I had an unexpected conversation this weekend, and it changed
Everything I had planned to share in this month's newsletter...

Don't you love it when an interruption turns into an epiphany?

As I schedule this post for the 15th, I'm still processing some of the insights myself, so please forgive me if the newsletter is not fully buttoned up.

I trust you can read between the lines and connect the dots. You are Peripheral Thinkers™ after all.

With that said, I have two REALLY important asks:

1. Would you please read this newsletter and share it with someone who may need it?

2. Today, will you please introduce me and Peripheral Thinking™ to 10 people in your network? I need your help!!! (Why and how are at the bottom of the newsletter.)

I'm honored to serve you and look forward to your comments and introductions!

April 15, 2025

Aloha, Peripheral Thinkers™!

Perhaps a trending topic entered the newsletter for the first time without it being a setup to dispel.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI).”

There, I said it. The Big Thing everyone is talking about. The topic you cannot avoid. The ‘Trend Sweeping the Globe.’

You know my position on Trends—Peripheral Thinkers™ are trend-setters and disruptors, not trend-followers and the disrupted.

This month’s BREAK ALL THE RULES newsletter shines a peripheral light on a trend that has captured the attention of many business leaders and left many people confused about what to do with it. Including me!

Here’s a new take on AI from a Peripheral Thinkers™ perspective.

No special prompts are required here.

Just keep reading.

Let’s Go!

Peripheral Perspectives – AI

You’ve noticed that Google includes AI-generated responses to some of your searches, right?

One of my recent Google searches returned the sample information I sought. That’s nothing new. However, a statement at the bottom of the AI-generated response caught my attention:

“Generative AI is experimental.”

My immediate response?

“So am I.”

Maybe we are more alike than I thought.

You can never have too many or too diverse sources.

Everywhere and Nowhere

AI is everywhere right now.

It's being praised, feared, used, and misused.

The hype is so prolific it’s hard to avoid it. But…

Adoption is still low.

A Harvard Project on Workforce study found that 39.4% of adults aged 18-64 reported using it, with 28% of employed individuals using it at work.

A survey by McKinsey & Company reported that 79% of respondents had some exposure to generative AI, with 22% using it regularly in their work.

With all its potential, AI is still far from mainstream compared to other technologies like smartphones.

A vast majority (83% of American adults) use their phones for a variety of purposes, including texting, accessing the internet, and using apps. Studies also indicate that people check their phones frequently, with some research suggesting an average of 80-144 daily checks. – Pew Research

Why is adoption so low?

Maybe it’s analysis-paralysis, or option-overload, or something else.

Making sense of the best uses for your business is as varied as opinions on the color orange.

Common Sense Won’t Work

Many business leaders I speak with are still figuring out where and how to test and use AI, which leads us back to the plethora of options and use cases.

Unlike common industry standards for technology use, AI's relative newness provides few conventions from which to draw insights.

So we dabble a little here and there, starting with simple tasks that can be automated.

Like in the early days of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), we document our processes and add technology to automate as much as possible.

Not so with AI…

Take that common approach with AI; at best, you will be common.

Common approaches NEVER create uncommon, innovative results.

The Peripheral Thinkers™ Perspective

While AI is everywhere, few business leaders use it to think differently.

Over the past year, I’ve noticed something powerful:

Most people think of AI as a tool for writing faster, summarizing content, automating repetitive tasks, or coding.

But very few see what it’s truly capable of—especially in the hands of a Peripheral Thinker™.

When used intentionally, ChatGPT isn’t just a helper.

It becomes a thinking partner that reveals insights you didn’t know to look for.

Finding, combining, and applying insights from uncommon sources is the key to business innovation.

In my work with leaders across 31 industries and 27 countries—generating over $21.7 billion in new annual revenue—we’ve proven one truth again and again:

The most powerful solutions rarely come from the center of the problem or industry standards. They come from the overlooked, the underestimated, the non-obvious—THE PERIPHERY:

The periphery of what your industry expects
The periphery of how your customers think
The periphery of how your team sees challenges

This is the heartbeat of Peripheral Thinking™—the ability to seek insight, action, and advantage from non-obvious perspectives.

Peripheral Thinking™ is a set of skills that helps people access those peripheral insights consistently.

Recently, I’ve found an unexpected peripheral ally in this process: ChatGPT.

INTRODUCING CHATGPT AS PERIPHERAL THINKERS™ ALLY:

What ChatGPT Really Does (When Used Well)

At first glance, it feels like a supercharged search engine. But used with purpose, ChatGPT becomes:

✅ A Pattern Breaker — challenging what you assume to be true

✅ A Lens Shifter — reframing your challenge from new perspectives

✅ A Connection Engine — pulling insights from places you never thought to look

It’s not automation. It’s amplification.

How It Works (The Human-AI Exchange)

ChatGPT isn’t pulling answers from a database. It generates responses based on deep pattern recognition and is trained on a vast library of human knowledge.

But here’s the kicker:

It adapts to your tone, thinking style, and strategic intent.

It becomes more useful the more clarity and curiosity you bring to the table.

If you're a leader, founder, or builder, AI doesn't replace your thinking. But it extends your thinking beyond what's obvious.

💡 Linear thinking moves through lateral to Peripheral Thinking

💡 Repeating industry playbooks becomes a study of contradictions

💡 Internal constraints give way to uncommon inspiration

When I apply Peripheral Thinking™ to my questions—when I ask ChatGPT to challenge norms, explore contradictions, or reimagine a business model—it meets me there. And often, it shows me something I might have otherwise missed.

New insights and how to apply them take you from black/white/gray to the full color spectrum.

The more I share the Peripheral Thinking™ skills model with ChatGPT and other AI models, the more inventive the solutions I create.

WIIFM

You don’t need to be a tech expert to use ChatGPT powerfully. But you do need to be clear, curious, and open to exploring what’s outside your usual view.

Here’s what I’d recommend trying:

Ask it to challenge your industry norms
Ask it to reframe your value proposition from a competitor’s angle
Ask it to explore contradictions or “impossible” ideas

Don’t just ask for answers. Ask for what you’re not seeing.

Did you catch that?

What you are NOT seeing.

Treat your ChatGPT like a human collaborator. A respected mentor. A new connection in a new industry who is willing to share all they know and challenge you with new perspectives.

Put It Into Practice. TODAY!

Invest 5 minutes with ChatGPT today, and try this:

“What is the one thing [my industry] would never do—and how could it be turned into a competitive advantage?”

Don’t stop there. Ask ChatGPT to expand on its response. Have a conversation.

That’s Peripheral Thinking in action.

And with the right collaborator—even an AI one—you’ll find insights that live just outside your current line of sight.

Look… I am NOT an AI expert or skilled prompt engineer.

I AM a Peripheral Thinker™ who has found another resource to increase the volume and variety of actionable insights.

In A Nutshell

ChatGPT is another resource that confirms the Peripheral Thinkers™ motto:

“Right now, I can access everything I need to achieve anything imaginable… when I know where and how to look.”

AI won’t replace your thinking.

AI won’t replace the Peripheral Thinking™ skills that make you and your business unstoppable.

But it will reward the quality of your thinking, especially when you bring it to the periphery.

Let it surprise you.

Let it challenge you.

Let it expand you.

Because the future isn’t just about working faster.

It’s about thinking differently!

Thinking peripherally!

Until next time, I’ll look for you in the periphery where Growth and Innovation THRIVE!

Paul Daniels, Jr.

p.s. This month’s newsletter was written in collaboration with my Peripheral Thinkers™ CPT. Generative AI is experimental… So are we. Learning, applying, and growing every day.

Spread The Word To Reach 100K People

For every person who hears my keynote, reads this newsletter, or sees my posts, 5-7 more people pick up new insights!

Will you help me spread the word?

Please introduce 10 friends. Here are 3 things that you can refer to:

1. My keynote for your/their next event → https://bit.ly/3OOEzSu

2. The newsletter subscription link → https://bit.ly/3Q98ULE

3. Follow or connect with me → https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauldanielsjr

We have ~65K more people to share Peripheral Thinking™ with by the end of 2025.

April 2025 Peripheral Thinkers™ Newsletter