The films
by John Margerison
19 short illustrated films, one for the author’s note and one for each chapter
The narration in each film is the author’s own words from the chapter. The animation, the voice and the score are AI-generated. Each film is a way in to its chapter, not a replacement for it.
Chapter 1
You Were Asking It Like a Search Engine
What you already got right, and the ninety per cent nobody mentions
Read Chapter 1 →Chapter 2
What You Are Actually Paid For
Five stages in every piece of work. Four are already done better by a machine
Read Chapter 2 →Chapter 3
The AI Mindset
The five seconds after a good answer, and why your name is the one on it
Read Chapter 3 →Chapter 4
Instructions Are the Answer
The six-line brief, and how to steal a pattern from what already worked
Read Chapter 4 →Chapter 5
Decide Before You Ask
Four decisions you are currently making by accident
Read Chapter 5 →Chapter 6
Ask a Different Question
The second ask is not the same question harder. That is where the money is
Read Chapter 6 →Chapter 7
Make It Prove Itself
Asking if it is sure is worthless. You have to give it a reason to disagree with you
Read Chapter 7 →Chapter 8
The End of Good Enough
A number you can push on beats an opinion you cannot
Read Chapter 8 →Chapter 9
Use More Than One
One system agreeing with itself is a single point of failure with a confident voice
Read Chapter 9 →Chapter 10
Read the Room, Not Just the Message
What was asked is not what is needed, and whose urgency is it anyway
Read Chapter 10 →Chapter 11
Check Your Own Thinking
Ten chapters checked the machine. This one checks the person holding the pen
Read Chapter 11 →Chapter 12
Nothing Will Remind You to Think
Accept what is right, test what you are unsure of, and notice what nobody has thought of yet
Read Chapter 12 →Chapter 13
Decide It Once, Then Never Again
The plan you write first is the worst plan you will ever have
Read Chapter 13 →Chapter 14
Ask What Could Go Wrong
Ten questions, none technical, that change how senior people see you
Read Chapter 14 →Chapter 15
Your Responsibility With AI
Eleven questions that will make you seem wise, or save your company
Read Chapter 15 →Chapter 16
Make It Visible, Then Give It Away
A correct answer nobody can see is worth nothing
Read Chapter 16 →Chapter 17
Ten Days
Ten small jobs, one a day. You finish holding something you built
Read Chapter 17 →Reading order.