Bio
Hilary Gridley writes about AI adoption from inside a product team, what actually happens when working PMs and ICs try to integrate AI tooling into a real workflow under real time pressure. Her best-known framing, the "Couch-to-5K for AI" 30-day ladder, is operationally precise about why most adoption attempts fail at the start, not at the deep end. Her diagnosis: the bottleneck is the daily 10-minute commitment under time scarcity, not the difficulty of advanced techniques.
Operating themes
- Operating thesis: AI fluency is built like cardio, short daily reps over 30 days, not weekend deep-dives.
- Adoption design, the block is the start, not the depth.
- Habit-shaped tooling, practices that fit a busy operator's day actually compound.
Cards
- The block to AI adoption is the start, not the depth, design 30-day ladders, not deep-dive bootcamps, The block to AI adoption is the start, not the depth, design 30-day ladders, not deep-dive bootcamps [Tier B]
Sources captured
- 2026-04-28, Your Couch-to-5K for AI (https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/your-couch-to-5k-for-ai)