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Forte Labs Newsletter

8 Crucial Questions Before You Buy ANY AI Tool

Published about 1 month ago • 2 min read

Every day, there’s a new tool, a new headline, a new promise that AI will revolutionize your business.

But here’s what we learned from working with over 100 companies over the past few months in two cohorts of Second Brain Enterprise: AI doesn’t solve business problems—it exposes them.

The businesses winning with AI aren’t the ones with the best tools.

They’re the ones who understand their operations clearly enough to know where AI can actually help.

Most companies are trying to add AI to chaos and wondering why it’s not working.

On Oct. 2nd, I will teach the core frameworks that help you see your business clearly first—before you automate anything.

8 Crucial Questions Before You Buy ANY AI Tool

Is your business actually ready for AI?

I sat down with business experts Hayden Miyamoto and Dale Meador to work through 8 questions that can give you the answer.

Hayden brings his experience from scaling 30+ portfolio companies with AI, while Dale shares insights from transforming business operations across multiple industries.

We discuss which business functions AI can realistically help with today, the difference between automating versus eliminating tasks, and why documentation matters more than the tools themselves.

3-Year Update: A Financial Analysis of My Book’s Unit Economics

Three years after Building a Second Brain launched, I finally have the numbers to answer the question I've been curious about: has traditional publishing been worth it?

I'm sharing everything: the real sales figures, royalty breakdowns, what I would have made self-publishing, and how the business upside changes the entire equation.

See how the numbers break down and what this means for any author considering their publishing options.

When You Know What To Do But You Just Don't Do It

My friend and mentor Joe Hudson is premiering a new YouTube series today on something we all wrestle with: Procrastination.

Over the next week, Joe and his team will release a four-video YouTube series exploring why we put things off, how self-judgment fuels the cycle, and what it takes to break free—without force or willpower.

His approach is different from 99% of self-help frameworks out there. He focuses on getting to the root of procrastination: emotional avoidance.

This topic is close to my heart and the work we do in our community, so it’s been especially meaningful to watch these take shape. Bonus: I’m told I’ll make a small appearance in one of the episodes!

The Experimental Leader: Lead With Curiosity, Adaptability & Clarity

My friend Anne-Laure Le Cunff just launched a new course, The Experimental Leader – a neuroscience-backed program for ambitious professionals ready to upgrade their mindset, navigate uncertainty with confidence, and lead with calm, intention, and impact.

Anne-Laure is a neuroscientist, former Google executive, author of Tiny Experiments, and I’ve been a fan of her work on NessLabs for years.

Her program teaches a flexible, self-correcting leadership operating system—rooted in curiosity, powered by reflection, and resilient in the face of uncertainty.

  • Leading with control → Leading with curiosity
  • Responding to change with anxiety → Adapting to change with calm
  • Seeking clarity through control → Finding clarity through iteration
  • Chasing fixed future outcomes → Learning in real-time with tiny experiments
  • Making decisions under pressure → Making decisions through reflection
  • Drowning in ambiguity → Leveraging uncertainty

🧠

Build your Second Brain

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Create a system for productivity

​Join Pillars of Productivity →​

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Join the global community

​Join the Second Brain Membership →​

Tiago Forte

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Forte Labs Newsletter

Build your Second Brain with Tiago Forte

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