From IT to Influence fromittoinfluence.com
Free Tool

The 60-Second Political Scan

Five questions to run before you send anything AI-assisted to a stakeholder. Not for accuracy — the AI already handled that. For timing, audience state, and threat surface.

AI makes your output better. It doesn't know who's threatened by the answer, who commissioned the question for cover, or what happened in leadership's world in the last 72 hours.

The Ghostwriter produces. The Diplomat deploys. This scan is the Diplomat's pre-flight check.

Questions cleared 0 / 5
Work through each question before you hit send.

The Scan

Click each question when you've thought it through. All 5 before anything goes out.

1
Does everyone on this list know this is coming?
Why it matters: Surprises at scale read as ambushes. Even good news, delivered without warning, puts people on defense.
2
Is there anyone this affects who isn't on this list?
Why it matters: The person you didn't loop in is the one who kills it in the next leadership meeting — not because they disagree, but because you made them irrelevant.
3
Does this change something someone owns — and did you tell them first?
Why it matters: Ownership is political territory. Touching it without notice signals either ignorance or disrespect. Neither lands well.
4
Is there anyone in this chain who needs a heads-up about what you used to get here — not just the result, but how you got it?
Why it matters: AI-assisted work still makes people nervous. If they find out after the fact, the question shifts from "is this good?" to "what else is he automating without telling us?"
5
Who's the bridge — the person who can vouch for this before it hits the room?
Why it matters: Cold sends land cold. One ally who already knows what's coming is worth more than the most polished output you've ever produced.
Next Step

The Executive Visibility Playbook

The Political Scan handles the pre-send check. The Playbook handles the bigger problem: building the kind of visibility that means your name comes up in rooms you're not in — before the opportunity requires it. 30-day system, built for senior technical professionals.

Get the Playbook →
From From IT to Influence — the unwritten rules, taught from the war zone.