🪬 HumanAI #017 – Every Second Counts

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In today’s:

• What a chef’s kitchen taught me about mastering AI

• How to prep your daily workflow like a Michelin-star chef

• One small AI habit that saves you hours

Oh, and before we start: BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

IN ONLY 2 DAYS I’m doing a FREE 90-minute AI LAB session exclusively for my subscribers next week:
• Americas: Tuesday, October 7 | 5:00–6:30 PM EDT
• APAC: Wednesday, October 8 | 8:00–9:30 AM AEDT

Think of it as a 90-minute shortcut to sharpen up, future-proof your skills, and finally make AI useful in your real work and life.
Live on Zoom.

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Let’s go!

Every second counts.

That’s what the blue sign says, hanging on the kitchen wall of my friend Neso a.k.a. Chef Francesco.

I gave it to him as a gift, a little nod to The Bear (top 10 best series ever?)
It’s one of those subtle details: most people won’t notice it… but the few who do, smile instantly.

Some weeks ago, Francesco invited me to one of his culinary experiences.

It wasn’t just about the food, it was about connection, networking, face-to-face conversations, sharing ideas around a table with really interesting people.

And all night long, that sign kept echoing in my head: Every second counts.

Because in a kitchen, every second truly does:
Meat overcooks. Sauce breaks. A dish loses its magic.

And I realized… it’s the same with AI.

🧠 HUMAN INSPIRATION: Strategy enters the kitchen

In 19th-century France, chefs borrowed a concept straight out of the military.
Soldiers used the phrase mettre en place, “to put in place.”
It meant being ready before the chaos: weapons loaded, maps studied, everything where it needed to be.

Chefs brought that mindset into the kitchen.
Mise en place became their ritual of readiness: herbs chopped, sauces labeled, knives sharpened, so that when service hit, they could move with speed and grace instead of panic.

That simple idea is what allowed restaurants to serve 200 perfect plates at the same time. Today, it’s a standard practice in kitchens.

But it wasn’t just about cooking faster, it was about thinking faster because you’d already prepared. Strategy involved.

And that’s exactly what AI does for us today.

AI is the modern mise en place. Well… it could be… if you use it strategically.
It preps the ingredients of your workday… drafts, summaries, insights, outlines, etc… so that when the real creative moment arrives, you’re ready to execute.

If your AI is properly set up, you operate with flow.
Every second of your day becomes sharper, faster, more impactful.
If it’s not, you’re stuck chopping onions when the orders start flying.

⚡ AI REAL-LIFE USE: Every Second Counts with AI

Here are 5 quick hacks you can steal right now. Each one saves minutes, but together they stack into hours:

1) Emails → Draft in 30 seconds
Paste a few bullet points into ChatGPT/Gemini/Claude.
Prompt: “Turn these into a professional reply under 150 words, polite but firm.”
That’s 10 minutes back per email.

2) Meetings → Auto-summarize everything
Record or transcribe with Fireflies, Fathom, Gemini, Notion or Zoom AI Companion.
Prompt: “Summarize in 5 bullets. Highlight decisions and next steps. Format it as a post-meeting minutiae.” 
No more re-reading long transcripts.

3) Research → Compress the rabbit hole
Drop an article, PDF, or URL into ChatGPT or Perplexity.
Prompt: “Give me the 3 key takeaways and one contrarian insight.”
40 minutes of skimming becomes 5 minutes of clarity.

4) Documents → Instant first drafts
Prompt: “Draft a 5-slide outline for [topic], include intro, 3 sections, and a takeaway.”
You edit instead of starting from scratch.
I can’t believe how I used to live without AI.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m a romantic of humanism, but HOW MUCH LONGER did many of my weekly tasks take!!

5) Brainstorming → 24/7 creative partner
Prompt: “Give me 10 campaign ideas to market [product] in unexpected ways, inspired by [brand/trend].”
Treat AI as your mise en place for ideas: prep ahead, then refine with your team.

Alone, each hack saves MINIMUM 5–10 minutes.
Together? That’s hours of life back every week.

🚀 FOR THE BOLD ONES…

AI won’t replace the spark of a face-to-face conversation.

It won’t make you feel the magic of turning random ingredients and savoring a mouthwatering dish.

But it will set up your mise en place so you can focus on the magic that only humans bring.

It will help you reduce noise and have more clarity.

It will help with the prep you need to show up sharper, faster, better.

Because in the kitchen, in business, in life…
every second counts.

If you and your team want to design your own AI mise en place… to save hours, stay sharp, and focus on the human part, that’s exactly what we do inside the AI LAB for Leaders and AI LAB for Teams. Reply to this email and let’s have a chat.

Before you go:

Weekly HumanAI Challenge:
Every chef preps before service. Now it’s your turn.
Pick one task you do every week (emails, reports, planning, or presentations).
Then do this:
1) Open ChatGPT (or your main AI tool).
2) Create a reusable starter prompt -aka your “mise en place”- for that task.
(Example: “Help me draft weekly thank you notes for clients in a warm but professional tone.”)
3) Save it in a doc, pin it, or make it a custom GPT.

Next time you start that task… start with AI, not from scratch.

As always… Stay active, stay sharp.

Mencho
🪬

P.S.
Chef Francesco, thanks for the invite and for reminding me that sometimes a sign isn’t just a sign. It’s a manifesto.

P.S.S. Don’t forget to sign up for the FREE 90-minute “AI for Leaders” lab session exclusively for my subscribers in 2 days!!

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