In the business world, while not as scary, we call this The Blank Canvas Syndrome.
Asking a strategist, a director, or a CEO to "innovate from scratch" is a massive cognitive tax. True originality is expensive, exhausting, and let's be honest, pretty rare. But there is one thing humans are naturally, almost genetically, gifted at: Criticism.
We might struggle to write the first draft of a complex GTM strategy, but put a mediocre, half-baked one in front of us? We become instant subject matter experts. We can spot the flaws and the logical gaps instantly.
The Shift: From Creator to Curator
I’ve noticed a pattern in how teams tackle new problems. When a team starts with a blank document, they usually get stuck in a cycle of overthinking and lengthy meetings. The energy is drained just trying to find a starting point.
When they start with a messy, AI-generated draft and the instruction is simply to "tear it apart and make it their own" the dynamic flips. Because the team isn't exhausted by the heavy lifting of initial creation, they have the mental surplus to apply deep, critical thinking. They find the "human" voice much faster because they have a target to aim at.
The Power of the "Straw Man"
We’ve been conditioned to view "critic" as a negative label. In the age of AI, I’m arguing the opposite. Your value is no longer in your ability to generate raw material. Any mediocre model can do that now. Your value is in your taste and your standards.
If you use AI to fill the canvas, you aren't cheating. You are clearing the administrative hurdle so you can get to the part where you actually provide value: the refinement.
I often see executives hesitant to use GenAI because the output isn't quite right or feels a bit "AI-ish". My response is: "Good. Now tell me exactly why it not good". That "why" is where your expertise lives. By reacting to a flawed AI draft, you may find your own voice much faster than you would by staring at a blinking cursor.
The Takeaway for Leaders
Encourage your teams to use AI to generate "sacrificial drafts" that are designed to be knocked down. But do call them out when it's sloppy, when they can't explain the logic, when it isn’t lean or when the work hasn't actually become their own yet.
By letting the machine make the first, flawed attempt, you allow your experts to step out of the busy work and into meaningful decision-making. The freedom to be a critic may just unlock the capabilities your team was too buried to use.
— Yas Dalkilic
Head of AI, RAB2B
