Your Virtual Think Tank

Solving Complex Problems Faster

Ever felt stuck on a challenge? Not sure where to attack or how to make progress?

We all have.

You brainstorm alone, maybe bounce ideas off a colleague, but often you're left to figure it out yourself. Why? Because everyone's busy, and no one has time to dive deep into your specific challenge.

But what if you could assemble a dream team of experts in minutes, tailored to your exact needs? Enter AI-powered virtual teams. It's like having a personal think tank available 24/7, never tired, and always ready to innovate.

Here's how I built and worked with my AI dream team in six simple steps, using a product development challenge as an example:

Step 1: Assemble Your Dream Team

I start out with three essential roles:

• Product Development Lead

• Marketing Director

• CFO

It gets better: I tell the AI I am open to suggestions. Result? We quickly add a Customer Experience Manager to the mix. Nice!

Step 2: Provide Rich Context

I share files containing the current product lineup, pricing, ideal customer profiles, and the problems our products solve at different customer stages. This step is crucial - the more context you provide, the more valuable and relevant your team’s insights will be.

Remember: Garbage in, garbage out. Quality input leads to quality output. AI is no different than humans here.

Sidenote: I call these context files ‘artifacts.’ You should really have a collection of them, over time. They are like mini-documentation modules. You pull the ones that are related and relevant into the conversation. AI digests it all in seconds.

I have a process to create and update the artifacts with AI. Update Dec’24: I created a much more comprehensive context for my work.

Step 3: Define the Mission

I ask the team to review our product lineup and suggest where we could make the most progress. They intelligently recommend focusing on the free course module, "Launchpad."

Key point: Let your AI team help set the direction. Their unbiased view might spot opportunities you've overlooked. You act as the curator and director. The team provides input from their perspective.

Step 4: Dive Deep

With our mission set, I provide more details on Launchpad, including a draft outline and ideas about structure, style, and constraints (most of it pulled from my files.) We have a dynamic back-and-forth, exploring fresh ideas, dismissing some, keeping others.

This is where the magic happens:

• The Product Lead charges ahead.

• The CFO keeps an eye on financials.

• The Marketing Director adds perspective on how this can be marketed.

• You're in the middle, orchestrating expertise.

At some point, for an extra creative boost, we loop in Kramer, an out-of-the-box thinker, asking him for ways to differentiate, make the product unique, add a twist to it.

Step 5: Refine and Expand

We make good progress. I tell them team to incorporate all approved ideas and rework the outline. They do the work. I review.

When the structure is solid but the wording needs work, we bring in an expert copywriter, Susan.

Tip: Don't hesitate to adjust your team as needs evolve. Your AI team is infinitely flexible. Add or dismiss as you see fit.

Step 6: Summarize and Debrief

As we reached a good stopping point, I ask an "assistant" to summarize everything into a solid and comprehensive debrief. This makes it easy to pick up where we left off in our next session.

Pro tip: Always end with a clear summary. It's your roadmap for the next meeting.

A Cognitive Upgrade

Working with an AI team like this isn't just faster - it's a whole new way of thinking. You're not limited by who's available or who you can afford to hire. You have instant access to a diverse range of perspectives, all focused on your specific challenge.

It’s not a magic bullet. Your AI team won't make decisions for you or replace real-world testing and feedback. But it will challenge your thinking, spot potential pitfalls, and maybe point out that brilliant solution you've been overlooking.

Personally, I find the interaction thought-provoking, inspiring, and often surprisingly enjoyable. For me, that joy is in the discovery and development of ideas. Solving a problem. Getting unstuck. Not to be confused with having fun with real people.

After all, we often times have similar discussion with ourselves in our own head, and we just call it thinking, pondering or figuring this out.

Want to See It in Action?

Reading about this process is one thing, but seeing it unfold is another. I want to provide ideas and also give people access to real-world implementation. That's why I'm offering weekly live, hands-on sessions, called “AI Solutions Lab”. Enter your email and can join me there.

Join the Lab and you get access to a full video walkthrough showing exactly how I created and interacted with my AI dream team, including the prompts from start to finish. A full backstage pass, basically.

Click here to get access to AI Solutions Lab.

That's it for today.

–Nico

P.S.: Let me know if you enjoy this type of post.