Hi everyone, The LinkedIn posts that win clients in 2026 show judgement, not activity. AI can now write a polished "5 tips" post in seconds, so polish no longer sets you apart. What buyers can't get from a machine is your standard: how you decide what is good, what is risky and what is wrong. Two pieces of research point the same way: Edelman and LinkedIn's 2025 B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report surveyed nearly 2,000 professionals. 86 per cent of "hidden" decision-makers (the people who shape a purchase without ever talking to sales) said they look for bold ideas that challenge assumptions. Stanford Digital Economy Lab, August 2026. Employment of 22 to 25 year olds in the most AI-exposed US occupations stands 19 per cent below where it would have been had it kept pace with less-exposed peers. Experienced workers in the same jobs show no comparable gap. The market is protecting experience and the judgement that comes with it. So put your judgement on the page. Here are three formats, adapted from the "four rungs" in my new book, each one showing more judgement than the last: 1. THE EXAMPLE POST Show what excellent looks like in your field. Put a weak version and a strong version side by side, and explain the difference in three lines. 2. THE RUBRIC POST Publish your standard. "How I judge whether a [proposal / hire / forecast / landing page] is ready: 5 checks." This is the format that gets saved and shared, because readers can use it straight away. 3. THE CAUGHT-IT POST Tell the story of a confident answer that was wrong, whether it came from a tool, a report or an "expert", and how you spotted it. This is the hardest of the three to fake. It is also the post that makes a buyer think: I want that person checking my work. Try one this week and drop the link below. I'll comment on as many as I can. If you'd like the thinking behind this, my new book The AI-Powered Future of Work (Book Two of my Human-Led Leadership Series) is free on Kindle until 5 October 2026:

This is the flow that I watch for: 1. They see a post that speaks to a problem they already want fixed. They have in their mind that that issue is crucial to solve. 2. They click my profile to figure out if I actually know what I’m talking about. Exactly why your branding on your profile should be top-notch. 3. They read my headline, banner, featured section, and recent content. Everything is consistent with my website, content, newsletters, etc. 4. They find a clear next step, usually my newsletter, live content, DMs, or a link to another landing page, offer, you name it. 5. They spend time around my content until timing and trust line up. Once they've done that, they go to the final step. 6. They book a call because the path made sense from start to finish. There was no messy business in between. I’m breaking this down in my LinkedIn Live Masterclass this Friday. You can get the details at https://lnkd.in/edzwAaQ3

When you actually figure out how to use LinkedIn for your business and not just for random posting, the platform really works. Like works works. Big time. I still remember starting on LinkedIn in 2023. I was completely new to the platform, and tbh there weren't too many creators here yet doing anything. We had some names like Ben Meer and Justin Welsh who were crushing it. But the actual creator economy was incredibly slow here on LinkedIn. I transitioned from Twitter (X), Twitch, and TikTok to go all in on LinkedIn. This looked like the WORST mistake in the social media game, and I thought it wasn't going to work. But man, if you put your 200% effort into a social platform and go all in on your brand, offers, and positioning, you can make it YOUR thing. I use LinkedIn for my main business as of 2026. It's my #1 focus right now. For all of my creator and business friends on the platform, you can make the same thing happen. Just gotta push for that 200% and go all in. Let's go let's go.

When is your LinkedIn masterclass? I got an email saying it is at 5 pm UK time today [August, 14th]. Can you confirm the date, please?

Hi all, I want to comment more on LinkedIn to drive impressions/profile clicks. However when I open my feed, it's usually either people with virtually no engagement (friends/coworkers) or major influencers flooded with AI comments. Should I just comment on everything anyways (thoughtfully of course) or should I pick which posts I comment on?