This week, the Behavioural Design Club hosted its latest webinar: "From AI Tools to AI Advantage." Over 300 professionals joined the Dutch edition, followed by an international session. The central question: how do you unlock AI superpowers in your employees? The answer is surprising: it is a behavioural challenge, not a technical one.

Below are the key insights from the webinar. At the bottom you will find links to watch the full recording and download the slides.

Four framing problems blocking AI adoption

Framing, one of the most powerful lenses from behavioural science, explains why AI adoption stalls in so many organisations. The way a choice is presented dramatically shapes how we experience it. Tom identified four framing problems:

  1. Management treats AI as an IT problem. It gets handed to the IT department, which optimises for safety and control. The result: a handful of people get access to the worst tools. An old Fiat instead of the Rolls Royce that is available.
  2. We think of AI as "smart Google." We ask a question, get an answer and feel disappointed. The better frame: think of AI as an infinite orchestra where you are the conductor. You unlock exactly the expertise you need at any given moment.
  3. We think AI skills are technical skills. The image of the young tech whiz who was born to use AI is damaging, because it makes everyone else feel they will never achieve AI mastery. The truth is radically different.
  4. We feel threatened. AI touches our professional identity, our status, and our sense of competence. Using the SUE Influence Framework, you can precisely analyse which Comforts and Anxieties block adoption.

Craftsmanship is the new coding

The central thesis of the webinar: "Craftsmanship is the new coding." AI does all the technical work in the background. What you need is not technical fluency, but craftsmanship: a deep understanding of your own profession.

Don't become AI-first. Become craft-first, and use AI to strengthen your craft.

Think of the knowledge pyramid: data becomes information, information becomes knowledge, knowledge becomes wisdom. When you approach AI through your craftsmanship, through your wisdom, you get exponentially better output. Approach AI as smart Google, and you get mediocre answers that smell like AI from a mile away.

Three superpowers of the AI conductor

If craftsmanship is the key, what are the specific superpowers you need to develop?

1. Knowing how to brief

Deep craft knowledge enables you to brief AI using the right mental models. Tom demonstrated this with two cases: a European agricultural policy paper that he transformed into a powerful Guardian front page using System 1 thinking, and a private banking campaign he briefed using the Influence Framework and Jobs-to-be-Done.

2. Knowing how to review

The biggest mistake people make with AI: you ask a question, get an answer and give up. Treat AI output as a prototype. Observe your own reaction: "This doesn't work for me because..." Use your frameworks to help AI understand what you are looking for. Briefing and reviewing together form the engine of exceptional AI output.

3. Prototyping and making

AI has evolved from sparring partner to making partner. Tom and Astrid are currently rebuilding the entire SUE website with Claude Code. Tom prototypes iPhone apps in an afternoon. The cost of bringing something to life has dropped to nearly zero, which means you can get lightning-fast feedback from your audience.

How to design AI adoption

Use the SWAC model to design moments that matter. It is not about one big training event, but about small "Wait, how did you do that?" moments that spark curiosity and goosebumps:

The most striking example: Tom uses Fathom (an AI notetaker) to analyse transcripts of his conversations with Claude as his personal leadership coach. Every week he receives feedback on his conversational patterns, blind spots and strengths, based on real interactions. No technical wizardry, but a magical use case you can set up in five minutes.

Watch the webinar

Were you there? Then you know how many eye-openers came up. Missed it? No problem. You can watch the recording and download the slides:

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