How I Use AI, 1 of many.

I use Claude and I have a new regular use. When I have ‘finished’ a piece of writing I drop it into Claude and ask for feedback. I deliver to Claude what I believe is ‘perfect’ from spelling to readability to logical flow. I ask for the feedback to be batched into spelling, grammar, logic of flow etc.

I find the results very, very helpful indeed.

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

The phrase is the title of the first book by author Susan Jeffers.

Sometimes, the most productive way forward is also the most fearful. For example, you realise it is critical to stop a project that is going badly, even if few are willing to acknowledge it. And that might involve speaking to a very senior person in the organisation to say, ‘We need you to remove a blocker, and only you have the authority to do it.’ Or it might mean that you must present to the whole division, so everyone clearly and succinctly understands what is going on.

As you pursue the productive path, recognise that you will often feel fear. This is not a sign that something is wrong; often the feeling shows that you are engaging with something that matters. Fear highlights that you are in unfamiliar and risky territory; you might fail but fear is certainly not saying, ‘don’t do it.’ Do not wait to feel fully confident; confidence comes from action. You do not feel brave and then act; you act despite fear and then feel brave.

As I say in my presentation skills course, let’s simply accept that you feel anxious before your talk to the board. But with planning and preparation, it will go well and afterwards you will feel amazing.

Write? Meet? Pitch?

Before defaulting to calling a meeting, consider whether it is necessary. Maybe it could be a report? Perhaps a presentation.

Here is a decision tree:

Write a document if: You’re sharing information You need a record It’s complex and people will need to process it at their own pace

Meet if: You need real-time debate to reach a decision The relationship benefits from face-to-face interaction There’s emotional or political complexity that requires reading the room

Pitch (brief, informal conversation) if: You need quick input You’re testing an idea before committing to formal communication It’s genuinely time-sensitive

If you have any doubt, default to writing. It scales better, respects people’s time, and produces better thinking. Writing forces you to define the problem and to admit whether calling the meeting was simply delaying the decision.

Action: Decide: write, meet or pitch.

In The Pipeline

The Companion Series.

  1. Productivity.
  2. Presenting.
  3. HunterGatherer

Novel Pierre Lambert and The Cold Case Centre.

Paul McCartney: A Solo Journey: One Track Per Solo Album

  1. “Maybe I’m Amazed” McCartney (1970)

The raw, unguarded love song he wrote for Linda; one of the great rock ballads, recorded alone at home just after the Beatles fell apart.

  1. “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” Ram (1971)

A playful, suite-like piece full of left turns and humour, co-written with Linda and their only US number one as a duo.

  1. “Wild Life” Wild Life (1971)

The title track of the first Wings album, recorded almost entirely live in the studio in a deliberate back-to-basics move.

  1. “My Love” Red Rose Speedway (1973)

A sweeping ballad written for Linda, featuring a famous live guitar solo from Henry McCullough that was never rehearsed.

  1. “Band on the Run” Band on the Run (1973)

The title track opens as a jailbreak fantasy and shifts gears twice; one of the most inventive rock structures of the decade.

  1. “Silly Love Songs” Venus and Mars (1975)

A deliberate riposte to critics who accused him of writing fluff; it became one of the biggest hits of 1976 and proved the point.

  1. “Let ‘Em In” Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976)

A brilliantly simple piece of pop built around a doorbell; deceptively slight, utterly irresistible.

  1. “With a Little Luck” London Town (1978)

A buoyant, synth-cushioned optimism song that reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic.

  1. “Rockestra Theme” Back to the Egg (1979)

A thundering instrumental recorded with a cast of rock royalty including John Bonham and Pete Townshend; it won a Grammy.

  1. “Coming Up” McCartney II (1980)

A one-man-band funk workout recorded at home on a four-track; John Lennon reportedly heard it on the radio and was impressed enough to return to writing.

  1. “Tug of War” Tug of War (1982)

The elegiac title track, produced by George Martin and reflecting on the tensions of human ambition with real emotional weight.

  1. “Pipes of Peace” Pipes of Peace (1983)

Built around the Christmas Day 1914 truce on the Western Front, it became a UK Christmas number one and remains one of his most affecting songs.

  1. “No More Lonely Nights” Give My Regards to Broad Street (1984)

A genuinely strong ballad that outlasted the film it came from, with a memorable David Gilmour guitar solo.

  1. “Press” Press to Play (1986)

The lead single from his most underrated album, a crisp piece of mid-80s pop-rock that holds up better than its reputation suggests.

  1. “My Brave Face” Flowers in the Dirt (1989)

Co-written with Elvis Costello in a partnership that energised McCartney considerably; clean, melodic, and utterly confident.

  1. “Hope of Deliverance” Off the Ground (1993)

A gentle acoustic-driven pop song with a folk sensibility, charting a quiet kind of optimism without a hint of bombast.

  1. “The World Tonight” Flaming Pie (1997)

A bright, guitar-led track that shows him sounding entirely at ease; the whole album has the feel of a man who has nothing left to prove.

  1. “From a Lover to a Friend” Driving Rain (2001)

Written in the early stages of his relationship with Heather Mills, it has a looser, more vulnerable quality than most of his work.

  1. “Fine Line” Chaos and Creation in the Backyard (2005)

The opening track from his most critically praised album in years, produced by Nigel Godrich; quiet, piano-led, and beautifully restrained.

  1. “Dance Tonight” Memory Almost Full (2007)

A mandolin-driven curiosity that became a surprise hit, simple to the point of audacity and somehow impossible to dislike.

  1. “New” New (2013)

The ebullient title track, produced by Mark Ronson, catches him in genuinely youthful form; a reminder that the gift for a hook never left.

  1. “Come On to Me” Egypt Station (2018)

A strutting, good-humoured rock track produced by Greg Kurstin; Egypt Station was his first number one album in the US in 36 years.

  1. “Find My Way” McCartney III (2020)

Another solo home-recording, this one optimistic and punchy, made during lockdown and showing he hadn’t lost the instinct for a great pop melody.

  1. “Days We Left Behind” The Boys of Dungeon Lane (2026)

The lead single from his most personal album, a reflective look back at Liverpool childhoods and pre-fame friendships, co-produced with Andrew Watt.

Monday

still only a name, a date, a point in time.

Go do great things.