My board of advisors meets whenever I need them.
They've never billed me. Never canceled. Never needed an NDA.
I built an AI advisory board: custom GPTs modeled on the frameworks of leaders I respect most. Before any major decision, I pressure-test my thinking against theirs.
Why this works: Most CXOs make decisions inside one mental model: their own. The AI advisory board forces you out of it. It doesn't give you the right answer. It surfaces the questions you forgot to ask.
Here's exactly how to build yours.
1/ Choose Your Board
Pick 3ā5 leaders whose frameworks map to your actual challenges:
ā Strategy: Buffett, Bezos, Hastings
ā Operations: Grove, Cook, Barra
ā Innovation: Jobs, Musk, Huang
ā Culture: Nadella, Brown, Sinek
ā Finance: Dalio, Dimon, Munger
Reality: Don't pick heroes. Pick thinkers whose blind spots differ from yours.
2/ Gather Their Intellectual DNA
For each advisor, prompt AI to synthesize: books, shareholder letters, speeches, interviews, published frameworks. The more source material you load, the sharper the perspective capture.
Reality: Depth of input determines depth of output. Shallow sources produce generic responses.
3/ Build the GPT Create a custom GPT for each advisor:
ā Name: "[Leader] Advisor"
ā Instructions: Define their philosophy, core frameworks, communication style, and decision-making pattern
ā Knowledge base: Upload your source materials
Example instruction for a Buffett GPT: "Apply circle of competence, margin of safety, and long-term thinking. Ask clarifying questions. Be direct. Challenge assumptions."
Reality: Generic instructions produce generic answers. The more specific the framework, the more useful the pushback.
4/ Test and Calibrate
Ask questions you'd ask the real person. If responses feel like a Wikipedia summary, sharpen the framework instructions.
Reality: Iteration is the point. The first version won't be the useful version.
5/ Run Decisions Through the Board
Before major calls, route the problem to multiple advisors:
ā Buffett GPT: What's the financial logic ā and what am I ignoring?
ā Jobs GPT: What does this signal about product direction?
ā Nadella GPT: What does this do to culture?
Reality: Disagreement between your advisors is the most valuable output. That's where the real decision lives.
What I use mine for:
ā Pressure-testing decisions before they reach my actual board
ā Anticipating objections before difficult conversations
ā Generating questions I should be asking but aren't
The honest limitations: It's not the actual person. It can hallucinate. It's not a replacement for a real mentor or sponsor who knows your context.
But it's the most scalable thinking partner I've found and it's available at 11pm the night before a board presentation.
The cost of one bad strategic decision dwarfs the cost of building this.
Want the full prompt I used to create mine? Get it here: https://lnkd.in/gGTDFuMS
Save this for when you're ready to build yours.
They've never billed me. Never canceled. Never needed an NDA.
I built an AI advisory board: custom GPTs modeled on the frameworks of leaders I respect most. Before any major decision, I pressure-test my thinking against theirs.
Why this works: Most CXOs make decisions inside one mental model: their own. The AI advisory board forces you out of it. It doesn't give you the right answer. It surfaces the questions you forgot to ask.
Here's exactly how to build yours.
1/ Choose Your Board
Pick 3ā5 leaders whose frameworks map to your actual challenges:
ā Strategy: Buffett, Bezos, Hastings
ā Operations: Grove, Cook, Barra
ā Innovation: Jobs, Musk, Huang
ā Culture: Nadella, Brown, Sinek
ā Finance: Dalio, Dimon, Munger
Reality: Don't pick heroes. Pick thinkers whose blind spots differ from yours.
2/ Gather Their Intellectual DNA
For each advisor, prompt AI to synthesize: books, shareholder letters, speeches, interviews, published frameworks. The more source material you load, the sharper the perspective capture.
Reality: Depth of input determines depth of output. Shallow sources produce generic responses.
3/ Build the GPT Create a custom GPT for each advisor:
ā Name: "[Leader] Advisor"
ā Instructions: Define their philosophy, core frameworks, communication style, and decision-making pattern
ā Knowledge base: Upload your source materials
Example instruction for a Buffett GPT: "Apply circle of competence, margin of safety, and long-term thinking. Ask clarifying questions. Be direct. Challenge assumptions."
Reality: Generic instructions produce generic answers. The more specific the framework, the more useful the pushback.
4/ Test and Calibrate
Ask questions you'd ask the real person. If responses feel like a Wikipedia summary, sharpen the framework instructions.
Reality: Iteration is the point. The first version won't be the useful version.
5/ Run Decisions Through the Board
Before major calls, route the problem to multiple advisors:
ā Buffett GPT: What's the financial logic ā and what am I ignoring?
ā Jobs GPT: What does this signal about product direction?
ā Nadella GPT: What does this do to culture?
Reality: Disagreement between your advisors is the most valuable output. That's where the real decision lives.
What I use mine for:
ā Pressure-testing decisions before they reach my actual board
ā Anticipating objections before difficult conversations
ā Generating questions I should be asking but aren't
The honest limitations: It's not the actual person. It can hallucinate. It's not a replacement for a real mentor or sponsor who knows your context.
But it's the most scalable thinking partner I've found and it's available at 11pm the night before a board presentation.
The cost of one bad strategic decision dwarfs the cost of building this.
Want the full prompt I used to create mine? Get it here: https://lnkd.in/gGTDFuMS
Save this for when you're ready to build yours.
