Welcome to The Daily Spark: Prompt with Purpose
Your thought provoking source for daily AI insights, prompts, and automations designed to help you make smarter decisions, streamline your work, and live with purpose.

Welcome to The Daily Spark: Prompt with Purpose

Over the past few months, I’ve been diving deep into AI-driven solutions. Honestly, it’s been both exciting and a bit overwhelming, but I’ve learned a lot about how AI can help leaders and professionals boost productivity, improve self-awareness, and make smarter decisions. AI is transforming the way we work, and I’m convinced it can do so much more than just automation—it can help us grow both professionally and personally.

That’s why I’ve decided to openly share my explorations and experiments. I’ll be posting daily insights, experiments, and some practical stuff I’ve been working on with AI prompts, agents, and automations. The goal isn’t just to show what AI can do but to figure out together what people really need from it. It’s not just about generating more revenue (though that’s always nice!), but also about how AI can help us become more self-aware, intentional, and purposeful.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Daily AI insights: Practical, real-world examples of how AI can help with leadership, productivity, and making better decisions.

• AI prompts and automations: Simple, actionable guides on how to use AI in everyday tasks to work smarter and grow personally.

• Sharing my journey: I’ll be honest about what’s working, what’s not, and what I’m learning along the way. AI isn’t perfect, and neither am I, so I’m excited to figure this out together.

What if AI could do more than just make you productive? What if it could help us become more effective thinkers and decision-makers? Some folks in my network have already told me how these ideas have reshaped their thinking, and my hope is to spark new ideas for all of us. As I explore how AI can enhance my executive functions, help me make better decisions, and align my actions with my goals, I’ll be sharing practical examples anyone can try—stay tuned for that!

In line with my “Daily Spark” newsletter’s tagline—Prompt with Purpose—I believe this journey can provide value to many of you who, like me, are looking for ways to streamline work, make better decisions, and live with more intention. AI can do more than just save time—it’s a tool for living more thoughtful, purposeful lives.

Thank you for following along! Feel free to reach out with any ideas or questions—I’d love to hear from you!

Best,

Nick Lipetzky

This new newsletter format is crafted to provide daily insights on how AI can elevate your leadership. Each edition focuses on a specific executive role, uncovering the challenges and opportunities unique to it. We break down key responsibilities, showcase practical AI applications, and offer reflective prompts to deepen your leadership approach. The aim is to demonstrate how AI can serve as a thought partner—helping you streamline work, make smarter decisions, and align your actions with your broader goals, enhancing both your personal growth and professional impact.

Today’s edition focuses on the role of Principal, Business Operations at Zillow Home Loans, exploring how AI can support and elevate the responsibilities within this position.

Jump to:

• Systems Thinking: Areas of Focus

• Todays Role Breakdown

• AI Executive Coach

• Building an Executive Coach Agent

  • AI as a Thought Partner

  • Prompts to use today

AREAS OF FOCUS + ACTIVITIES
The The INSTIG8+8

I use a system for prompting I call the INSTIG8+8 (inspired by the Mandala chart) that maps people’s areas of focus into 8 key categories, and then maps their activities into 8 more, forming a larger 64-grid structure. This approach simplifies complex goals, helping individuals see both the big picture and the small, actionable steps they need to take.

When working with AI, this structure becomes even more valuable. The key to successful AI implementation isn’t just providing more detail—it’s giving the right detail. AI thrives on clarity, and by breaking tasks into smaller parts and using task-specific inputs, we optimize its performance.

Consistency is crucial when automating processes. Reformatting inconsistent information before feeding it into AI ensures smoother, more reliable outcomes. While AI can adapt to some variability, maintaining consistency in repetitive workflows is essential for accuracy.

By incorporating feedback loops, AI learns from past results and refines its performance over time, creating a system of continuous improvement. This structured approach ensures better AI outcomes and sustainable automation, all within a framework that connects each activity to a larger, strategic vision.

HYPOTHETICAL GOAL

ROLE OVERVIEW
Principal, Business Operations at Zillow Home Loans (ZHL)

The Principal, Business Operations focuses on leading cross-functional teams, managing strategic initiatives, and optimizing performance across ZHL’s sales and operational channels. While their primary responsibility is growth and efficiency, the deeper aspiration may be to become a more strategic leader—someone who excels not just in execution but in inspiring teams, building trust, and driving innovation across the business.

Estimated Goals

• Increase funnel conversion by 25% within the next 6 months.

• Optimize digital and Premier Agent sales channels to drive growth.

• Align strategic initiatives to ensure Zillow Home Loans remains at the forefront of innovation.

AI EXECUTIVE COACH

FOCUS AREA 1
Sales Funnel Optimization

Activities it chose:

• 1.1: Perform daily analysis of sales funnel metrics to identify drop-off points and opportunities for improvement.

• 1.2: Review and refine lead qualification criteria with the sales team to ensure high-quality leads are entering the funnel.

• 1.5: Implement A/B tests to optimize email campaigns and customer outreach strategies.

AI Coach’s response:
Let’s dive into this. You’re doing a daily analysis of sales funnel metrics—are you focusing on the right metrics, or just the most obvious ones? Have you thought about using AI to uncover less visible trends or outliers that manual analysis might miss? What could happen if you automated more of the analysis and freed up your time for deeper strategy?

For lead qualification, how often are you refining the criteria? Is this a static process, or could AI help you evolve the criteria dynamically based on real-time customer data? When you say 'high-quality leads,' what metrics are you using to define 'quality,' and how do those align with your business goals?

In terms of A/B testing, have you considered setting up continuous, automated tests that learn and adapt as you gather more data? How can you make this process more fluid, so that you’re not just running tests but actively evolving your approach based on what AI learns from customer behavior?

FOCUS AREA 2
Project Management and Execution

Activities:

• 2.2: Hold daily check-ins with project team members to identify and mitigate risks.

• 2.4: Review project timelines and adjust resources as needed to stay on track.

• 2.6: Manage daily tasks in sprints to ensure timely completion and iterative improvements.

AI Coach’s response:
These daily check-ins—are they yielding the insights you need, or are they just status updates? Could AI automate some of the routine updates, allowing you to focus check-ins on strategic risks and problem-solving? What would it look like if your team had real-time AI insights into risks before they even came up in meetings?

When you adjust project timelines, are you adjusting based on past data or gut feeling? How are you using AI to predict resource needs and project bottlenecks? What if you shifted from reactive adjustments to proactive resource management by letting AI flag early warning signs?

Managing daily tasks in sprints is smart, but how are you measuring success beyond completion? Are you optimizing for learning and improvement with each sprint, or just getting tasks done? How can AI help track iterative improvements and suggest changes to future sprints based on what worked or didn’t?

FOCUS AREA 3
Cross-functional Collaboration

Activities:

• 3.2: Set up daily 'sync' meetings to ensure alignment on priority tasks across departments.

• 3.6: Engage stakeholders in quick daily brainstorm sessions for innovative solutions to current challenges.

• 3.8: Maintain an open feedback loop, gathering insights from various departments daily.

AI Coach’s response:
Your daily sync meetings—are they truly adding value, or are they becoming repetitive? What if you automated some updates using AI, so meetings are shorter but more focused on cross-departmental alignment? How can you use AI to identify misalignments before they turn into larger issues?

For brainstorm sessions, are you capturing all the insights in a way that can be easily tracked and used later? How are you encouraging innovative ideas? What if you used AI to surface trends or potential solutions based on past challenges? Are you using all available data to guide these discussions, or are they mostly idea-based?

For your feedback loop, how often are you reviewing the feedback, and is it actionable? Could AI help by organizing feedback into themes or suggesting action items based on trends? How do you ensure that feedback is not just gathered, but integrated into continuous improvement?

AI AS A THOUGHT PARTNER

PROMPTING
Enhancing Self-Awareness, Decision Making, and Ideation

Self-Reflection

AI can analyze communication patterns with cross-functional teams and help identify areas where leadership might need to improve. For example, AI can reveal signs of micromanagement or ineffective delegation.

Boost Cognitive Functions

AI can act as an executive assistant, helping to optimize task prioritization, ensuring that high-impact decisions get the focus they need.

Automate Performance Insights

An AI agent can continuously track performance metrics in real time and provide daily or weekly insights. This allows leaders to focus on strategic decision-making rather than manual data reporting.