AI can help leaders create more capacity by taking on repetitive, administrative, and execution-heavy work. But the real opportunity isn’t simply doing more in less time. It’s using that capacity for the work where human judgment, experience, creativity, and relationships create the most value. Dan Cumberland and Dr. J.J. Peterson explore how to decide what to hand off to AI—and why leaders should be just as intentional about what they do with the time and attention they get back.
Prefer to listen? Press play below.
Most conversations about using AI at work eventually come back to productivity.
How much faster can a task be completed? What can be automated? How much more can a person or team produce?
Those can be useful questions. But entrepreneur and product builder Dan Cumberland believes AI presents leaders with a more interesting opportunity: reconsidering where they apply themselves in the work.
If technology can handle more of the execution, the goal does not have to be filling the newly available capacity with more execution. It can be creating room for the work where human attention creates greater value.
Start With the Work That Takes More Than It Gives
Dan recommends starting with a simple audit of the work already on your plate.
Look for tasks you dislike, work you would gladly delegate, and responsibilities that consume a disproportionate amount of energy. That does not necessarily mean looking only for tasks that take hours.
Dan calls this idea “felt time.” A task might technically require only ten minutes, but if someone spends three days thinking about it, avoiding it, or dreading it, its real cost is much greater than those ten minutes.
Those are useful places to begin experimenting with AI.
Administrative work, manual inputs, information gathering, initial drafts, and other execution-heavy tasks can consume attention without necessarily requiring a leader’s highest level of thinking.
Removing some of those “paper cuts,” as Dan describes them, can create room to move into higher-level work.
But that leads to a second question that may be even more important.
Where Do You Actually Create the Most Value?
If AI can perform a task you have traditionally associated with your work, Dan argues that it is worth asking what sits underneath that task.
J.J. uses website development as an example. Someone might describe their work by saying, “I build websites.” But building the website may only be the execution layer.
The deeper value could be helping a company clarify its message, understand its customers, develop a strategy, or create greater meaning and connection through the way it communicates.
AI may be able to take on more of the execution involved in building the website. That does not automatically eliminate the deeper work.
Instead, it can expose it.
As Dan puts it, AI is forcing people to ask, “What is the real value that you can bring?”
For leaders, that question can extend well beyond individual tasks. Where does experience improve a decision? Where does judgment change the outcome? Where does a relationship matter? Which problems deserve deeper thinking?
Those are places where newly available capacity can become more valuable than simply producing another deliverable.
Use AI for Breadth, Then Apply Human Attention to Depth
Dan’s own content strategy offers a practical example.
He has used AI to generate more than 600 articles for one of his businesses. Rather than investing the same amount of personal time into every article, he watches to see which pieces attract actual human traffic.
Then he goes back.
The articles that demonstrate real interest receive more of his attention. He reads them, corrects them, improves them, and works to make them genuinely good.
AI allows him to explore at a scale that would otherwise be difficult. The response helps him identify where deeper investment may be worthwhile.
That creates a different model for thinking about AI.
Instead of:
AI helps us make more, so we should make more.
The process becomes:
AI helps us expand what is possible, and human judgment helps us decide what deserves more attention.
For leaders facing more possibilities than they could ever realistically pursue, that distinction matters.
More Capacity Does Not Have to Mean More Work
There is also a risk hidden inside all that new capacity.
AI makes many things easier to create, automate, and build. Dan admits that possibility can be addictive. He can find himself building internal tools simply because he can.
He has gone so far as to instruct his own AI agents to challenge him when that happens. Is this moving the business forward? Is this serving clients? Is this actually the work he is here to do?
The questions matter because AI can create capacity and consume it at the same time.
A leader can automate five tasks and immediately add seven more. A team can become dramatically more efficient without becoming any more focused. More output can simply become the new expectation.
That is why deciding what AI can do is only part of the leadership challenge.
Leaders also have to decide what is worth doing.
Decide What Deserves More of You
There is no requirement to use every AI tool, automate every process, or turn every reclaimed hour into additional output.
J.J.’s takeaway from his conversation with Dan was simple: just because you can do something does not mean you should—or that you have to.
A practical starting point is to identify the work you genuinely want off your plate. Ask where AI might help, then choose one or two places to experiment rather than attempting to transform everything at once.
After that, pay attention to what the new capacity makes possible.
Maybe it creates more room for strategic thinking. Maybe it gives a team more time with customers. Maybe it allows someone to improve work that is already showing promise. Or perhaps some of that capacity simply does not need to become work at all.
The opportunity AI creates is not only greater efficiency.
It is greater choice about where human attention goes next.
Technology can do more of what technology does well. Leaders still get to decide what deserves more of them.
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Let AI Make Room for What Only You Can Do
Clean Transcript — Dr. J.J. Peterson with Dan Cumberland
Can AI Help Us Become More Human?
Dan Cumberland: If AI can take your job, that's probably not your job. Likely there's something bigger, better, deeper that if you could apply yourself there, you'd be more engaged, more excited. This is where AI's forcing us to ask these existential questions of like what is the real value that you can bring? Everybody listening, brace yourselves. It is, a breakneck, squirrely ride we're about to go on.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Welcome to Badass Softie, a podcast for leaders who are unapologetically ambitious and want to lead with heart because you're allowed to chase big goals without losing what makes you human. I'm your host, Dr. JJ Peterson, and I'm gonna state the obvious. There are just a lot of conversations happening right now around AI. Like, there are. It's what, in my world especially, it's what everybody's talking about. I was just even at Vanderbilt meeting with the other marketing professors and other professors there talking about how is, just sharing, how are people using AI in the classroom? How should we be thinking about AI? Every business I'm talking to is talking about how they're using AI. I'm working with a number of AI companies or people who go in and help companies transition to use AI. People wanna know how to use it, what can it do, will it replace me? And depending on who you talk to, whether it's going.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: it can either be the thing that's gonna save us or destroy us, right? And one of the questions, though, that I'm most interested in talking through is really in this new era of the increase in use of AI, can we use AI to actually become more human? And that's a big part of the conversation that I'm having today with Dan Cumberland. Dan is an entrepreneur, a product builder, and the founder of Dan Cumberland Labs. He's built companies, he's sold companies, and he helps people now use AI and automation to build better businesses. And what I loved about this conversation is that we didn't just talk about using AI to do more. We talked about how using it to get some of our time back, how to take things off our plate, but really we talked about how to use AI to help us lean into more of our humanity.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Because maybe the goal of AI isn't to use it to become more productive exclusively, which it does. We don't wanna just become more efficient product machines or production machines, but maybe the using AI is really about how do we actually help ourselves move into places of becoming more ourselves and more human by taking things off of our plate. And so that's why I'm really excited about this conversation. He's done amazing things, and he really wants to center humans in the AI conversation. So if you've been wondering, "How do I get some time back? How do I add more value to my company?" this is a great conversation for you, especially if while you're doing that you're asking the question, "How do I stay more human in the midst of this?"
Dr. J.J. Peterson: I think you're gonna love this conversation today with my friend Dan Cumberland Dan, so thank you so much for being here. I am so excited. We've been ready to have this conversation honestly since about the beginning of Badass Softie. You were one of the first people that I connected with because of our mutual friend Blaine, who was my very first guest on this show. And when Blaine Hogan says, "You need to talk to this person," I listen. That's, like, step number one, because it just means you're family. And then the second piece really is that as I-. began to get to know you a little Yes. online and through some of the ways that you show up, what I have seen over and over in everything that you do is that you show up really.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: I mean, you are a creator, you are a builder, you are putting things out there and but you do it in a way that serves people really well. And I see that heart in everything that you've done, so you've built some pretty incredible things, but you do it in a way, at least from what I can see, is with a heart that is to serve people and give them tools to live their lives and build their businesses better. And so I am so excited to talk to you about all of that and dive into it, and wanted to start off just by saying thank you for being a Badass Softie.
Dan Cumberland: Oh, man. I mean, and can I don't know. I feel like I'm, I feel like the episode's over. Like, I just. can we. That was amazing. Anytime. That was amazing. I will follow you around everywhere. Can you always do my intros? Because that was so good. It might get creepy, but we're doing it. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, that was, so I love your read on me, and it just, it speaks to, you know, it means a lot to know that is the story that you see when you look at my work from, all the places I'm, I'm putting it. And so thank you for, telling it back to me. That means a lot.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Well, it's there. So you have a great message, and you have a great way of showing up. So I wanna dive into that a little bit about your background because we're gonna get to what you do now. But really kind of you came from a background, as I did, with some theology and ministry and then kind of transitioned out of that into more of the business space. So would you mind just sharing a little bit about that journey and kind of some of the early work that you did?
Dan Cumberland: Totally. Totally. Yeah. So everybody-. listening, brace yourselves. It is a breakneck, a squirrely ride we're about to go on., I started my career in ministry. I thought I was supposed to be a youth pastor with capital C Calling to be a youth pastor and spent five years in youth ministry. and it was really hard, and, ends up that it wasn't necessarily God that told me to be a youth pastor, but it was my youth pastor that told me I needed to be a youth pastor. And, some therapy work and some good coaching helped me, helped me identify that. and, blessings to him. He was a great influence in my life, right? but, you know, things happen. and so then I had my first of a few existential crises we're gonna, we're gonna retell here quickly., but didn't know what I was gonna do. Ended up going to grad school, around theology and psychology, really with that question of, how do we help people figure out what, to do with their lives, which I thought was just about me-, trying to figure it out for myself.
Dan Cumberland: , but really getting at the deeper questions of like why do we do what we do? Is. Can work be meaningful? What does it mean to apply yourself to something and, have it, you know, have meaning for you as you do it, as you practice it? so did an interdisciplinary degree, and through that program really I've learned a few things. One is that I just like starting stuff, and maybe that's enough of a calling for me to pursue, that I don't have to have a title and a name and a box to fit in. And then secondly, that this curiosity around meaning isn't just for me to figure out what's next, but like something that I really feel passionate about, offering to the world in, some way. So just chase those few threads for a little while., but I had no background in, business, and so I was just trying to figure it out as I go, connecting with anyone that I could, finding resources that I could, learning as much as I could. and that opened doors to eventually, join a private equity team.
Dan Cumberland: They were in the SEO space, pivoted into like buying companies, and they asked me to join to run one of the software companies that they- The
Dr. J.J. Peterson: natural progression. Theol- youth ministry, theology, f-, you know, run a software company. Yeah. huh.
What AI Forces Us to Ask About Our Work
Dan Cumberland: Natural progression to software. Exactly. Exactly. And the crazy part, and the through, line for me is when I took that step into software, it felt like there was a piece of me that was like leaving behind this like human, not I mean, totally, but like the. I, you know, I'd grown up in the humanities and in serving people, and now I'm building software, and it felt like it was like this divergence. You know, like it's a. If you put them on a line, they're at opposite ends of the of the spectrum. But then with AI, all of a sudden we're forced to answer and reckon with these questions of what is my work? Like what is the work that I actually wanna do here, and what do I give to the AI? This AI can like feel so human at times, but it's not human, so then what does it mean to be human? And it's like all of a sudden like where I thought that I was going and like, had gone a completely separate direction, it's like it's not a line, it's a circle, and we're back right next to where we started in a really beautiful way.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: What I love about what you're doing with AI is, and I've talked about this and even mentioned this with you a little bit, is that when used In a, in the way that I think is most beneficial, it actually allows us to get back to our humanity and back to meaning in our lives in a way that we haven'Yeah been able to do in a long time, 'cause we've been stuck doing a lot of tasks. And I know, so when- Yeah. you go in and are working with companies, and how do you, like, even, or even the foundation of what you do, how does that run through the way that you work with people?
Dan Cumberland: Oh, I love it. such a great question. So all the companies that I work with, none of the leaders who are bringing me in are like, "Let's get AI and figure out how we can thin out our team." like, really it's, it's quite, the opposite. How can we use AI to help our people do better work and free them up to apply themselves more to the harder problems so that they're not spending as much time doing administration or manual input or, like, whatever, it might be. So it starts with that even as the foundation. But often there's this question, this apprehension that can come up as I'm, you know, starting this conversation, asking people about their work of like, what are, what are we doing here and what, are you trying to replace me?
Dan Cumberland: And so I think that's really where my background in humanities and in ministry can really, come into, to play in therapy, right? To, like, create a safe, a safe space. but it all starts with, that foundation of like, we're not here to replace people. We're here to find where can we buy back margin, where can we buy back time, and then where can we use AI to advance the value creation, whether that's sales, marketing, proposal writing, or whatever it might be.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: I love that. And so even, you know, as I'm listening to this for people who are listening, the two things that you mentioned to me are really important when I think when you're looking at the use of AI. Where can I use it to buy back my time, which really goes into the, humanity side of things. Where I can buy back time- Yeah so I can be more myself. And then the other question is, where can I use it to value add, which is about, to Yeah. again, in this space, not only making more money, but serving people even better in the, your customers. So talk to me about that even for people who are in this space who are like, okay, I. 'Cause I do, I was just at Vanderbilt meeting with, a bunch of professors and we were talking about the use of AI in the classroom and how we use it and how our students use it. And there were some that said in the room that were like, "I do not allow it at all. When they come in now, I do not let them on their computers.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: We have in-person tests. We don't do projects anymore, and AI is not allowed at all." And then others were like, "If they're not using AI in my classroom, I'm failing them." I mean, like, so there was the extremes.
Dan Cumberland: Wow. What a, what a disparity. Yes,
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Right? Which is how do you create an academic policy around that when everybody's in that space? I'm sure there's people who are listening who are on that, they're like, "AI bad. We're never using it. It's horrible." And then there's other people like, "We're only using AI and we have to figure out if you don't use AI, you're out of here." When we're asking questions, like these two to me are really kind of a starting point- Yes like you said, for people. So let's talk about the first one about just by buying back time. Talk to me about the power of that for people in using AI. Yeah, I
How to Decide What Work to Give AI
Dan Cumberland: like to think of AI as a, I mean, it's, it's a tool, but it's, it's it's like, it's like having an intern, right? An intern that's highly capable. I like to think of it as like an intern that just graduated from all the Ivy League schools and got all the degrees and got straight As in all of them, but has no wisdom, no. Like, knows everything, but has no way to apply any of it. and so the place that I start is to think through your, what are the things in your work world that occupy your time that aren't, one, your favorite thing to do; two, if you had another team member, or if you have a team, or if you don't have a team, had a team member, like what would be the first thing that you would say, "Yeah, I really love somebody else to, handle this."
Dan Cumberland: And then, three, another question I like to ask is like not even in the sense of what literally takes your time, but I like to talk about it in terms of felt time. Like, what are the things that feel like they're just so heavy, even if it actually only takes you 10 minutes to like do your P&L at the end of the, you know, at the beginning of the month or whatever. But it's just like, "Ugh, I gotta open all the things and look at the." Like, or whatever that is. I think we all have those things that's like I would rather like, gouge my eye with a, with a, spoon than actually do this task, even though it's not like. Those are the tasks as well. And so spend some time doing an audit. It's very similar, like what I do across an organization, but just even do it yourself of just writing down, like what part of this work isn't my favorite, is a bit, a heavy lift, or just takes up so much of my bandwidth. and then think about what of that list can we give AI?
Dan Cumberland: But I know that like if you're not already doing a lot with AI, you don't know the capabilities. So the great thing to do is to take that list and take it to AI and say, "Here's a bunch of things that are on my plate. Are there ways that I could collaborate with you or an agent or a tool to help me do less of these things?" And usually it's so that we can do more of the other things, right? Like we've all have the admin that we have to do, like the, it's the paper cuts of our, of our day-to-day, that we just have to get through to get to the stuff that's like usually it's the higher level thinking. It's the real value that you're bringing to your clients, to your organization, to your coworkers. that's not usually the stuff that AI can do. And I know we talked about this a little bit before we started recording, like this idea that like if AI can take your job, then it's probably not, that's probably not your job.
If AI Can Do Your Job, What Is Your Real Work?
Dan Cumberland: Meaning that like You might think that's, that's your job because that's what you're doing all day, but likely there's something bigger, better, more meaningful, deeper that all of that is getting at, that if you could apply yourself there, you'd be, one, more engaged, more excited, more, have more sense of satisfaction in the actual work that you're doing. And then two, be impacting the people around you and your organization in a more meaningful way. And so if you're not certain of that distinction between, like, what's the work and where's, like, the deeper, richer or, like, real work, that's, something. You know, I think that's again, this is where AI's forcing us to ask these existential questions of, like, what is the real value that you can bring, that you want to bring, the impact that you want to make? And then how do we give AI as much of the rest so that we can really lean into that?
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Yeah, because you're right. Like, there's. in a scarcity like, scarcity mindset kind of place, you go, "Well, I build websites." Somebody might say, "I build websites." And now you know a robot can take building a website. So when you can pause long enough to say, "Okay, I don't actually build websites, I help companies clarify their message, or I help companies reach the right customers, or I help them create- Yes. better strategy on how to deploy the tools- Yes. they're using. That moves it from I create websites, which is less meaning, to be very honest, in this world- Exactly right and moves it into a more meaningful place of I serve businesses and help them succeed. And there's different layers in between that. And so that's what, like when you say like if AI, if a robot can do your job, then it's not your job, like that's I, to me, that's what I'm hearing, right? Like so if I, if I'm a person who writes emails, well, and AI can do that now, well, I'm out of a job.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Okay, that's not my job. Mm-hmm. My job is that next level of meaning and connection- Yeah. and purpose and intention. Yeah. And so when you're looking for everybody listening, like when you're looking for those things, and if there is a moment where you feel scared about this, "Okay, well what if I turn this over to AI? Then what am I supposed to do?" This, that's why when I what's so powerful about what you do and what you talk about a lot is, oh, I get to get back to meaning. I don't get to get back to task. I get to, I get. AI do the task, and then I Yes. I pull in the meaning. Yes. And so that first, I think those are great questions of like what don't I like to do? What are some things that like feel time-suck, even if they're not, like they only take 10 minutes, and how can I then take that list and go to AI? So cool. But the, and the second thing you said in that kind of when you're talking about what you do with teams is really the value add piece. Talk to me a little bit about that.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: So start with reclaiming your time and finding more meaning, and then second, the value add. What do you mean by that?
Using AI to Create More Value
Dan Cumberland: , every, everything you just said, I'm like cosigned by Dan. You can, you I should have you write the, copy for my website, JJ. It's so right on. as far as like value add, so that's really where it gets into sales and marketing, and I mean, there is a piece when you think across an organization, especially as a larger organization, there is a value add from like increasing the team's capacity. I work with a lot of engineering firms, and a big process with a lot of engineering, with engineering firms is how they win work is through proposals, and especially civil engineering, where they're working with government agencies. So just as an example, they see these requests for proposals, but they only have the capacity to bid on so many projects, and they only win a certain percentage of the ones that they actually bid on.
Dan Cumberland: So then if we can build an AI workflow that, Is, scanning and qualifying those requests for proposals so that their team is seeing the ones that are more relevant to them faster. So they're, they're actually considering fewer of those opportunities, but considering them more deeply because they're, because they're already, it's already a filtered list. But then secondly, we build a process for them to be able to submit their proposals, faster, where they're pulling all this information together that can be very labor-intensive, but AI can connect a lot of those dots and then serve that up to their, marketing coordinator or their whoever's handling the proposals, and then, help them take that, all of that information, turn it into a first draft, then the person can refine it and submit it.
Dan Cumberland: And then their proposal submissions can go from, you know, one of the organizations I worked with was they were doing about 90 per quarter, and they, now they're doing over 200. And so, like, it's doubled, just in that alone. so that's one example., but you could apply it very similarly to other marketing functions from, I do a lot around AI and SEO discoverability. And just to even give my own site, my. I launched my dancumbrinlabs.com website January, and right now I have over 600 articles all about, engineering firms and what I do for them. That's a focus of mine. I did not write 600 articles, but I had AI help me, you know, write them, and then I read them, give some corrections. And then as I see which ones are starting to get, actually get traffic, meaning not just robots reading them, but people reading them, then I go back and I spend time making those, really, good. So those are just a few ways that AI can increase or add value to an organization, especially in the sales and marketing functions.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Yeah. And then even from there, like, all those things, you can also, depending on what industry you're in, use it to add that to your clients, like the products you're delivering, right? Like, so if you're a marketing agency and you're doing this for yourself, now you actually have the ability to do this for clients at a scale and serve them- Yeah and add value, and that way more products to sell- Yes. because you have these tools to use, because you can't hire usually enough writers to write 600 articles in a way that actually is sustainable. Can you hire editors and people who bring a human touch to the AI in order to absolutely. So you're adding value to yourself. You're adding value to your clients, all of that. That, I just think, we're in this era, obviously, like- AI, everybody's just talking about it. I mean, it just is everywhere, and yet it's so many people I think don't even know where to start. Like,
Dan Cumberland: Yeah.
When AI Creates More Work, Not Less
Dr. J.J. Peterson: everybody's using AI in some form or another- Yeah for sure. Like, I don't know hardly anybody who's not using at least AI to search things, let alone write things. But I do think that people, including myself, are not using it in the capacity that we can in order to, again, get back a little bit more to some meaning and humanity in our own life, and then also bring value to our own company and bring value to the people we serve. 'cause even as you were talking, I'm making a list of some things like, "Oh, I need to add that. I need to take that to AI and go, how can you help me do this?" What do you feel like cautions as people are moving into this space? What are some things that Mm. you would just say even from your Oof heart and experience say, "Here's some things we need to pay attention to in this new era as you move into it"?
Dan Cumberland: Oh, man, such a good question. the two things that jump to mind, and maybe they're related, so I'll just start out, start on one. Like, AI Makes everything feel so easy. And it's, and I feel like ChatGPT in particular has this, kind of hype guy vibe and it is just like, it's just ready to like, just wants to do more stuff for you. And I don't know how much that's intentional by the company, it's like, "We just want to get people doing more so that they use up their limits and upgrade their upgrade their plans." But it's like, you ask for one thing, it's like, "Also, do you know, do you want to do this? Do you want to do that?" and it's really easy to start on any given task, and then you end up, just way overbuilding whatever it is. And so and I think there's this, I felt this in my own work, addictive kind of quality to it of like, I can do so much. And, like, as an entrepreneur, as someone who's like, I've been, you know, scrappy my entire career, I have a lot of skills. I'm a jack of all trades, master of none in many regards.
Dan Cumberland: And so AI is like this. It's like, it's like I've been training for this moment where now everything that I've wanted to do, I have a tool that can help me do it. Which then, and this is kind of coming full circle in the conversation, of like, just because I can do everything, does it mean, that I should do everything? And one of the things that I've, even talked to my AI about, is, and so I use. I have, like, a agentic operating system for my, business. I have a sales project where, you know, which I'm running in Cloud Code or Codex, and, you know, for content, for, you know, all aspects for client delivery. But in my master instructions for those agents, I have them all tell me, Dan needs to focus not on building internal tools, but on doing things for clients, whether that's serving clients or marketing and sales. and so it will ask me like, "Hey I have in my instructions to ask you, are you sure that this is what you should be doing right now?
Where Human Judgment and Trust Matter
Dan Cumberland: Because it's so easy for me to just, like, build all kinds of cool stuff 'cause I can build cool stuff, and building cool stuff is fun. But then is it actually moving the business forward? Is it actually the work that I'm here to do? Like, I mean, it's fun, but, like, it's not impacting the world in as a meaningful away. And so in all that, I guess just to summarize, it's like there is this. it can really hook you and make you feel like everything is possible and then distract you from what actually matters. Which is. So it is like a little bit of a double-edged sword, right? 'Cause we're talking about, like, it can free you up to do the work that matters, but then also can distract you from the work that matters if you take it, too far. And the other piece that's related to that but different is just to make sure to always be thinking about where is the human touch, the human in the loop. I know you had Will Guidara on the, on the show, who, like, is so good at, that piece in particular and with hospitality and everything along those lines.
Dan Cumberland: But, like, sure, I could like, you know, blast out AI-generated marketing messaging all day long, and, like, one, like, that's probably not gonna actually help me grow my business. But, like, maybe the better thing to do is to use AI to help me find the right places to put those messages and get the first draft, and then I work on, final- finalizing and make, making those drafts actually good. And so to really think about, like, where's the human touch, and how is the person on the other side of this going to feel about this when they receive it? And are you applying enough humanity to the process to make sure that you're not just going fast and breaking stuff? And some of the stuff that you break along the way is, your, trust with, people.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: yeah. Because especially now that content and marketing and videos and everything is so much easier with AI, everybody starts to sound and look the same if you're just leaning into the content and Yes. quickness of it all. And I do believe that the people who are gonna stand out in this new era are the people who are gonna lean into their humanity, in their content and in showing up, right? even, I just saw something online, today, where it was. They were talking about how in the next 20 years where people are gonna make money is just saying, "Hey, I'll. For $10, I'll go on a walk with you." And like, it's like telling, like, college students, like, start a job where you, like, just tell people you'll go for a walk and talk with them- because that's what people need. It's, so funny, but it's so true Oh, yeah. and it's like what you're talking about, coming back in that circle, is that we started in humanity, moved into business, always trying to keep it there, and I think those who are gonna succeed in the future are gonna be the ones who circle back.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: You know, our friend Raj, when he was on here, he even said, like, "How would you, if, none of these tools existed 15 years ago, how would you start your business? If there was no social media, if there was no AI." It's gotta be that human connection.
Dan Cumberland: Yes.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: And we start there- Yes. and start with the human wisdom, start with the human content, human connection, and then use the AI tools to take the things off our plate that lead us away from that humanity. And then plug it back in, back to it, right? And Yes. I just think there's so many opportunities, and there are cautions. there is a lot of. The, there's some things we need to be careful about. I mean, even now on Facebook, I saw a friend. Facebook and Meta are now tagging all AI, they'Tagging, AI generated content. And I saw a friend who, not a marketer, he is. He works at a school. Mm-hmm. And he posted on his back to school picture something like, "10 years, I can't believe where, how far I've come. This is. I'm so excited about this year, new opportunities." It was, like, that long. It was a personal post, and it said AI generated content.
Dan Cumberland: Yeah.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: He had gone to Yes. to create the, caption, Oh, man. it tagged it. And if he's doing that, and just on a personal post, we're all using it, and all companies, if you're just taking the AI and putting it on there, you're gonna be flagged. You're gonna lose trust. You're gonna lose that connection. So always, lean back into the humanity.
Dan Cumberland: And I think along with that is, like, are there. Think about where, what are the. disclosures, that's the word., like, where disclosures matter. And that's where you. If you go to my site, you look at the blog post, and it says, "We use AI to write these blog posts." And I have these AI generated, You can listen to the articles on my site. You click a button, and it'll play. It'll play, and it sounds like me, but it's not me. And it says, the very first thing, "You're listening to an AI generated reading of," blah. Because I don't want, like. It's very cool that it sounds like me, but then, like, you know- Yeah if it pronounces an acronym wrong or, like- Yeah. whatever, like, I don't wanna be deceiving anyone. So, like, just disclose. Just say, like, "What you're watching is AI." So I think it's really important for us to think about where we are gonna lean into AI, and in a public facing way like this, and, tag it as such.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: We're in kinda this crazy, fun, Wild West era, and yet it also, is allowing us to lean into that humanity. And when we do, I think the people who do are going to be rewarded for it. And also, just, I might be a little Pollyanna, but just. And make the world- Yes. a better place. Like, it just does. It just does.
Dan Cumberland: yes. same. I'm with you.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Well, Dan, if anybody is interested that's listening, you know, their company is maybe looking through this process, how can they get in touch with you? What's the best way to kind of follow you and the work you're doing?
Dan Cumberland: Well, I have an AI maturity model. So if you're at a company with more than 10 people, it could be really helpful for you to think about where AI applies within an organization. It's called PaceMark, from the idea of, like, choosing, your pace and marking the path, pacemark.ai. There's this free assessment there that looks at your organization through six different dimensions and five levels of maturity within those dimensions. it can be really helpful for thinking about how do I use AI within an organization? And if you're just an individual, one of the tools I often, find is really helpful, I have a guide that you can give to your AI to help it learn really your style preferences and to be able to assist you and write like you and sound like. draft better, for you., it's at aitrainingguide.com. But would love to just be a resource. I think anyone who's listening to this show, the fact that you're listening to this show means that you're my kind of people. And if there's anything I can do, questions that you have, don't be afraid to reach out.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: Please do. Everybody, honestly, please do. Go get that assessment. go through that process. Dan can help you, and just he's given you these tools, but also just, like, help you show up in a way of using AI that adds more value, helps you lean into your humanity, and like I said, makes the world a better place. So thank you so much, honestly, for being here. I know we could talk for hours, and we'll probably just have you back in six months because all of AI is gonna be different anyway, so Seriously. It'll all be new. Yes. So we'll just have you right back- Let's do it. and talk, have this conversation about We're like, "No, don't be human," that's what we'll say.
Dan Cumberland: We got it all wrong,
Dr. J.J. Peterson: JJ. We got it all wrong. But who knows? Six months, we don't know. But thank you so much for being here. Thank you for all you're doing and for sharing your wisdom with everybody. Yes. And thank you so much for just being a part of the conversation and being a badass softie for all of us.
Dan Cumberland: Thanks so much, JJ.
Just Because AI Can Do It, Should You?
Dr. J.J. Peterson: What a fun conversation. I think, I don't know that I ever would've thought that I would be saying that about an AI conversation., but it really, that was so fun for me because it just reminded me of all the things that we've been talking about on here and I've been thinking about in my own life of how do I use AI to actually become more human and lean more into my own humanity. But I think the thing that I'm walking away from with this episode, the, nugget that I'm kind of walking away, really is just the idea that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should or have to. I find that a lot when people are talking about AI and the new tools that are out there, and even, like, all the social media platforms and everything.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: It's like I get it. Yes, there is so much out there that could be so helpful for me in probably so many ways. But actually, when I take a step back for a second, it's not. It actually is not fun for me. I don't enjoy it. It's not the life I want to build. And to be honest, I don't want to be staying up at night late, working on stuff, on these side things that I don't care about, taking time away from my family. Just because it exists doesn't mean you have to use it. So I think find those tools that will be helpful. And even as Dan said today, put a list together of all the things that you want to get time back from or get off your plate. Go to AI, ask for suggestions on how to do that, and then pick one or two. Start there. You don't have to implement everything. You don't have to do everything. You have to do the things that works for you. That's the thing I think that I'm walking away. I mean, I'm walking away with so many things, but the one thing that really hit home for me was that just because you can do it doesn't mean you should, but it's available and you get to choose.
Dr. J.J. Peterson: So as we wrap this episode up, let me leave you with this. May you find the tools that give you back more time and help you build the life you want to live. May technology help you do what technology can do so you can have more room to do what only you can do. May you find ways to use AI and technology to connect with more humans on an even deeper level. And may all of it give you a little more space to be wonderfully and perfectly human. Because we believe you can be both ambitious and kind, fun and driven, powerful and deeply human. Your leadership can inspire, your success can have soul, and your ambition can make space for everyone. That's why you're a badass softie. We'll see you next week. Thanks for listening. Follow and subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Badasssoftie.com is crafted by Fruitful Design and Strategy.