The Habit Mechanic - Unlock your Human-AI Edge

How to become a Human-AI Coach (Part 2)

• Dr. Jon Finn

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In this episode of the Habit Mechanic podcast, Dr. Jon Finn delves deeper into the role of the Human-AI Coach, continuing from part one of this mini-series. He explores the critical importance of brain state management, explaining how cognitive performance—the essence of what makes us human—is the most valuable asset we have in today's fast-paced, AI-driven world. Dr. Finn outlines how becoming a Human-AI Coach allows you to guide others in optimizing their brain states, ultimately enabling them to become high-performing thinkers and better humans.

Through a step-by-step breakdown, you'll learn the core responsibilities of a Human-AI Coach: 

i) assessing brain states; ii) guiding individuals through effective Brain State management; iii) and helping them build sustainable; iv) performance-enhancing habits. 

He shares a case study from Train Your Brain for the AI Revolution that illustrates how Human-AI Coaches can help individuals, teams, and organizations thrive in the AI era. Whether it's focusing on individual optimization, team integration, or cultural transformation, Dr. Finn highlights how this emerging coaching role will be essential in supporting the next generation of high-performers.

Plus, Dr. Finn introduces key coaching strategies, like the Success Cycle, and offers practical tips to implement these strategies with your clients. By mastering these techniques, you’ll be prepared to guide others in navigating the intersection of human intelligence and AI tools, ultimately transforming their performance and their lives.

Speaker 1:

Hello, habit Mechanics. It's Dr John Finn here. I hope you're having a great week so far. So this is the part two of how to become a human AI coach, and in part one you learned about where that role fits into the workplace, and I genuinely think that becoming a human ii coach is going to be the most important role in the workplace.

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It is the least automatable thing and it is central for helping people's brains to work well, and our brain power what we call our cognitive performance is our most valuable asset. You know, people get that towards the end of their life, where their cognitive performance naturally declines, but also people get these terrible diseases like dementia and alzheimer's and all this kind of stuff, and that really hits home. How, how important are our cognitions, our thoughts and the ability to control them In other words, our cognitive performance is. But they're also essential right now, wherever you are in your life, because they are the essence of what makes you a human being, but they are also the thing that drives your ability to add value in your own life and to add value to other people's lives, which is how we make money. Ultimately, we we exchange value for money, and money is essential for paying the mortgage, putting food on the table, etc. So I I see that the most vital skill humans can learn is, I think, right now already, but, and increasingly, um, almost every day in the world that we're living in, it is brain state management, and that means people are going to need other people to not just give them the knowledge about what brain state management is, but to help them to actually change their behaviour and habitualise better recharge states and better high charge management, etc. So take their brain state profile from wherever they are right now, on that continuum from having a cross-the-bare profile through to a sharpening-up-an-arrowhead profile, and that's what you learn about in Chapter 8 of Train your Brain for the AI Revolution, which is the human eye readiness, self brain state assessment.

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Wherever anyone's score is, they're going to need help in terms of getting a better score. That's why we have coaches, that's why we have experts and, in the context of our bigger thinking about helping people, which is what we're passionate about, we know that actually to help people properly, we want to, first and foremost, show them how to work on themselves so almost and show them how to work on themselves, so almost, refining what they learn from our books, from our tools, from our training as they apply it to themselves. And essentially, that's what the first the the first four steps of train your brain for the ai revolution do. They show you how to put this four-step system into practice for yourself. But then, like I said, most people will get it, will get understand what to do, but they won't be able to do it themselves. They will need support. And therefore, the question is well, what does a human AI coach actually do? Well, they do the same thing that we map out in the four steps of train your brain for the AI revolution, but they help others to put that into practice. And, of course, to help others put into practice, you've you've got to be working on yourself first and foremost, but that's all that it is. So it's taking those first four steps and it's putting it into practice to help others.

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Now, of course, when we train our coaches to become certified habit mechanic AI edge coaches, then we also go deeper than train your brain for the AI revolution. We've got loads of other tools that we train our coaches on, but the premise is the same. We're taking people through this journey of measuring their brain states, doing that intelligent self-watching, then starting to target. What are the most important things for them to be working on? And that's the sort of task director work. Then giving people that container so they can manage every 24-hour period better. That's the willpower story. And then helping people to activate the habit building plan. And there are then other tools we can start to layer on top of that and we can take that same approach not just for the individuals, but also for teams and also for businesses. And it's so, so key to recognize actually what you are, if you want to become a human AI coach, is you are a cognitive performance coach, but that language might feel a little bit well. What does that mean? It just means cognition, just means thinking, and we want to help people to be high-performing thinkers so they can be healthy, happy and at their best. And our vehicle to help people to do that is brent step management. So what I'm gonna, what's gonna follow, is I'm gonna share with you um chapter 27 of Train your Brain for the AI Revolution. And remember, you can actually listen to the full version of Train your Brain for the AI Revolution inside of the Hammond Mechanic University app. It is also available on many audiobook platforms, the more and more each day as it gets, as the distribution just um well, as the distributors start to make the book available on their own platforms, but you can listen to it in the app for free. But this is chapter 27, so this builds on what we learned in the last podcast, where we focused on chapter 26. So, yeah, this is 27, and it just sort of shows you step-by-step, practically what human AI coaches do, and I just genuinely believe that human AI coaches will become the most important professionals in the workplace, because without our brains working well, nothing else is going to be good in our lives or our businesses. So this is the key. So, yeah, hope you enjoy it and look out for the next episode, which will be part three of this little mini-series, chapter 27,.

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Teaching Others to Thrive in the AI Era. Sarah watched her colleague James staring at his screen, surrounded by the same AI tools that had once overwhelmed her. An accomplished engineer, james had the potential to be a brilliant automator, but his fragmented brain states were holding him back. The frustration in his expression was all too familiar. She remembered. That's when I knew helping others optimise their brain states wasn't just an opportunity. It was becoming essential essential. This is where your journey expands beyond personal mastery. As organisations worldwide struggle to implement AI effectively, they're missing something crucial Experts who understand how to optimise human brain states for this new way of working. This isn't about teaching people to use AI tools. It's about helping them build the habits that make human AI collaboration natural and effective.

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The key to this method's success, sarah observed, was focusing on brain states and habits rather than technology, states and habits rather than technology. Instead of another AI training session, I could show people how to match their natural energy patterns to different types of work, optimize their focus and use AI tools strategically during different brain states. Three levels of impact that human AI coaches can make. First, individual optimisation. Second, team integration. Third, cultural transformation. Here's each area in more detail. First, individual optimisation Helping others identify their optimal brain states, guiding them to draft their first FAM story and willpower story, supporting them as they craft their first habit building plan. I started with simple things, sarah shared. When I helped James create his first willpower story, we focused on identifying his natural high-charge times, those morning hours when his thinking was clearest. Just matching his important work to these peak times and using AI to handle routine tasks during energy dips transformed his productivity.

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Second, team integration. Coordinating team brain states for optimal collaboration. Creating shared brain energy-aware meeting protocols. Building supportive environments for high-charge work. The power of team awareness became clear, sarah explained. Once everyone understood brain states, they naturally started coordinating their collective energy patterns. They'd schedule creative meetings during shared high-charge times, used AI to handle routine tasks during energy dips and planned coaching conversations when people had the right energy for deep thinking. Third, cultural transformation Embedding brain states into organisational strategy and decision making. Creating company-wide policies that support brain state energy optimization. Building brain state understanding into leadership development programs. The real transformation happened to our workplace culture, sarah explained. Leaders began making brain states part of our company DNA. They changed performance metrics to value energy management, invested in tools and training to support optimal brain states and recognized teams who consistently delivered high-impact work by matching tasks to their peak brain states. More importantly, they created an environment where people felt safe to optimize their own performance and support others in doing the same.

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Common challenges and solutions as Sarah helped more people optimise their brain states, she encountered several common challenges. Understanding these helps you support others more effectively. Challenge 1. The technology focus trap. People often fixate on AI tools rather than their brain states. The solution is to start with the human AI readiness brain state assessment. Once they see how their energy affects their work, ai's role becomes clearer. Challenge 2. The quick fix expectation. People want immediate results without building habits. The solution is to begin with tiny changes that show quick wins while building toward larger transformation. Challenge three the all-or-nothing mindset. People think they must master all AI tools immediately. The solution is to focus on optimising one brain state at a time, gradually introducing AI support your coaching framework.

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Let's explore the three key elements of effective coaching. Element 1. Build trust and understanding. Help map individual brain state patterns. Listen and show genuine care. Understand current AI challenges. Element 2. Guide habit development. Start with personal fam stories and willpower stories. Connect daily habits to meaningful goals. Create sustainable change plans using the habit building plan framework. Element three establish support systems. Have regular check-in conversations. Create accountability partnerships. Build shared team practices.

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Sarah's journey to teaching. At first I just shared the willpower story tool Sarah explained, but I quickly realised the success cycle that transformed my own performance was exactly what others needed. I'd guide them through each step systematically. Let me share how Sarah approached each step of the success cycle. Step one measurement. We'd start by having them track their brain states for a few days and complete the human AI readiness brain state assessment. This gave us a clear baseline of their current patterns and challenges.

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Step two planning with the task director. This was about more than just tasks. We'd start by creating their FAM story, helping them see how optimising their brain states connected to their biggest goals and ambitions. Once they had that vision, we'd identify their ice sculptures and ice cubes. Creating their first willpower story focused on optimizing their morning hours. Having their FAM story made this planning more meaningful because they could see how each small improvement moved them toward their larger goals. Step three optimization with the day designer. Once they saw results from their morning routine, we'd gradually expand to designing their full day around their brain states, matching tasks to energy levels and using AI tools strategically. Step 4. Automation with the routine engineer. We'd build triggers and systems using the habit-building plan framework that made their new patterns automatic rather than effortful. This was crucial for sustaining their transformation, even during challenging periods. What amazed me was how this systematic approach worked, whether I was coaching colleagues, entire teams or senior leaders. Sarah explained the success cycle anchored by the F story, gave everyone a clear path from struggling with AI tools to thriving alongside them.

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Your next steps. Just as Sarah discovered, your journey to helping others is guided by the success cycle. Let's break this down into four clear phases. Phase 1. Start with measurement. Help your first person complete the brain state assessment. Guide them in tracking their daily patterns. Document their current AI tool challenges and opportunities. Phase 2. Move to planning. Remember the task director's saying the foundation determines the height. Guide them in drafting their FAM story and Ice Cube and Ice Sculpture lists. Help them create their first willpower story focusing on morning hours. Show them how to match Ice Cube and ice sculpture tasks to brain states. Phase 3. Progress to optimisation. Remember the day designers saying planning transforms energy. Help them expand their willpower story to cover the full day. Guide them in using AI tools strategically. Help them design supportive environments for high-charge work.

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Phase 4. Build toward automation. Remember the routine engineers saying systems beat struggle. Develop triggers that make good habits automatic. Help them create their first habit-building plan. Help them build resilient routines that last. Remember your role isn't to be a technical expert. You're a guide, helping others optimise their most valuable asset their brain states in an AI-augmented world. As you master this process with individuals, you can expand to teams and eventually whole organizations. As Sarah discovered, when you help someone master their brain states and build effective habits, you don't just improve their performance, you transform their life.