"Use AI to Write the Playbook—But Lead the Team Yourself"
"Same Forest. Different Monkeys. But This Time… with ChatGPT." (This one's for Jacky)
“Did AI write Same Forest, Different Monkeys?”
A few people asked.
Some even accused...
“Kamati ya roho chafu” convened for an urgent meeting.
We all know the types. Sometimes friends. Sometimes enemies.
Let’s just call them frenemies.
Calm on the surface—paddling like a duck underneath.
They never miss a thing:
That Facebook post.
That Instagram reel.
Even that Khalil Gibran quote you copied on LinkedIn.
These are your modern-day online stalkers.
The Haters.
Core members of “The Black Hearts". ”Also known as “Chuki Binafsi.
”Or in its purest Kenyan form: “Ngoro Njiru.”
(I wish I could blog in Swahili or my mother tongue… Words like “Umbwa,” “Nugu,” “Ng’ombe hii” just don’t slap the same in English.)
But I digress.
Meet the Kamati ya Roho Chafu (KRC)
Every one of us has a shadow cabinet.Mine has three senior officials:
• Life Chairman
The rich narcissist who funds bar operations and only dates light-skinned women.(To be fair, so did my grandfather… but who’s counting?)
• Organizing Secretary
The national archive of gossip.
CNN Breaking News. Village Radio. Mpasho. TikTok For You page.All rolled into one.
They’ve been kicked out of 12 WhatsApp groups but still say, “Watu wananionea.”
• Honorary Treasurer
Not rich. Just the guy who gathers all the bills and divides the total equally.
“Haya, it’s 1,750 per person.
”You look up and think, “But I don’t drink Don Julio… Who had the Mirinda?”
And when this committee met after the last blog post?
“There’s no way KT wrote that.”“It’s ChatGPT!”“That guy and his story za jaba—he couldn’t have written that!”
They were certain: AI wrote the whole thing.
So What’s the Truth?
Did AI help write Same Forest, Different Monkeys?
✅ Yes… and no.
It cleaned up typos
Helped shorten paragraphs (I ignored half of it)
Brainstormed headlines at 3 a.m.
But the core?
The punch?
The soul?
That was all human. All me.
The Playbook vs. The Game
AI can help you write the playbook.But it can’t run the play.
It can:
Suggest strategy
Analyze patterns
Generate copy
But the hard stuff—the messy, human stuff?
That’s on you.
Same Forest. Different Monkeys. Different Tools.
Let’s return to my five blog pillars—and explore where AI helps…and where it absolutely doesn’t.
🏉 Rugby
AI Can:
Analyze footage
Recommend tactics
Write match summaries
AI Can’t:
Get into the tight huddle before kickoff
Know when to take that GAP
Inspire a comeback with just a look
Rugby is guts, not just data.
Let AI plan the plays.
Only humans can win the match.
💼 Sales
AI Can:
Draft emails
Suggest LinkedIn captions
Analyze pipeline metrics
AI Can’t:
Build trust
Read the room
Know when to shut up and listen
AI preps the pitch.
You shake hands. You close the deal.
📊 Business
AI Can:
Process reports
Spot trends
Draft strategies
AI Can’t:
Make the call when the data is murky
Navigate the emotional minefield of boardroom politics
Take responsibility when the ship starts sinking
AI can help build the PowerPoint.
But it won’t jump in when the CEO says, “So what are we going to do now?”
It won’t feel the discomfort in the room when payroll is late.
It won’t admit fault to the team when the big bet fails.
AI manages the process.
You lead the people.(And yes, I know a business running exactly like this. You probably do too.)
💬 Life & Relationships
AI Can:
Suggest birthday gifts
Write wedding vows (but should it?)
Manage your calendar(
https://oag.ecitizen.go.ke/
— story for another day…)
AI Can’t:
Say “I’m sorry” and truly mean it
Notice tension across the dinner table
Sit silently with a grieving friend
Life is lived in the grey.
AI is black and white.
🗳 Politics & Leadership
AI Can:
Write speeches
Run polls
Write WANTAM !!
AI Can’t:
Feel when a nation is hurting
Rally people through crisis
Rebuild trust after failure
AI can write the speech.
You take the heat.
Should You Use AI?
Absolutely.
But treat it like a personal trainer.Not like a teammate.
Let it:
Think faster
Write cleaner
Handle the boring bits
Final Word: “Chuo Atema”
But when it comes to leading, loving, selling, and living?
That’s still manual transmission.
A friend from the lake—cute blogger, mum, scared of witches—once told me:
“My mum said, in this life, a man must ask.”
In Dholuo, they say: “Chuo Atema.”
In sales, we say:
Always ask for the sale.
So Here’s My Chuo Atema Moment:
📅 Book a leadership session
📥 Subscribe to SalesFundiKe
🧠 Sign up for the next AI x Sales trainin
g
Because life rewards the ones who ask.