Last week I had one of those “this will be quick” conversations that turns into a full-on whiteboard session, without the whiteboard.

We were sitting on the beach, talking shop. I might as well have had a whiteboard up and a laptop open, but all I had was a phone.

You know the type: someone is trying to explain a business case, but the real challenge isn’t the math, it’s the story:

• Who’s the audience?
• What objections will they have?
• What’s the simplest way to explain something that’s genuinely complex without making it feel like a fee grab / a power grab / a bureaucracy grab?

While we talked, I let Granola quietly listen.

Not because I wanted a transcript for the archives. But because I’ve learned something about high-leverage work: the value isn’t captured in the final sentence. It’s hidden in the side quests. For example, when someone says, “Wait, why does that matter?” or “That’s cool, but how does it change the decision?” Those moments are pure gold. Those are the insights that are often missing when you sit down to a blank powerpoint slide. They’re the missing slide titles and the story arc for the presentation.

After the conversation, I followed a simple workflow that’s becoming a default for me:

1) Granola captures the brainstorm.​
I skim the notes for the “shape” of the conversation: the framing, the tension, the audience, the must-answer questions.

2) Copy the relevant chunk into Claude.​
Not the whole thing. Just the parts where the logic gets built: definitions, the three key arguments, and the objections.

3) Prompt Claude to produce slide structure, not slide fluff.​
In this conversation with an entrepreneur who was looking to build a new business, I had Claude create:
- a one-slide “why now” narrative
- a slide that makes the services / capabilities legible (a menu, not a paragraph)
- a slide with economics (simple, explainable math)
- an FAQ / objections slide (fundraising, conflicts, regulation, incentives)

4) Then I edit like a human.​
Claude is great at first drafts. My job is to make it true, sharp, and easy to defend. The rule: if I can’t explain a slide in one breath, it’s not done.

The meta-lesson isn’t “AI makes slides.” It’s: AI brings ambiguity to life. When you run a messy brainstorm through a model, you instantly see where your argument is crisp and where it's lacking.

Granola gives me the raw material. Claude gives me the first structure. And I get to spend my time where it actually matters: judgment, clarity, and taste... and working on my tan on the beach.

If your team is drowning in meetings and starving for outputs, try this once: record one brainstorm, generate one tight deck, and measure the difference in cycle time. It’s hard to go back.

Alex