Be the Prompt: The One Thing AI Will Never Do (And Why That's Your Competitive Advantage)

I was terrible at my first job.

Catastrophically bad. Two months into my first stint at BCG, I was that guy in meetings—furiously taking notes and praying nobody would ask my opinion, desperately hoping someone else would volunteer for whatever came next. (And yes, this is the same Jeremy Utley who now teaches at Stanford and delivers keynotes about innovation. Stick with me.)

My dad, watching his supposedly smart son flame out at a prestigious consulting firm, pulled me aside with advice that sounded insane: “Jeremy, always leave with the monkey on your back.”

I stared. “What?”

“Every meeting ends with tasks, next steps, follow-ups. When it’s unclear who’s doing what, you volunteer. Always. Never let anybody else leave with the monkey on their back.”

I thought he’d lost it. But I tried it. I became the guy who said, “I’ll handle that” at the end of every meeting. The guy who volunteered for the unglamorous follow-ups. The guy with all the monkeys.

Three months later, I’d gone from worst performer to top quartile.

Not because I got smarter. Not because I worked more hours (though there were plenty). But because I became the person who took initiative before being asked. The person leaders could count on to just… handle things.

The billion-dollar insight

Fast forward twenty years. I’m deep into AI research when I hear Sam Altman say something that makes me literally stop in my tracks:

Interviewer: “These AI systems seem like they are alive. Are they alive?”
Altman: “No… They don’t do anything unless you ask. They’re just sitting there waiting. They don’t have a sense of agency or autonomy…”

There it was: the billion-dollar insight hiding in plain sight. In an age of “agentic AI,” the people who win will be the ones who ask first. The ones who be the prompt.

All this panic about AI replacing humans, and Altman just revealed the one thing AI will never do: show up without being asked.

Initiative in Action

Josh To—who now heads up Meta’s Orion AR glasses project—told us on Beyond the Prompt how his career started. Ready? Customer service at Google.

But here’s what Josh did differently: he gave himself a rule. Do his hour-long job in 45 minutes, then spend the last 15 minutes finding problems nobody asked him to solve. Taking initiative.

The guy running Meta’s most futuristic project started in customer service, armed with nothing but initiative.

You know what Josh was really doing? He was turning bugs into monkeys—spotting problems nobody had named yet, then volunteering to own them before anyone else noticed.

“But Jeremy, what about agents?”

Even Ethan Mollick’s definition of AI agents reveals the gap:

“AI that can plan and act autonomously toward given goals.” (source)

Toward given goals.
Someone still has to give them. Someone has to care first. Someone has to be the prompt.

That someone is you. (Or it better be, if you want to remain employable.)

The Initiative Stack (5 N’s)

Here’s the framework I wish I had twenty years ago:

1. Notice — Keep a bug list. What frustrates you? What wastes time? AI will never notice; only you can.

2. Name — Identify the unasked question. What’s keeping your boss up at night? What’s brewing but unsaid?

3. Nudge — Start before the meeting. Draft the doc. Build the prototype at lunch. Create while others schedule.

4. Nail — Deliver the 8-hour proof. Remember my “8 weeks → 8 hours” revelation? Stop asking for budget; build a working stub in a day.

5. Narrate — Broadcast impact. Show before/after. Let others copy. (Remember Adam at the National Park Service? His 45-minute tool now saves 20 years of labor annually because he shared it with others in need!)

The Uncomfortable Truth About Your Career

If you’re junior: This is your only unfakeable advantage. Sure, peers can use ChatGPT to polish reports. But ChatGPT can’t notice the pattern nobody’s tracking. ChatGPT can’t volunteer for the unglamorous project that actually matters. (Hire yourself for that job!)

If you’re senior: This is how you stay indispensable. While others wait for “more autonomous agents,” you’re already three problems ahead, with AI-powered proofs in hand. (Remember my “take your own job” post? This is how you take it.)

Your 15-Minute Initiative Drill (do this today)

1. Bug sweep (5 min): Write three daily frictions at work.

2. Pick one (2 min): Circle the smallest, quickest win.

3. AI assist (6 min): Prompt:

   “I’m frustrated by [specific bug]. Help me design an 8-hour solution that would eliminate this friction for my entire team.”

4. Stake the monkey (2 min): Tell your boss: “I’ll bring a first pass by tomorrow.”

5. Build tomorrow morning: Block 2 hours (or 30 min) to build.

Then send this:

“Hey [Boss],
Noticed we all waste time on [bug]. Built a solution this morning that [specific improvement].
Already using it myself—happy to share with the team if useful.
[Your Name]
P.S. Also keeping an eye on [next bug from your list].”

That P.S.? It signals momentum. You’re training them to expect initiative.

TL;DR

Here’s the real insight from my BCG turnaround:
The most powerful prompt isn’t the one you type into ChatGPT.
It’s the one you give yourself: What needs doing that nobody’s asking for?

AI will do anything you ask—brilliantly, faster than you imagine. But it will never get annoyed at your expense reports. Never notice a customer’s unstated need. Never volunteer for the project nobody wants but everybody needs.

That’s your job. That’s your edge. That’s your future.
And if you’re smart, you’ll realize that makes you irreplaceable.
Not despite AI. Because of it.

Be the prompt.
(Now stop reading and go find your first monkey.)

Related: Beyond the Prompt: Chief of Staff to the Masses
Related: Keep a Bug List
Related: Your Team Just Quoted You 8 Weeks. What if They’re Off by 99%?
Related: 45 Minutes that Saved 20 Years: The Story of An Unlikely AI Hero
Related: Hire Yourself
Related: Take Your Own Job Before Someone Else Does