The AI Lie

Hey, it's Coach Will,

Yep, something's different. Let me explain.

After 70+ weekly newsletters, I'm calling myself out.

If you've been reading AltLevel™ Strategist... that was me. Still is.

But something just didn't feel right, and the name was lying to both of us.

I'm not sitting here cranking out strategy essays on the beach somewhere in the world (although that would be nice) that make you nod thoughtfully while accomplishing absolutely nothing.

Here's what I actually do:

I look at what is bugging the business world, then, using the AltLevel™ 135 framework, I diagnose real problems you are facing every day, and hand you the fix. Every week.

✅ One problem that's quietly draining your bank account (or your sanity).

✅ One diagnosis that makes sense.

✅ One thing you can do about it today. Before lunch, even.

So — new name. The AltLevel Fix™. Or just "THE FIX."

Same guy. The same 50 years of watching businesses step on the same rake, getting smacked in the face.

Same zero-BS policy. Just a sharper format that doesn't waste your time.

Sound good?

Cool. Let's jump in…

Read time: 5 minutes

Two weeks ago, Harvard Business Review published a study that should've made every business owner stop in their tracks.

UC Berkeley researchers embedded themselves in a 200-person company for eight months. Voluntary AI adoption. No mandates. Just people using the tools.

The result?

The early adopters — the ones who went all in — burned out first.

AI sped up tasks, so they did more of them. Work bled into lunch, then evenings. To-do lists expanded to fill every hour AI freed up.

One employee nailed it: "I thought I'd work less. I just work more."

Only 21% used the saved time for anything other than more work.

Meanwhile, a Fortune survey found that 71% of companies have adopted AI.

The measurable productivity gain? Zero.

They're calling it the "Solow Paradox." The same thing happened with computers in the '80s. The technology was everywhere except in the results.

So what's actually happening?

What's working? AI is genuinely powerful. It can analyze data, model scenarios, and stress-test decisions faster than any human alive.

What's not working? Where people use it. Most owners use AI to write emails faster, generate social posts, and draft proposals. The $15/hour work.

What's missing? Nobody's using AI for the $500/hour work — the decisions. Pricing strategy. Hiring judgment. Where to cut. Where to double down.

That's where 50 years of experience meets AI speed.

And almost nobody's doing it.

Which means if you start now? You're not late. You're early.

This part should make you uncomfortable.

Every month you spend pointing AI at tasks, you're paying for a tool that makes you busier — not better. You're moving faster in the wrong direction.

And the gap between you and the owner using AI to think? That gap widens every week.

This isn't about tech. It's about money.

The owner who uses AI to figure out which customers are draining profit makes a different decision than the owner who uses AI to write faster emails. Same tool. Same $20 a month. Completely different result.

The burnout piece is real. If AI just gives you more hours to fill with more work, you're not getting ahead. You're getting buried.

The owners I've watched win over 50 years didn't work faster. They made better decisions.

AI can help you do that.

But only if you use it for decisions, not tasks.

Stop automating busy work. Start automating better judgment.

Three moves. This week.

➡️ Run your Decision-to-Task ratio. List everything you used AI for in the last 7 days. Mark each: DECISION (thinking, analyzing, strategizing) or TASK (producing, writing, scheduling).

If it's more than 80% tasks, AI is just making you a faster hamster.

➡️ Pick ONE decision and hand it to AI. Not "write me a blog post." Try: "Here's my pricing data, competitors, and margin targets.

Model three scenarios and tell me which protects margin AND keeps my best customers." That's $500/hour work from a $20/month tool.

➡️ Delete one AI task. Find something you automated that doesn't need to exist at all. Not delegated.

Eliminated. Most owners add AI on top of work that shouldn't be done in the first place.

I've watched this cycle for five decades. The owners who win don't use new tools to do more. They use them to make better decisions.

Pick one move. Do it today. This isn't theory. It's the fix.

Get to it!

Try this. Right now. Takes 3 minutes:

(Use Claude? Copy the prompt above.)

This is what Altlevel™ 135 FIX Playbook does automatically — your strategic questions, AI-powered, running on YOUR business every week. Not tasks. Decisions. → Join Waitlist

Here's what we covered:

✅ 71% of companies adopted AI. Measurable productivity gain: zero. The tool works. Where you point it doesn't.

✅ UC Berkeley tracked AI and early adopters for 8 months. The ones who went hardest burned out first. Only 1 in 5 used the saved time for anything other than more work.

✅ Most owners use AI for $15/hour tasks — emails, posts, proposals. Almost nobody uses it for $500/hour decisions — pricing, hiring, where to cut, where to grow.

✅ The fix: run your Decision-to-Task ratio. If 80%+ of your time is spent on tasks, you're a faster hamster on the same wheel. Pick ONE real decision this week and hand that to AI instead.

The tool was never the problem. It's what you do with it.

I got a question for you. Simple one.

What are you actually using AI for right now? Not what you plan to. What did you use it for this week?

Hit reply. Tell me. One sentence is fine.

🟢 If you're using it to make real decisions, tell me which ones.

🟡 If you're mostly using it to write stuff and crank out content — that's honest. Say so.

🔴 If you haven't touched it yet — no shame. Tell me why.

I read every reply. And if you've got a business problem that won't stop bugging you — send me that too. I'll pick one next week and take it apart.

Something I noticed: I talked to a few owners this week, and most said the exact same thing: "I'm busier than ever, but I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere."

That's not a time problem. That's a pointing problem.

Think Bigger • Play Smarter • Win More!

— Will

P.S. Know a business builder who's bleeding profit and doesn't know it? Forward this email. They can grab The Fix here. Free. Uncomfortable truths included at no extra charge.

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