Newsletter: A hard week, better systems, and the AI productivity shift

This is the web edition of Mike’s Blog newsletter. Subscribe here for future issues.

Some weeks feel like momentum. Other weeks show you every weak point in the system. This was the second kind.

The details of our workflows and skills have been hard. At home, Miles has also been struggling with his robot because getting the right parts in Thailand is much harder than it was in China.

But friction is feedback. The question is what we learn from it.

Read my full August 23–29 Now update.

A mixed AI-agent team

We implemented Lisa.agent as our first Grok-based bot. Janice, Billy, and others remain on OpenClaw, while Arthur is on Codex as my CEO coach. The real challenge is not choosing one model. It is building clear handoffs between agents, software, and humans.

Cross Border Summit is heating up

Ticket sales are picking up as returning community members, experienced sellers, and business executives prepare for Chiang Mai this November. We are rebuilding the operating system around the summit so the experience is stronger before, during, and after the event. Explore Cross Border Summit 2026.

Products remain in development

Across three ecommerce brands, we are working through new products, formula-concentration and packaging concepts for Excalibur Brothers skincare, improved jewelry packaging, and tighter container-shipment processes. See the Excalibur Brothers skincare project.

Preparing for September

This last week of summer should include some rest and recovery. I also want to keep doing the boring work of hardening the workflows before September and the rest of 2026 become intensely busy.

Where are you still resisting AI because the learning curve feels uncomfortable, and what is one small workflow you could test this week?

Mike