Your Business Doesn't Need More AI. It Needs Better Containers.
A Road Trip Story About the One Thing AI Can't Do
In this week’s Having It All:
What a chaotic SUV taught me about AI (and why the breakfast tote is your new business model)
Introducing: The Expert AI Mindset series
✨ A copy-paste AI prompt to help you decide what to keep — and what to delegate
The First Thing to Tumble Out of the SUV
The first thing to tumble out of our SUV was Rick’s left size-13 hiking boot. Then my fuzzy-pink platform sandals — my “must-haves” from a funky west coast thrift store. Behind them, a landslide of apples, jerky, and popcorn skittered under the seats. Six weeks of camping gear, bird-watching scopes, laptops for Zoom, and king-sized pillows we refused to leave behind. Our entire life jammed into that car, but not exactly contained.
How Do You Pack for It All?
How do you pack for a 6-week road trip when the itinerary includes sleeping in a car tent, attending a fancy wedding, visiting festivals, bird-watching, dinners with friends, Zoom meetings, and hiking in Yellowstone?
Summits of 7000+ feet on one end, the Nevada desert in the middle, and California beaches on the other. Basically, our whole multicoloured summer was squeezed into one mid-sized SUV.
The Breakfast Tote: A Model of Order
To be fair, some things were organized. The trunk was pristine. We had a Breakfast Tote — a medium bin labelled and stocked with granola, protein powder, tea, and the French press. Every morning, Rick could pull it out, boil water, and make coffee while I lined up yogurt bowls.
Systematic. Smooth. Repeatable.
But the Back Seat? Nightmare.
But the back seat? Oh dear. Boots flying like bats out of hell. Snacks breeding like gremlins. Books from roadside shops bouncing like kids at a trampoline park on our massive pillows.
Breakfast tote in the back: organized bliss.
Back seat: Hoarders meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
And That’s Exactly What AI Feels Like in Business
AI needs containers.
When you give AI clear containers and rules, it’s magic. When you don’t, it’s mayhem.
The Breakfast Tote worked because it had boundaries: one bin, labeled contents, specific purpose. Rick could find everything in 30 seconds, make perfect coffee, and we’d be on the road.
That’s delegation with AI: clear task, clear container, clear result.
But imagine if I’d just said, “Rick, breakfast is somewhere in the car—figure it out.” He’d be digging through the backseat avalanche at 6 AM, finding my platform sandals instead of the French press, pulling out binoculars instead of granola.
That’s abdication. No container. No clarity. Pure chaos.
In Business, Abdication Looks Like:
Letting AI write your client emails without giving it your voice or examples
Asking it to “make a marketing plan” with no strategy or brand guidelines
Trusting its numbers without checking the source
(Worst of all) letting it decide what your business should prioritize
The breakfast tote never decided where we were going. Yosemite, Nevada, California coast—we chose the destination. The tote just made mornings easier.
AI is the same. You build the container. You set the destination. AI handles the repetitive stuff inside that container.
The Driver’s Seat Is Yours
Here’s the mindset I’ve built after years of using generative chatbots in various forms: delegate, don’t abdicate.
The more clearly you build containers for AI, the lighter your journey feels. Keep the direction—the voice, the values, the destination—in your hands.
AI isn’t going away. Every founder I know is stuffing it somewhere in their business vehicle. Some pack it in labeled totes: the marketing container, the admin container, the content creation container. It works beautifully.
Others throw everything in the backseat and hope for the best. Popcorn in the footwell. Platform sandals where the laptop should be.
You Don’t Have to Be Afraid of It
You just have to use it on your terms.
Build containers for the tasks that weigh you down. Keep the ones that define you in your hands.
Don’t let AI choose your destination.
You’re still driving.
A New Series: The Expert AI Mindset for Business
This essay kicks off a new series — The Expert AI Mindset for Business — practical ways to scale with AI without selling your soul.
Think of it as my road-tested packing guide for your empire-building road trip.
Next week, I’m going to share my step-by-step instructions on how to train your ChatBot on your business, so every vital piece of info about your brand is in a container.
👉 Know a founder who’s overwhelmed by AI? Forward this to them. Help them pack lighter.
✨ Copy-Paste Prompt for You
Act as my organized business strategist.
Ask me 5–7 quick, targeted questions about one repetitive task in my business.
Use my answers to help me separate:
What I can delegate to AI (include clear rules, examples, and boundaries).
What I should keep control of (my voice, strategy, and final decisions).
At the end, create a one-page “AI Rules Book” for this task, written in plain language, that I can save and follow.
Keep it practical, concise, and fast—I’m busy and need results right away.