Axios Finish Line

May 06, 2026
🔮 Good evening! Tonight, Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen give us a sneak peek at their new book with co-founder Roy Schwartz — out this fall — with a simple trick you can try right now to simplify how you work.
- Smart Brevity™ count: 359 words … 1½ mins. Edited by Natalie Daher and copy edited by Amy Stern.
1 big thing: Simplify YOU

The simplest AI playbook we know doesn't involve a single large language model. It's three questions, asked by YOU to YOU. They work for any size company, any seniority level, Jim and Mike write:
- What are the three things, in order of importance, you must do to meet or exceed expectations in your gig?
- What are three things you think you're supposed to be doing that make no sense, could be done better or not at all?
- What are three things AI could do better than you to 10x your output?
⚡ That's it. Nine answers per person.
- Worst case: You force clarity and alignment with your boss. Everyone walks out knowing what actually matters.
- Best case: You kill the dumb stuff and fill your days with truly vital work — with AI handling what shouldn't have been on a human's plate to begin with.
🎯 We provide a new template for this in our book with Roy Schwartz, "Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less," out Sept. 15.
- It's called Confront-Delete-Amplify: Confront what matters. Delete what doesn't. Amplify with AI. You'll hear a lot more on this from us this summer.
💡 Try it this week. The answers will tell you more about your job, time management and company than any quarterly check-in with the boss.
📈 If you're a CEO or on a CEO's team: Ask to join Jim's new weekly Axios C-Suite newsletter.
2. ☕ Parting shot: Coffee in bloom

Coffee plants bloom in Utuado, Puerto Rico, as bees pollinate the flowers.
- By November, the harvest should yield "one of the best coffees in the world," Finish Liner John Lombardo of San Juan, Puerto Rico, tells us.
⛰️ The plants are at John's weekend casita in the mountains. He also grows passion fruit and Caribbean cherries to share with friends and family.
🏁 Please invite your friends to join Finish Line.
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