When I started integrating AI into my workflows, I was seduced by the promise of “one tool to rule them all.” One login. One workflow. One platform that would manage research, writing, operations and communications — all in one neat package. In theory, it was elegant. But what I found, in the end, was a trap.
What broke first were nonnegotiables: depth, nuance and reliability. The moment I tried to force a single AI platform to do everything — from deep research to outreach copy to automation orchestration — I hit an invisible wall. Research became shallow, writing homogenized and operational workflows became brittle. That’s when I realized that no single AI tool could do everything I needed.
What followed was a shift in mindset: I swapped “one-platform thinking” for “stack thinking.” I started curating a bench of specialized tools — each assigned to a distinct job — and built workflows that were resilient, adaptable and far more effective in the real world.
