What NOT to automate

The judgment lesson. Some moments build reputations. Show up for them.

The lesson

The bright lines: anything involving trust, apology, negotiation, or a person in distress gets a human — you. AI preps you for those moments; it doesn't attend them. How to tell the difference in the moment.

The picture to keep

The line: TASKS (automate the draft) vs. MOMENTS (show up in person). Complaints, condolences, negotiations, and crises are moments.

Try it — 60 seconds

Here's a hard customer situation: [describe]. Don't write the reply. Instead: what's really going on for this customer, what do they need to hear, and what should I make sure NOT to say?

Copy it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini — whichever you already use. Fill in the brackets with your real life.

Watch out

The businesses people love aren't the most automated ones — they're the ones where a human showed up at the right moment. Guard those moments.