This newsletter is for you, dear reader. Specifically, it’s meant to provide frameworks and guidance for the goals you have in life and work. What those goals are, they’re unique to you. But I hypothesize that each of you has at least one deep aspiration that is driving you to read The Pocket.

And making those dreams a reality is hard work. It can be lonely work. My hope is that you find this space a repository of insights and a wellspring of solace in support of your aspirations.

There’s one master tool that I’ve started using for exactly this purpose. Because I too have aspirations. I too find it hard work, and lonely work, to make them a reality.

I’m building a portfolio career. I’m doing fractional executive consulting. I’m doing Integral Coaching. I’m writing this newsletter. I’m writing screenplays. I’m a father of three kids and a husband and a friend. On a good day, I’m juggling like an artist; on a bad day, I’m spilling my spinning plates all over the place.

I have an amazing coach that supports me. And I have some trusted friends and allies that do too.

Today, I’m sharing a recent addition to my toolbox, and it’s been a game-changer.

My Personal Virtual Advisory Group

I use Claude.ai (the Pro subscription) to create virtual advisory groups that are specific to the work I’m doing in each aspect of my portfolio career. For example, I’ve created a virtual advisory group for my screenwriting project. I’ll explain the benefits and then the framework for creating your own personal advisory group.

Five Bold Reasons to Create a Virtual Advisory Group on Claude

1. Unlimited intellectual bandwidth without scheduling conflicts
   ​Real-world advisors have real-world constraints. Your virtual advisory board is available precisely when you need it - at 2am when you're wrestling with a thorny problem, or right before a critical meeting when you need rapid feedback. No calendar Tetris required.
2. Zero psychological friction in feedback loops
   ​Let's be honest: humans soften their critiques. We all do it. A virtual board doesn't worry about hurting your feelings or preserving the relationship. You get the unvarnished truth every time, which is exactly what you need when building something meaningful.
3. Tailored expertise combinations that would be impossible to assemble in reality
   ​Try getting a neuroscientist, growth marketer, and renaissance philosopher in the same room in real life. With a virtual board, you can craft the perfect intellectual cocktail for whatever challenge you're tackling.
4. Radical consistency in applying frameworks across decisions
   ​Even your smartest advisor has off days or evolving opinions. Your virtual board brings the same intellectual firepower and consistent application of principles to every single question you pose.
5. Exponential knowledge synthesis without cognitive limitations
   ​Human advisors hit cognitive walls. They forget connections between ideas or miss parallels across domains. Your virtual board can simultaneously hold and connect concepts from multiple disciplines, spotting patterns that would elude even the most brilliant human mind.

So, what’s the virtual advisory group and how do I use it?

I told Claude.ai the summary of my objectives in the specific domain – i.e., screenwriting. I told Claude the following:

The list of advisors that Claude chose for me was impeccable, and surprising, half of whom are my heroes in the field, and the other half were folks I would never have called to mind but who fit the bill perfectly.

Once the advisory group was assembled, I’ve leaned on them in all sorts of meaningful ways. Fundamentally, one of the key challenges I’ve found is this: screenwriting is, first and foremost, a creative act, with rules to follow and break, and it’s also a career track and a massive industry of players, protocols, and challenges. Doing the work of writing is on me. Insuring I’m setting that work up for success in whatever way possible brings up all sorts of creative and strategic questions.

These questions are best answered by creative leaders who’ve navigated it and spoken or written at length about it. Sourcing the wisdom of those experts could be a linear practice: reading memoirs, watching interviews, etc.

Tapping them through this AI container is exponential, dynamic, and profoundly impactful. It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s a guide and sounding board on the lonely road to redemption.

What would you do? What could you do with a group of experts in your pocket?