Newly Released Books for Using AI Strategically in Leadership and Marketing
AI adoption is accelerating, and leaders feel the pressure to use it. Move too fast and you sound generic. Move too slow and you risk irrelevance. This post shows how three new books reframe AI strategy for leaders so you stay differentiated, credible, and clear.
Caught Between AI Adoption and AI Anxiety
Can you feel it? Are you tired of it yet?
Every session at a conference, every LinkedIn post, every industry white paper circles back to this question: How are you using AI?
Teams expect direction. Audiences expect innovation. Algorithms expect volume.
You want to lead well. You want your point of view to have a sharp angle. You don’t want to sound like every other business owner with a Chat GPT Plus account publishing slick, forgettable AI-assisted content.
Leadership should clarify. Technology should deepen thinking. Authority requires judgment.
So let’s talk about AI strategy for leaders who care about voice, positioning, and long-term relevance.
Three new books approach AI through a strategic lens. (Well, two of them do explicitly. One of them does inplicitly, but I’ll get to that.)
We’ll look at new releases from:
Allison Shapira
David Newman
Erika Heald
Quick disclaimer: I’ve known these authors personally in some capacity (whether as clients, mentors, or colleagues) for some time. And because I know how brilliant they are, it seemed right to make sure you do too!
The Real Risk Is Becoming Generic.
Leaders are stuck with a tricky decision.
57% of CEOs say they lack the internal expertise to meet their AI needs. Strategy and leadership judgment matter more than tool access. Kearny.
Use AI and risk sounding like everyone else.
Avoid AI and risk falling behind.
Both positions miss the point.
AI does not make everyone sound the same.
Unstrategic use makes everyone sound the same. (Wait, sorry, is “unstrategic” a word? Maybe not.)
AI amplifies whatever foundation already exists.
If your positioning is weak, AI scales weak positioning.
If your voice is unclear, AI scales muddiness.
If your strategy is sharp, AI sharpens it further.
Research from Kearney shows that technology adoption without strategic alignment creates complexity, not advantage. The issue is rarely the tool. It’s the clarity behind it.
If you do nothing, here is what happens:
Your team experiments without guardrails, which is … dicey
Your publish more content, but it kinda sounds like everyone else
Your leadership voice becomes interchangeable
None of this is going to go away on its own. So it’s worth your time to learn from experts in their fields who have already figured out how to use AI in those fields.
Allison Shapira: AI for the Authentic Leader
Allison Shapira makes a strong case that AI can strengthen leadership communication instead of weakening it. In AI for the Authentic Leader, she offers a practical framework for integrating AI into everyday leadership decisions without losing your voice.
Her focus is using AI to communicate with more intention, not less.
Leadership is about trust and connection. AI should help you show up at your best, especially in high-stakes moments.
She also names the risks. AI can distort tone. It can shortcut nuance. It can create distance if used carelessly. But when used thoughtfully, it becomes a mirror. A drafting partner. A way to pause and choose your words more carefully, especially in high-stakes moments.
The bigger idea is this: modern leadership requires digital fluency. But fluency without integrity erodes influence. AI should help you show up as your best self, not as a generic one.
Here’s the strategic takeaway:
Define your leadership thesis first
Clarify your audience
Articulate what you believe that others don’t
Then use AI to refine and pressure-test your ideas
When leaders skip this step, AI becomes a mask. When they start here, AI becomes a multiplier.
Get AI for the Authentic Leader on Amazon.Get AI for the Authentic Leader on Bookshop.orgDavid Newman: Market Eminence
In Market Eminence, David Newman argues that being the best is irrelevant. The goal is to become the only logical choice.
David focuses on positioning and high-impact marketing for experts and consultants. He asks questions in this book that you can pose to yourself — and your AI tool — to find out how your approach is different than everyone else’s in your space.
Strong positioning makes it risky to choose anyone else. AI can sharpen your differentiation, not dilute it.
Market Eminence argues that it’s not enough to be known. You need to be trusted. You need prospects to feel that hiring anyone else would be a mistake.
That requires differentiation.
David pushes leaders to challenge conventional norms in their industry. You think differently - let other people know it. Position yourself around bold ideas. You are going to repel some people. That’s the point.
Market Eminence is about building a brand that stands out in AI-sanitized content by sharpening your perspective, not using AI to softening it.
Get Market Eminence on Amazon.
Get Market Eminence on Bookshop.org.Erika Heald: AI Should Scale Strong Content Foundations
Erika Heald looks at AI through a content operations lens in her book, Content Foundations: Scale your content with AI without losing your voice.
When your brand voice and content systems are documented, AI produces strategic value instead of generic output.
Her premise is simple. If your content is inconsistent, AI will distribute that inconsistency at scale.
That is how brands become generic.
Too many teams run on “random acts of content.” A blog because someone asked. A post because the calendar felt empty. A campaign built from scratch every time. Add AI to that environment and you do not get innovation. You get noise.
Heald pushes for foundations. Documented brand voice that your team and your AI can actually use. Personas that shape decisions instead of sitting in a slide deck. Style guides people follow. Workflows that reduce rework. Systems that protect energy.
Because scale without structure multiplies confusion.
Once those foundations are in place, AI actually becomes useful. It can repurpose with intention. It can speed production without flattening your brand voice. It can clarify instead of muddying the waters.
This is where most leaders misstep. They chase output before infrastructure. They want more content before they define what the content stands for.
Erika’s argument fits the bigger picture here. AI does not fix weak foundations. It exposes them. Build the scaffolding first. Then scale with purpose.
Get Content Foundations on Amazon.
Get Market Eminence on Bookshop.org.When AI Strategy Comes First
Your head of marketing drafts a post with AI. It’s clean. It’s polished. It’s also vague.
Instead of approving it because it sounds “good enough,” you ask one question:
Does this reinforce our positioning?
If the answer is no, you don’t tweak adjectives. You adjust the thinking.
Your team writes faster because your point of view is documented.
Your brand voice doesn’t drift because it’s defined.
Your AI prompts get sharper because your strategy is clear.
When someone reads your content, they don’t think, “Blech. This sounds like LinkedIn.”
They think, “Ah! Of course this is them.”
AI just helped in the background.
Your AI Strategy Requires Keen Judgment
Leaders do not need more AI tools.
They need stronger strategic judgment.
If your foundation is clear, AI strengthens it.
If your foundation is weak, AI exposes it.
You knew that already. Now you just have experts helping you apply it to different aspects of your business.
Strengthen Your Messaging Before You Scale It
All three authors point to the same discipline: clarity of message.
If your positioning is fuzzy, AI will scale the fuzz.
If your point of view is sharp, AI will reinforce it.
That work starts with your brand message.
If you’re leading a brand, division, or company and you want to tighten your positioning before you accelerate it, a BrandScript is the place to begin.
We’ll clarify what you stand for, who it’s for, and why it matters. Then you can scale it with confidence.
Annie Figenshu
Annie Figenshu is keenly aware that many companies are pressed for time, and every minute counts. She helps brands make the most of their content marketing so that their hard work is shared with the world. Annie is certified in both StoryBrand and Mailchimp, has two kids with Beatles-themed names, and is afraid to think what a day without coffee would look like.