Download the Big Goals Worksheet

The problem with so much “polished” AI content isn’t grammar, it’s judgment. We unpack why clean sentences can still feel hollow, and how fundraisers can use AI without outsourcing the thinking that protects the quality of your work. Instead of arguing for or against tools, we reframe the choice: Which role do you assign to AI, and which role do you keep for yourself?

We walk through four distinct modes of AI use—retrieval and generation, editing and refinement, sense making and synthesis, and critical reflection and adversarial reasoning—and explain why most people get stuck in the shallow, fast lane. The real gains live in the slower modes that make you engage: connecting ideas, testing assumptions, inviting objections, and making the hard calls. You’ll learn the difference between scaffolding and replacement, how automation bias erodes confidence, and why fluent prose is not the same as understanding.

Then we shift to practice. Think like an editor: let AI draft if you want, but you decide if the argument holds, where tension is missing, and what isn’t ready. We share a concrete coaching example from a goal-setting session that raised the quality of decisions without surrendering authorship. You’ll get simple prompts that start with your own thinking and invite critique—questions that keep you present, clarify your voice, and safeguard relationships. If you wouldn’t outsource the relationship, don’t outsource the thinking.

Want support trying this approach? Grab the goal-setting worksheets and access to the AI coach at my Resources Page. If this conversation helped you sharpen your standards, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so others who care about craft and trust can find us.

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