The Case for Being Courageously Unambitious

The fatal flaw is always the same: a lethal dose of ambition. 

Everyone wants a big, impressive rollout, but they forget a critical truth: an AI project that’s 95% finished isn’t “almost valuable.” It’s worthless. There’s a nonlinear jump between a promising MVP and a tool that actually works. Until an “MVP” is fully functional, it might as well not exist.

That’s why the bravest leaders I know scope their AI work down, way down. Instead of chasing an industry-defining system, they define success as one workflow automated, one repetitive task turned into clockwork, or one useful output delivered every single time. 

Small, borderline boring targets. So unsexy it’s overlooked. I PROMISE this is the way.

I call this being courageously unambitious. Courageous because it cuts against the cultural pressure to pitch moonshots. Unambitious because it asks you to take pride in the most modest win you can guarantee.

My first AI SaaS, Instant Chapters was an instant hit. Why? 

We only promised ONE thing: automated timestamps for podcast episodes. And we delivered flawless output 100% of the time.

We stayed FAR away from podcast titles, podcast descriptions, or YouTube thumbnails. I wasn’t confident we could do them perfectly, so we simply chose not to touch them.

At first it felt undersized compared to what the market expected. But our promise was fully believable, so customers signed up without hesitation. It’s still the highest converting landing page I’ve ever built. 

Our “little AI tool” hit 100 percent of the goal, 100% of the time, which was infinitely better than being a half-working “all-in-one” tool.

The meaningful gains from AI adoption come from reliability stacked on reliability. Each micro win earns credibility. Credibility buys adoption. And adoption creates the foundation to build on the next layer.

If you are sketching your AI roadmap, only one question matters. 

What is the smallest project you will absolutely finish?

Answer honestly and you will avoid the graveyard of “almost finished” AI projects.

Big visions are easy to sell, but don’t fall prey to the cheap dopamine.

Have the courage to be unambitious. Focus on stacking, small perfectly functional systems that improve operations by 1% now through the end of time. 

Finish what you start. As Nick Huber taught me, visionaries go broke. Operators get paid.

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