Sometimes the Workaround Is the Workflow

I needed to put together a simple presentation last week. Nothing fancy, just slides for a non-technical audience.

We're a Google shop, so normally that means Google Slides. But I'd just gotten access to our Enterprise Claude account, which includes Claude Cowork, and it has a skill that builds slide decks. Figured I'd try it.

It can't make Google Slides. Of course it can't. It makes PowerPoint.

Here's the thing though, Google can open PowerPoint files. So I did that, saved it as Google Slides, and moved on.

Then I noticed something. There's a little banana button in Google Slides now. That's Nanobanana, their AI image creator. You click "Enhance slide" and it generates an image for you right there.

If you've ever sat through one of my presentations, you know this is kind of a big deal for me. I am not a visuals person. My slides have historically been... words. Just words.

Anyway. It worked. The slides looked decent. I'm not going to oversell it, it took a few extra steps I didn't expect — but I got there, and the end result was better than what I'd have made on my own.

Sometimes the workaround IS the workflow.

Originally posted on Linkedin: Sometimes the Workaround Is the Workflow.