I've been playing around with custom GPTs, trying to learn which tasks I can outsource and which I need to do myself.
I now have GPTs for inspiration, personal therapy, tax advice, financial planning, health and wellness, and nutrition (turning recipes into macros I can track for my protein and fiber consumption goals), as well as a copy editor (this one is very important). Along the way, I created a "blog assistant," thinking I could improve my blogging velocity, as the list of blogs I wanted to write grew so long that it crashed the Notes app and I lost most of them.
I gave the blogging assistant a sample of my blogs and transcripts from podcasts to help it learn my voice and point of view.
What I learned is that my blogging assistant struggled in exactly the same way past comms people have struggled — in other words, it’s very clear that I am the problem. Specifically, if writing is a way for me to get an idea out of my head and into language that others can process, then it’s not something I can outsource. This process is largely about taking a nonverbal concept from my right hemisphere and turning it into words.
Maybe this is an obvious learning, but it has been quite helpful for me to better understand my own communication style and get more grounded in the why of my writing. I’ve shifted to using this blogging assistant more to help with tasks that are less about insight and more about reuse. One great example: with just a small number of bullets, I was able to quickly write a session abstract for a keynote.
Obvious Insight: GPTs are not thinkers. They can be thought partners if you use them correctly, but you need to own your own thinking — or at least I do. YMMV, of course.
I’ve now shifted to looking for insights and blind spots with this blog assistant. I’ve been doing a lot of podcasts lately, and I want to understand how I’m different as a writer versus a speaker. It’s often the case that I’ll say something, and someone will ask me to repeat it—but I don’t remember exactly what I said. I also find that, after I’m asked a question, I often gain an insight I hadn’t fully appreciated, just from being forced to comment on it.
Asking for insight
So, I decided to get curious about the differences between my podcasting self and my blogging self. I asked my blog assistant to answer this question:
can you compare my blog writing vs. my podcast transcripts - what are the differences in topics and tone?
It’s useful to note, that I’ve customized ChatGPT to communicate according to my preferences.
I found the insights helpful and believe this precisely reflects intentional audience centricity. I write for readers who are like my past self—eager for insight and new ideas. I join podcasts to participate in a conversation.
Response
Thanks for your patience — I've compared your podcast transcripts and blog writing, and here’s a clear view of how they differ across topics and tone:
🔍 TOPICS
Podcasts
The podcast conversations focus heavily on:
Leadership philosophy and communication
Managerial enablement and engagement
Organizational dynamics (e.g. manager’s role in culture, engagement, HR technology)
Personal leadership journey (how you discovered your superpowers, moments of self-doubt, and career inflection points)
People + Tech + Business intersection, with a tilt toward storytelling and lived experience
💡 Framing: You're often in a reflective yet strategic mindset, illustrating insights through personal anecdotes and coaching-style articulation. The goal is practical inspiration — useful wisdom for managers and leaders navigating transformation.
Blogs
Your blog posts cover a wider interdisciplinary and introspective range:
Human systems + equity: Neurodivergence, blind spots, perspective gaps, opportunity access
Work and learning transformation: Post-ZIRP SaaS strategy, AI impacts, innovation, psychological safety
Meta-leadership: Being wrong, intellectual humility, unlearning
Personal philosophy: Word of the year (e.g., Abundance, Expansive), sabbatical reflections, parenting, health
Futurism + agency: Inventing the future, adaptation, complexity, rethinking assumptions
💡 Framing: These are deeply personal, layered essays — part research synthesis, part storytelling. You invite the reader to think critically and emotionally. It’s less about giving answers and more about framing better questions.
🎙️📝 TONE COMPARISON
Characteristic | Podcasts | Blogs |
Tone | Conversational, motivational, human-centric | Reflective, candid, intellectually playful |
Voice | Confident, warm, approachable authority | Exploratory, honest, insight-rich, with occasional sass |
Pacing | Structured yet fluid — driven by dialogue | Ranges from tightly structured (thought pieces) to freeform |
Emotion | Grounded optimism, empathy, practical inspiration | Rawer vulnerability, curiosity, and a dash of provocation |
Persona | The wise, energetic exec-mentor | The thoughtful, systems-aware human with a learning bias |
✨ Summary Insight
Your podcasts amplify your credibility as a leader of leaders — bringing practical frameworks, career stories, and encouragement.
Your blogs are where your whole self shows up — the tech exec, the social philosopher, the parent, the curious nerd, and the person questioning her own worldview.
In short:
Podcasts = Stage voice
Blogs = Inner voice + field notes for the future
Comments