Uncategorized, education, productivity
How to Use AI Effectively in Your Business (And Where Most People Go Wrong)
There is no shortage of content out there about how to use AI in your business, but many busbiness owners still aren’t using it effectively. I had my assumptions but thought I would reach out to Jeremy Horne an AI Strategist for Rain Shift. Jeremy and I have known each other for years, but his expertise in AI over the last couple years had really peaked my interest, so I asked him to jump on the Flow Space podcast.
You can watch that here : AI in Business : AI in Business: How to Use It Productively Without Losing the Human Side
I naturally have my own ideas, concerns and experience with AI implementation, but chatting you Jeremy made me rethink a few key things.
Here are my take aways from our chat.
The First Question Most Businesses Get Wrong about AI
When business owners decide to explore AI, they usually start by asking which tool they should use. ChatGPT? Claude? Something else?
That is the wrong starting point.
The better question is what problem are you actually trying to solve?
It sounds obvious, but skipping this step is where most businesses go wrong. They feel the pressure to keep up, and start tinkering with tools before they have any clarity around what they want to improve. That usually leads to overwhelm, busy work because their is no clear process and outcome laid out.
Before you touch a single tool, map your workflows. Look at where your time actually goes. Find the processes that are repetitive, manual and low risk. Start there.
It probably should not be the most sensitive, most human part of your business on day one.
That framing turns AI from a giant, abstract concept into something actionable. Less “how do we transform the whole business with AI?” and more “what is one thing we can improve properly?”
AI Does Not Replace Human Connection. It Should Create More Room for It
This was one of the ideas in the conversation that I think lands differently depending on how you have been thinking about AI.
A lot of people treat AI and human connection as opposites. Jeremy does not, and I think with the purposeful implementation it can be done. We can’t control what others do with AI; but used well, AI should free you up for more human interaction, not less. If it is handling meeting summaries, repetitive admin, first drafts and clunky internal processes, then you have more time to lead your team properly. More time to think. More time to pick up the phone. More time to sit across the table from a client and actually be present.
That is the version of AI worth building toward. There is also the version that where your aim is to cut costs and alienate your staff, it’s important to understand that with great power comes great responsibility.
AI Slop and how not to fall in the trap
We have all seen the when someone copies straight out of an LLM, posting generic content, or pushes out work that clearly has no editing and no ownership.
That is not an AI problem. That is a people problem.
Used badly, AI makes lazy work easier to produce. It creates the illusion of productivity while quietly making the actual output worse. More volume, less value.
Used well, it give you the time to create higher quality output. It helps smart people move faster. It removes friction from the parts of the job that do not require deep thinking, so you can save that energy for the parts that do.
The distinction matters. The tool does not decide which version you get. You do.
Introducing AI to Your Team Is a Culture Question, Not Just a Tech Question
This was probably the part of the conversation I think most business owners need to sit with.
If you introduce AI carelessly, your team may hear something very different from what you intended.
You think you are saying: here is a tool to help you work better.
They may hear: please train your replacement.
That is not a small misunderstanding. That is a trust issue.
AI introduced badly creates fear, resistance and disengagement. Jeremy says, that AI introduced well, with clarity, proper training and honest conversations about how it will and will not be used, can genuinely feel like giving your team Super Powers!
The way you frame it and the way you lead it matters as much as the tools themselves.
Privacy and Governance Are Not Optional
One thing Jeremy was clear on: you cannot assume your team is not already using AI. They probably are and they they are not doing it with any guardrails in place.
If there is no policy in place, people will often default to free tools and the risk is company information will find its way into places it should not. Many companies put bans in place to manage exposure, but putting clear guidelines in place can be more effective strategy and foster progress.
Be explicit about what can and cannot be shared with external tools. Think carefully about which parts of your business need tighter controls and which do not.
This is not about fear. It is about running a professional operation.
The Practical Starting Point
If you want to get moving without getting overwhelmed, Jeremy’s advice was simple.
Pick one workflow. Something repetitive, low stakes and currently taking more time than it should. Run a proper test. Measure what actually improves. Then make a decision from there.
Do not try to automate big chunks of you business at a time. Do not treat every AI-generated output as final without reviewing it. Do not use it as a shortcut for the parts of your job that require your actual judgment and experience.
Use it where it earns its place. Hold the line everywhere else.
Listen to the full episode for the complete conversation with Jeremy, including how to identify the right starting points in your business, what good AI governance actually looks like, and how to use these tools without losing what makes your business worth working with in the first place.
