What if you didn't have to disappear into a cabin for a year to write a meaningful book on AI? In this episode, host Susan Diaz kicks off a 30-day podcast-to-book challenge, sharing why her first book changed everything in her business and how she's now using AI and this podcast as a live "thinking lab" to build her next one.

In this solo reflection, Susan:

• Looks back at how her first book Unboring: Take Your Content Marketing from Blah to Brilliant reshaped her identity, authourity, and client pipeline.

• Gets honest about why her AI book has been "stuck in a Google Doc" for over a year.

• Shares how a 30-day podcast challenge (inspired by Dan Sanchez and Ken Friere) will turn daily episodes into the raw material for a new, evergreen book on AI literacy for companies.
  
  

Key takeaways

• Books change rooms, not just shelves. Being an author didn't make Susan "book rich" but it did change how decision-makers perceived her, filtered in better-fit clients, and gave her a framework for talks, workshops, and content.

• A realization that the book doesn't need to chase the news cycle. Instead of writing about tools and updates that age in months, Susan is focusing on evergreen questions: how we think, work, govern, and design AI inside companies.

• Stuck isn't a lack of ideas. It's a lack of structure and urgency. The AI book already existed as outlines, pillars, and scattered drafts. What was missing was discipline and a public commitment.

• Podcasting can be a "thinking lab" for your book. Daily episodes will act as live experiments for frameworks, stories, and interviews that can later be shaped into chapters.

• AI is a collaborator, not a ghostwriter. Susan uses AI to help think, outline, pattern-spot, and structure - while all ideas originate from real conversations, reflections, and lived experience.

• This is a long game for leaders. AI literacy and adoption inside organizations will take years, just like online banking. Some people will resist to the bitter end, but most will eventually adapt.
  
  

Episode chapters (timestamps)

[00:00 ] Why writing and storytelling still sit at the centre.

[01:00 ] The identity shift of publishing Unboring and how it changed client perception.

[03:45 ] How the first book became a "north star" for talks, workshops, and marketing content.

[07:10 ] The uncomfortable truth: the AI book has been stuck as outlines, half-finished drafts, and scattered notes.

[08:20 ] The fear that an AI book will be obsolete by the time it's finished - and why that thinking is flawed.

[09:56 ] What this new book will be about: humans, companies, culture, governance, and real workflows.

[10:53 ] Enter the catalyst: Dan Sanchez, Ken Friere, and the idea of building a book in public using AI.

[12:50 ] Deciding to do a 30-day podcast challenge… at the end of November… right into the holidays.

[14:18 ] What a previous 30-day Instagram Live challenge did for speaking opportunities and authourity.

[16:03 ] How this 30-episode sprint will turn the podcast into a thinking lab for the book.

[17:40 ] The mix of episodes to expect: solo reflection, teaching, futurism, and subject-matter-expert interviews.

[18:48 ] Why AI literacy in companies will mirror the long, messy adoption curve of past technologies.

[20:29 ] The types of guests Susan wants to bring on: innovators, practitioners, futurists, ethicists, and policy voices.

[21:25 ] How AI will be used behind the scenes to turn conversations into chapters and frameworks.

[22:10 ] An invitation: come along for 30 episodes of experiments, rough edges, and real-time learning.

Links and resources

Get Susan's first book - Unboring: Take your Content Marketing from Blah to Brilliant


Connect with Susan Diaz on LinkedInfor behind-the-scenes updates on the challenge.

Agile teams move fast. Grab our 10 AI Deep Research Prompts to see how proven frameworks can unlock clarity in hours, not months. Find the prompt pack here.

If this episode sparks something in you, don't just listen - build alongside it.

• Use these 30 episodes as prompts to ask better questions about AI in your own company.

• Share this episode with a founder or leader who's "AI-curious" but stuck in planning mode.

• Hit follow/subscribe so you don't miss the next 29 days of this experiment.

If you're leading a team and want help turning your lived experience into AI-powered IP (like a book, frameworks, or talks), send Susan a DM on LinkedIn with the words "podcast to book" and she'll share next steps.