The instinct is always the same. Ask AI to complete the task, assemble the deck, execute the command. Josh thinks that's backwards, and the bill for that mindset is already coming due.

So Josh went looking for a different way to use the tool, one built on opening ideas up instead of closing them down. He found it in leadership coach and improviser Aidan Nepon. She once coached a singing student without a single technical note, just told her to sing like Beyoncé. The persona did more work than any correction could, and it's the same principle Josh thinks we're missing with AI.

Josh breaks down three improv games Aidan uses with clients, and turns each into a way of prompting AI that pushes past the obvious answer.

The real question was never how to get AI to finish your thought. It's how to get it to argue with you instead.

Follow The Job Sh*t Show investigation at https://joshlevine.substack.com

About The Job Sh*t Show

The Job Sh*t Show is an investigation into how finding, keeping, and doing work is changing faster than anyone is admitting — and what that actually looks like for real people on the ground. The Sh*t List is a paid Substack for leaders who want to stay ahead of what AI is doing to the workplace — and actually do something about it. Every other week, subscribers get a new AI Manager Skill: one practical, field-tested move for leading your team better in an AI world.