Are You Getting Smarter with AI — or Just Faster?

A practical playbook for leaders and knowledge workers who want to use AI as a thinking partner — not a shortcut.

3 June 2026

Book Launch

SMARTER: 5 Steps to True Human-AI Collaboration by Wendy Tan, PhD

For individuals, teams, and organizations.

Coming Soon!

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"Smart, practical, and timely."

— Marshall Goldsmith

Thinkers50 Hall of Fame, New York Times best-selling author
of The Earned Life and What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Are you getting smarter with AI — or just faster?

When AI can produce in minutes what used to take days — what exactly is your value-add?

The answer isn't the tool — it's the thinking behind it. That is the difference between getting smarter and just getting faster.

Based on in-depth interviews with experienced AI users across industries and analysis of more than a hundred real AI chat transcripts — Smarter gives you:

  • The 8 Deadly AI Sins — the thinking failures you want to avoid
  • Habits to prevent cognitive sloth and build a sharper mind, not just a faster workflow
  • The five types of thinking capabilities, beyond critical thinking
  • A thinking framework to partner with AI and create distinctive outputs
  • Why and how experts and novices use AI differently
  • How to ensure defensible outputs by auditing the thinking behind AI outputs

Built on Flame Centre® BRAIN™ Thinking framework — validated by professionals and PhD holders across financial services, healthcare, education, research, technology, and the public sector.

The playbook for professionals who refuse to outsource their intellect.

Be smarter, not just faster. Be the pilot, not co-pilot.

Take a Quiz on your Thinking Skills
"
"We are living an earned life when our choices align with our purpose. In the age of AI, that means choosing to stay present, to think deeply, to grow—not simply be efficient. Smart, practical, and timely—Wendy Tan offers a framework for earning your thinking, one conversation with AI at a time."

Marshall Goldsmith

Thinkers50 Hall of Fame,
New York Times best-selling author of The Earned Life and What Got You Here Won't Get You There

"
"At AI Singapore, we have trained 500+ AI engineers through our AI Apprenticeship Programme by teaching them to ask 'why,' not just 'how.' The BRAIN framework validates this approach beautifully. It moves professionals beyond mechanical prompting into genuine thinking disciplines — exactly the judgment-building philosophy we have championed for years. This book is a practical guide for anyone who wants to lead AI, not be led by it."

Laurence Liew

Director, AI Industry Innovation, AI Singapore
Author of AI-First Nation

"
"Smarter is a rare gem. An enjoyable read that combines thought-provoking research with a practical, human centered framework for working with artificial intelligence. Wendy Tan shows how artificial intelligence can amplify, rather than replace, our human intelligence. This book is invaluable for anyone navigating today's modern workplace and a must read for professionals in HR, leadership development, or transformation."

Eric Halvorsen

Leadership Academy Director
Danone

"
"Leaders know they need AI, but most don't know how to think with it. Wendy Tan closes that gap. Smarter shows professionals how to lead AI rather than follow it. Top performing companies and leaders think before they leap into AI, and adopting the Brain framework can ensure your implementation success. Looking to succeed in AI where others fail? Smarter is a must-read for you."

Robin Speculand

Implementation Specialist
& Best-selling Author

"
"AI is fundamentally changing the world of work — redefining not just the tasks we do, but how we do them and what work itself looks like. As organizations grapple with this transformation, it's not enough to simply focus on upskilling for future-ready roles; we must first rethink and redesign the very nature of work itself. The conversation should move beyond adoption to capability: How do we ensure that our people are empowered to think more critically and creatively, rather than less?

Wendy's evidence-based insights are invaluable in this context. Through rigorous research and practical wisdom, she addresses difficult questions and provides a timely and thoughtful framework for navigating the intersection of human capability and AI, ensuring that people remain at the heart of progress."

Low Peck Kem

CHRO Public Service Division,
Prime Minister's Office,
President SHRI, President WFPMA

"
"The thinking framework for the use of AI is a timely reminder of the importance of metacognition skills. Hence, to equip our people with AI literacy must be accompanied by thinking skills."

Dr. Gog Soon Joo

Senior Director, Special Project,
Centre for Skills-First Practices at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, Institute for Adult Learning

"
"Wendy has written a very compelling yet practical book about how we can find a right relationship with Artificial Intelligence. She explores how AI can deepen and support our thinking rather than replacing it. The book offers ways to engage AI to help us create more productive work and even how it can be used to benefit the development of our children. She also speaks with a deep moral concern about the current state of our culture and society."

Peter Block

Author of multiple books including Flawless Consulting, Community: The Structure of Belonging, and The Answer to How is Yes

"
"I've always believed in giving people the 'how,' not just the 'what.' Wendy Tan does exactly that for human-AI collaboration. Smarter doesn't preach about AI's potential — it shows working professionals, step by step, how to think alongside it without losing their edge. Practical, research-grounded, and urgently needed. If you care about developing talent for the future, start here."

Dr. Beverly Kaye

i4CP Industry Legend Award (2022)
and co-author of Love 'Em or Lose 'Em and Up Is Not the Only Way

"
"This book is a super-clear playbook that guides anyone to produce exceptional outputs while maintaining total mastery over their work. By following the BRAIN framework, you move beyond simple prompting to a thoughtful collaboration with AI where the human stays in the lead by fully understanding, owning, and directing output."

Prof. Foo Maw Der

President's Chair in Entrepreneurship,
Professor Nanyang Business School
Nanyang Technological University

"
"Smarter offers a timely and accessible introduction to the hows and wherefores of human-AI collaboration, an issue of growing import in our technologising world."

Prof. Sun Sun Lim

Lee Kong Chian Professor of Communication and Technology, Singapore Management University, author of Humanising Technology: Reflections on Design, Ethics and Inclusion

"
"This book is the essential playbook for leaders who want to architect intelligence, not just automate tasks. The BRAIN framework offers a more thoughtful, layered way to partner with AI. In my experience in using it, it went beyond just driving efficiency—it brought clarity and sharper ideation to complex decision-making."

Ted Tai-Yu Chen

Managing Director,
Head of Investment Advisory,
Bank of Singapore

"
"The real work with AI isn't the prompting—it's the thinking before and the editing after. Wendy Tan's BRAIN framework finally gives professionals a structured way to stay sharp while using AI. A must-read for leaders who refuse to outsource their intellect."

Whee Teck, Ong

Partner at Kyndryl and author of Adult Learning Architecture and The Job Apocalypse

"
"Wendy brilliantly shows how AI and human critical thinking aren't competing forces — in fact, they're partners in shaping the future of work."

Andrew Chow

CSP, AI advocator

"
"SMARTER provides a practical framework for navigating the overlapping moments of when to rely on AI, and when to step in. This is a useful guide for anyone in a role where decisions or judgement matters."

Andre Ng

Engineering Deputy Director,
Singapore Public Sector

"
"Wendy's book Smarter is essential reading for this moment when AI begins permeating everything we do. The techniques outlined to make the reader wary of cognitive offloading, a real threat to human intellect, are highly appropriate at this time."

Rahul Sahgal

Founder and CEO, QoreNext Pte Ltd,
Serial AI Entrepreneur

Who This Book Is For

This book is for you if you:

  • Use AI for knowledge work — analysis, writing, strategy, planning, decision-making
  • Want to get more from AI without losing your intellectual edge
  • Lead a team that uses AI and need a shared language for doing it well
  • Are early in your career and don't want AI to shortcut the thinking that builds expertise
  • Are experienced and don't want to outsource your judgement to a machine

This book is not about simple tasks:

It's not about drafting emails, summarising meeting minutes, simple brainstorming, or generating images.

Are you someone who:

  • Uses AI regularly but senses your thinking might be getting thinner, not deeper?
  • Leads a team that uses AI and wants a shared framework for doing it well?
  • Is responsible for building AI capability in your organization and needs something beyond tool training?
  • Is early in their career and doesn't want AI to shortcut the thinking that builds real expertise?

If you use AI for complex work where your thinking is the product — analysis, strategy, writing, decision-making — and you want to make sure it's making you sharper rather than shallower, this book is for you.

What This Book Builds in You

The thinking capabilities that AI can't replace

📊

A framework you can use tomorrow

The Flame Centre® BRAIN™ framework is not theoretical. Each chapter walks you through how to apply one thinking capability to real, complex tasks — with examples drawn directly from real transcripts.

💡

The eight thinking failures to avoid

Wendy's research identified eight consistent mistakes professionals make when using AI — not technical errors, but thinking errors. She calls them the Eight Deadly AI Sins. Naming them is the first step to escaping them.

📘

Different paths for experts and novices

Experts and novices must use AI differently. Experts risk complacency; novices risk shallow understanding. This book shows both groups a distinct, valid path through the BRAIN framework.

The 8 Deadly AI Sins

Why your thinking is the real bottleneck

The 8 Deadly AI Sins infographic
Download A Free Chapter

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About Dr. Wendy Tan

Organizations are racing to adopt AI. Most are measuring the wrong thing. Productivity is up. But the quality of decisions, the depth of thinking, and the confidence to challenge AI outputs — these are quietly eroding. And nobody is talking about it.

I have spent years researching exactly this kind of gap: the human capabilities that determine whether organizations actually grow and thrive, or just get faster.

I am the Managing Partner & co-founder of Flame Centre, a human skills institute that has partnered with 100+ organizations across Asia Pacific, Europe, and the United States.

I am the author of three books, each born from a crisis leading to original research creating thought-provoking perspectives along with actionable frameworks and tools: Wholeness in a Disruptive World, Learning Agility: Relearn, Reskill, and Reinvent, and now Smarter: 5 Steps to True Human-AI Collaboration.

I am a PhD Psychologist, Certified Speaking Professional, who keynotes globally on human-AI collaboration, learning agility, and leading through disruption. My research has been featured in MIT Sloan Management Review.

Dr. Wendy Tan Wendy Tan, PhD, CSP

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Are You Leading AI — or Is AI Leading You?

Most professionals assume they're using AI well. The transcripts tell a different story.

Take this 10-question diagnostic — drawn from real patterns in the research — to find out which of the Eight Deadly AI Sins shows up most in your work, and which Flame Centre® BRAIN™ thinking step you need to strengthen first.

Take the Diagnostic

Your results will identify your primary thinking gap and point you to the chapter that addresses it directly.

Take the 10-Question Diagnostic

Get actionable insights from the research behind the book

Learn what our research reveals about the hidden cognitive costs of AI—and how to stay ahead.
Download the Executive Summary.

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Get Smarter, Starting Now

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