One award. One survey. 28 AI tips.

Today's newsletter is a triple-threat (or perhaps more accurately, broken into three parts).

1. Winner winner chicken dinner

So last night, I was a finalist in the Australian AI Awards and holy crap, I won AI Consultant of the Year.

I was stoked just to be a finalist (and yes, I know that's what everyone who has ever been up for an award says, but seriously: legit happy). Anyway, I was in total shock when my name got called out and have absolutely no idea what words came out of my mouth when I went up on stage to collect my award. (Pretty sure I thanked my cat, which is awkward because I don't have a cat.)

But after regaining consciousness and remembering how to form coherent sentences: here's what I would have said if I'd actually thought I had a chance of winning and prepared a speech like a responsible adult.

The award is very much a team effort (I know, I know, so cringe, but also: true). Inventium's AI programs are led by the best AI educator I know (and my personal AI mentor) Neo Aplin. Plus, for anyone who has experienced an Inventium AI program first-hand, you'll know how ridiculously talented our team is: Danny and Ev (who run many of our programs and make AI accessible and useful to the masses), Aly (who helps change mindsets around AI, which some may say is harder that trying to give a meerkat a bath), Phoebe and Bruce (who rove around our workshop rooms like AI whisperers), Hannah (our PM who plays advanced level Tetris with all our diaries), Cat (who manages our ever-growing online community) and Jem and Zyd (who make everything work like clockwork behind the scenes).

So: team effort. I just happened to be the one holding the trophy when the music stopped.

2. Help us plan our 2026 AI calendar

The number of emails we're getting asking for our 2026 AI program dates is, quite frankly, flattering. But there's a slight problem: we haven't locked them in yet.

So instead of us guessing what you want and hoping we nail it, how about you just tell us? We'll be locking in the first few months of our 2026 calendar in the next two weeks.

What's your reward for spending two minutes of your life filling in this survey? You'll be the first to know when our programs are locked in (which matters, because they've been consistently selling out – and no, frantically emailing us after the fact doesn't magically create extra spots). You'll also be the first to hear about some very special one-off discounts we'll be announcing when these programs go on sale.

​Fill in the survey here, get first dibs, and feel smugly superior to everyone who waited.

(And if you are wanting to run a program at your organisation, reply to this email and we can find time to talk or book a time to chat here. Our 2025 calendar is almost fully booked out, but things are looking more flexible in the new year.)

3. Some AI goodness for you

If you're new(ish) to One Percent Better, past newsletters now have a new home at amantha.com. Shout out to Stacey and Charlie at Swai Creative for designing and building this site. They are absurdly talented.

Here are some of the more popular editions of One Percent Better to up your AI game pronto (because scrolling through 87 past newsletters to find that one thing you vaguely remember reading is nobody's idea of a good time):

​25 brilliant ways to use AI outside the office​

​Why AI keeps writing emails that make you cringe. (Here's how to fix it).​

​Stop using AI like a glorified yes-man​

​Your colleague just sent you AI slop. Here's how to handle it.​

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See you next week!