Toby Smith-Firth

The context tax: the AI use case hiding in plain sight

Oct 21, 2026

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3 min read

The context tax: the AI use case hiding in plain sight

AI can create value by assembling the evidence, chronology and uncertainty people need before they apply judgement.

Toby Smith-Firth

How to make AI-assisted work trustworthy.

Oct 13, 2026

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4 min read

How to make AI-assisted work trustworthy.

AI can do a great deal of the production. The human still has to provide the context, challenge the thinking and own the conclusion.

Toby Smith-Firth

AI should sharpen your thinking, not replace it.

Oct 6, 2026

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3 min read

AI should sharpen your thinking, not replace it.

Style is the final layer. Authorship comes from the experience, direction and repeated decisions that shape the work before it is polished.

Toby Smith-Firth

Your presentation looks AI-generated. Does that matter?

Sep 29, 2026

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3 min read

Your presentation looks AI-generated. Does that matter?

Removing the visual signs of AI will not restore credibility if nobody has taken ownership of the argument.

Toby Smith-Firth

AI will change the work. Prepare your people to deliver the strategy.

Sep 22, 2026

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4 min read

AI will change the work. Prepare your people to deliver the strategy.

The strategy should define why the work changes. Leaders then need to help people develop the skills, judgement and confidence to make that change work.

Toby Smith-Firth

Sep 15, 2026

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3 min read

You cannot outsource experience to AI

The human role is changing from production towards verification, integration and stewardship—but experience still matters.

Toby Smith-Firth

AI can automate the task. Can it automate the learning?

Sep 8, 2026

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4 min read

AI can automate the task. Can it automate the learning?

Access to an answer is not the same as understanding the principles, structure and practice behind it.

Toby Smith-Firth

Your organisation is not built for AI. Here is how to change it.

Sep 1, 2026

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7 min read

Your organisation is not built for AI. Here is how to change it.

Stop adding AI to yesterday's organisation. Build the conditions in which people and machines can create better outcomes together.

Toby Smith-Firth

The bottleneck has moved. It may now be you.

Aug 25, 2026

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7 min read

The bottleneck has moved. It may now be you.

When preparation becomes faster, unclear authority, accumulated risk and executive attention become the constraint.

Toby Smith-Firth

AI has made the work faster. So why is the business still slow?

Aug 18, 2026

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8 min read

AI has made the work faster. So why is the business still slow?

Faster tasks do not automatically create a faster business. The real benefit appears only when the whole flow changes.

Toby Smith-Firth

Aug 11, 2026

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7 min read

Has your AI actually added value?

Issue #017 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

What I would do differently if I were starting with AI now

Aug 4, 2026

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6 min read

What I would do differently if I were starting with AI now

Issue #016 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

Corrected: What 90 days of operating AI properly actually taught us

Jul 29, 2026

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6 min read

Corrected: What 90 days of operating AI properly actually taught us

Issue #015 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

What 90 days of operating AI properly actually taught us

Jul 28, 2026

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6 min read

What 90 days of operating AI properly actually taught us

Issue #015 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

Your AI agent doesn't just need managing. It needs orchestrating.

Jul 21, 2026

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4 min read

Your AI agent doesn't just need managing. It needs orchestrating.

Issue #014 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

Your AI agent needs a manager, not just a prompt

Jul 14, 2026

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3 min read

Your AI agent needs a manager, not just a prompt

Issue #013 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

The biggest AI mode is not always the smartest choice

Jul 7, 2026

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4 min read

The biggest AI mode is not always the smartest choice

Issue #012 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

AI can help clean the filing cabinet. It cannot pretend it was tidy.

Jun 30, 2026

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5 min read

AI can help clean the filing cabinet. It cannot pretend it was tidy.

Issue #011 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

When AI starts taking action, governance has to change

Jun 23, 2026

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5 min read

When AI starts taking action, governance has to change

Issue #010 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

Your AI business case is probably too slow for AI

Jun 16, 2026

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4 min read

Your AI business case is probably too slow for AI

Issue #009 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

The Board asked what we're doing with AI. Now what?

Jun 9, 2026

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5 min read

The Board asked what we're doing with AI. Now what?

Issue #008 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

Your AI pilot probably doesn't need more training

Jun 2, 2026

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5 min read

Your AI pilot probably doesn't need more training

Issue #007 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

Copilot, Agent Builder or Copilot Studio?

May 26, 2026

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5 min read

Copilot, Agent Builder or Copilot Studio?

Issue #006 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

The AI Operating Brief: the 20-minute fix for generic Copilot

May 19, 2026

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5 min read

The AI Operating Brief: the 20-minute fix for generic Copilot

Issue #005 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth

Your AI doesn't sound like you — here's the fix

May 13, 2026

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4 min read

Your AI doesn't sound like you — here's the fix

Issue #004 of The AI Directive

Toby Smith-Firth