The mistake that got my new project on the right track.

A couple weeks ago, I kicked off a big project – master the AI tools reshaping the creative landscape. I’d written a V2MOM (Salesforce-speak for “master plan”). I’d built a lesson plan for week one. I had dozens of ideas for blog posts and plans to catch up with dozens of people. 

And I didn’t know where to start. I was paralyzed.   

The trouble with chaos. 

Most people assume creatives thrive in chaos. I don't. I need order. I need a strategy, plan, and systems. They free my mind to be chaotic and fun in the right direction, while making sure everything gets done that needs to get done. 

My AI Mastery project turned out to be three projects in one: 

• Mastering AI tools. Explore tools, track prompts, and build a campaign. 

• Content creation. Write, reflect, and share my learnings. 

• Community building. Connecting with others curious about creativity and AI. 

That's a lot of stuff. And it was knotted up tight.  

I couldn't get curios until I got organized. 

The Solution: Program Management (of course) 

Any good creative knows that when you're faced with a complex project, you bring on a Program Manager. My PMs at Salesforce were MVPs, and we'd have been lost without them. 

Unfortunately, I work for myself. Fortunately, I enjoy Program Management. 

At first, I tried to get ChatGPT to run the show. It had been a huge help organizing my post-Salesforce life. But every time I asked for a project management system, it kept insisting: "You need to set up a new board in Notion." 

And I'm like, "What's Notion?" 

I tried to overcome my ignorance with promptcraft: "You're a Notion expert and skilled teacher. Walk me through this step-by-step." But I was lost. I couldn't BS my way through it. 

ChatGPT had determined that Notion was the answer, and it wasn't going to let this go. So, I had to pause my AI mastery project to learn an AI tool I didn’t expect.  

There's never a bad time to add new skills. 

At this point, I embraced some advice I always shared with my teams: your skill set matters more than your job title. You should always grow, evolve, and adapt. 

One Udemy course later, I understood enough Notion basics to re-engage ChatGPT as my PM. This time, it outlined a comprehensive system connecting all my project's moving parts. It even suggested dashboards I hadn't thought of but clearly needed. 

Things got cooler when I discovered Notion's built-in AI. ChatGPT would design the board structure, then I'd tell Notion's AI: "Create a dashboard from this input." Thirty seconds later, it was done. 

Before I'd gotten halfway through designing the system, I was already using it to streamline incoming work, jot down random bits of inspiration, take meeting notes, and develop ideas for new posts. 

After a week of feeling tight all over, I started relaxing and flowing. This was fun. 

Now, I’m firing on all cylinders. I’ve got the time, space, and organization that free me up to create and explore. 

The lesson: embrace failure and grow through it. 

I made a couple mistakes. I tried to skip the pre-work and move right to the fun stuff. And I assumed that my AI learning would be limited to just creative tools, and not the tools that create a space where creativity thrives.  

Once I embraced that, I learned (or re-learned) some pretty valuable lessons: 

• Don’t skip the pre-work. Build your foundation. 

• Creative tools include the organizational tools that create space for creativity. 

• New skills, even unexpected ones, make you more valuable and adaptable. Welcome them. 

• Growth isn’t linear. Sometimes the right path is a detour. 

Basic lessons, really. Although it still amazes me how many times I have to re-learn them.