all five pillars to be in place at once. Medtech companies cant launch hardware and then two years later decide to launch software or logistics. FROM FOOD TRUCK TO FULL SERVICE To disrupt the medtech field, leaders need to be more than visionaries. Leaders who want to win must be willing to contribute rapid, disruptive, and multilayered innovation. They must constantly be thinking about how to take the company to the next level. Food trucks have become a fixture in nearly every city: fast, convenient, and always ready to serve. That spirit inspired us at Paragonix to ask, what if healthcare delivery worked the same way? What if, instead of waiting for products to ship or support to arrive, every essential tool and expert could come directly to the team that needs them? That question led to the creation of the Paragonix Distribution Fleet, a mobile extension of our ecosystem that brings technology, logistics, and clinical expertise together exactly when and where theyre needed. The fleet ensures consistent access to organ preservation technologies, coordinates donor organ transport, and connects teams with on-demand clinical support. It brings the five pillars closer to the point of care. This model represents what the next generation of medtech looks like: ecosystem delivery. Hardware arrives alongside the tools and expertise that make it truly work. Logistics and services move in sync. And when timing matters most, like in organ transplantation, every pillar of innovation travels together to protect outcomes and save time. LEAD THE WAY TO THE FUTURE OF INNOVATION Success is no longer about the number of units sold; its about how seamlessly your company integrates into care. Medtech leaders must involve more stakeholders in development and consider every part of the product journey, from how equipment travels to how it connects across systems. Healthcare delivery is changing, and so is customer behavior. Institutional buyers look for partners who understand the full continuum of care: operations, logistics, data systems, and patient outcomes. When you connect expertise with delivery, and devices with data, you dont serve the marketyou expand it. The future of medtech belongs to the companies that stay close to the customer, connect every detail of care, and never stop improving how its delivered. Lisa Anderson is president and founder of Paragonix Technologies, a Getinge company.
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