DeepSeek Disruption, AI Agents, and Resume Hacks on Edition #3

“Agents are the new apps for an AI-powered world. Every organization will have a constellation of agents, ranging from simple prompt-and-response to fully autonomous.” - Jared Spataro

Hello, future business leaders (and so many new subscribers)!

Welcome to the third edition of AI Toolkit for MBAs! Whether you’re hustling through case studies, preparing for interviews, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, this newsletter is here to give you the tools you need to leverage AI as an assistant in your MBA journey.

This toolkit consists of two parts: Pulse & Prompt. Pulse offers bite-sized nuggets about emerging AI technologies and their recent impact on business. Prompt kickstarts your daily conversations with the Gen AI product of your choice.

Let’s dive right in!

Pulse

This week has been particularly exciting in the world of AI. Here's some of it you should know:

• DeepSeek: A Disruptive Force in the AI Landscape

If there's one thing competitive strategy has taught us, it is that entering a monopolistic competition can be quite risky, but DeepSeek still did it! DeepSeek AI , a Chinese AI startup, just dropped an open-source model called R1 that’s shaking up the industry. It’s giving OpenAI ’s ChatGPT a run for its money but costs way less and uses fewer resources. This news has made waves in the tech world, hitting U.S. companies like Nvidia hard in the stock market. Some are calling this “AI’s Sputnik moment,” hinting at a shift in tech power from the West to China. DeepSeek’s R1 performs just as well as its Western counterparts but with simpler hardware, raising big questions about the future of AI. In response, Alibaba rolled out its own model, Qwen 2.5-Max, claiming it’s even better. This highlights the fierce global race in AI innovation. Keeping an eye on these shifts is key to crafting strategies, spotting investment opportunities, and advising clients.

• OpenAI's Foray into Advanced AI Tools for Businesses

If you thought Gen AI tools were more like chatbots and search engines than personal assistants that actually DID things for you, good news! OpenAI is doubling down on AI for businesses with ‘Operator,’ a digital agent that can perform tasks like buying groceries and filing expense reports. Powered by a new model (CUA) that blends advanced reasoning with vision, Operator is being tested with Instacart, Uber, and eBay. While still in its early phase and prone to errors, it marks a major step in making AI a seamless part of business operations. Operator is available to ChatGPT Pro users in the U.S. Several companies including Microsoft reported how they're capitalizing on this 'agentic' moment.

• Apple's iPhone Sales Drop Despite AI Push

苹果 ’s latest AI-powered features didn’t spark the iPhone sales boom many expected. Instead, the company reported a decline in sales, signaling that AI alone isn’t enough to drive consumer demand. Now, Apple is shifting focus to making AI a bigger part of future products in hopes of keeping customers engaged. I think this is a great lesson in product-market fit—just adding AI doesn’t guarantee success. If you’re into product management or marketing, it’s a reminder that understanding consumer behavior is just as important as innovation. Is AI beginning to feed closed mouths?

Prompt

This edition's prompt: Generic Resume Hacker

?? Prompt:

"I want to improve the bullet points on my resume using the STAR format. Assume you're a professional resume writer, please take each bullet and refine it to clearly highlight the context, my role, the action I took, and the measurable impact. Keep the language concise, results-oriented, and relevant to my industry. Here are my resume bullets:

[Paste your resume bullet points here.]

If a bullet lacks a clear result, suggest ways to quantify impact. Ensure the wording is compelling and avoids passive language. Format the output as a list of revised bullets."         

?? Example Usage on ChatGPT:

Input:

I want to improve the bullet points on my resume using the STAR format. Assume you're a professional resume writer, please take each bullet and refine it to clearly highlight the context, my role, the action I took, and the measurable impact. Keep the language concise, results-oriented, and relevant to my industry. Here are my resume bullets:

• Worked on brand strategies, helping increase brand awareness by 15% and driving a 10% sales bump.
• Participated in teams for new product launches, contributing to a 12% market growth.
• Managed marketing campaigns across social media, email, and in-store promotions, boosting engagement by 20%.
• Conducted research and analysis for projects, enhancing decision-making processes.

If a bullet lacks a clear result, suggest ways to quantify impact. Ensure the wording is compelling and avoids passive language. Format the output as a list of revised bullets.

?? Note: Feel free to add another filter to ensure the results is not too long - "Each bullet should fit within two lines on an A4 sheet using Times New Roman, size 11, assuming standard 1-inch margins and single spacing."

Output:

Here’s your refined set of resume bullets in STAR format with clear impact and compelling language:

• Developed and executed brand strategies that increased brand awareness by 15% and contributed to a 10% boost in sales, strengthening market positioning.
• Collaborated on cross-functional teams for new product launches, conducting market research and competitive analysis, leading to a 12% expansion in market share.
• Managed multi-channel marketing campaigns across social media, email, and in-store promotions, optimizing targeting strategies to increase customer engagement by 20%.
• Conducted in-depth research and analysis on industry trends and consumer behavior, providing data-driven insights that improved strategic decision-making and campaign performance.

This version makes your contributions more impactful and action-driven while maintaining a concise, results-oriented format. Let me know if you’d like further refinements!

That’s it for this edition!

Want me to explore a specific topic from the tech industry and its implications on business? Have ideas about game-changing Gen AI prompts? Feel free to DM me, and I’d love to feature it in the next edition. Let’s keep learning, innovating, winning and acing the MBA journey — together.