If you play your cards right, you might just save your business from the AI apocalypse. If you put your AI efforts on easy-mode, you’re likely going to lose your lunch money. You’ve heard all the hype, right? AI is the magic wand that’s going to solve all your problems, streamline your operations, and probably make you breakfast in bed, too. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s time for a reality check.
1. Your Vanilla AI Strategy Is Making You Invisible
Here’s the cold, hard truth: if you’re expecting to sound unique and distinguished based on using AI tools set to autopilot, you’re in for a rude awakening. You’re not special, you’re vanilla. And in the business world, vanilla is just another word for invisible.
Why It Matters: AI tools are a force multiplier for business. They multiply the strategy and docs of what’s already there. But if there’s nothing there to multiply, it won’t do you much good. At best, it will crank out vanilla shit – and just be the latest version of amateur hour.
The Brutal Reality: You cannot trust AI tools to distinguish you from the pack. AI does not work the same way humans do, not now, and probably not ever. When everyone’s using the same AI tools, you’re all speaking the same robotic language. Congratulations, you’ve just paid top dollar to sound like everyone else.
What You Need to Do: Before you even think about AI, you need to have a solid foundation. Do you have a digital strategic plan? A brand narrative document? Does the content you’re going to train the AI on actually represent your brand voice well? Or did you bullshit and cut corners there too? If you’re feeding garbage into the AI, don’t expect filet mignon to come out the other end.
2. Your Expensive AI Platform Is Probably Using Last Year’s Tech
You thought you were so smart, didn’t you? Investing in that super-expensive, all-in-one AI platform that promised to revolutionize your business. Well, I’ve got news for you: you might as well be running your business on Windows 3.1 in a Windows 11 world.
The Ugly Truth: Most of these platforms are not revealing the models they’re using because they’re using CHEAP AI models under the hood. They’re luring you in with promises of cutting-edge tech while serving you stale AI on a silver platter.
Why It’s a Problem: The viable shelf life of a frontier model for AI is maybe a tiny bit better than the shelf life of a carton of milk in your refrigerator. We’re talking months for consumers and weeks behind the scenes. Yet most of these platforms are having you drink LAST YEAR’S milk – telling you it’s delicious. That’s way past cheese and mold!
What You Should Do: Look for solutions that allow you to connect ANY engine you want to their system. If you’re paying for better AI, or the latest, you’ll want to connect it to your existing data and systems. The edge will go to the businesses who can keep up with the changes in the AI landscape.
3. You’re Paying to Build Your Own Prison Cell
Think that expensive AI platform subscription is your ticket to business nirvana? Think again. You’re not investing in freedom; you’re sentencing yourself to irrelevance and spammy mediocrity.
The Harsh Reality: By the time you get up and running, or are competent with these platforms, you have a limited window of competitive advantage. Why? Because in those months or years, I promise you, the AI engines will shift and evolve, and the app, the platform provider, has a biased incentive to linger on the older models as long as possible to save on costs.
What You’re Really Getting:
- Debt: On top of the expensive subscription, you need to budget for training, onboarding, data migration, development of strategic documents used to train the AI, and professional services costs.
- A 6-month window of viable use before the market adapts.
- Access to shitty AI bot support. They’re phasing out shitty outsourced, unhelpful call centers with chatbots, and even call center chatbots.
The Wake-Up Call: You’re better off paying $20-$50 for direct access to the AI models and a Make.com subscription for automation – than paying $500 a month, PLUS all the pro services fees, support fees, addon AI fees for their “beta” program.
4. You’re Handing Over the Keys to Your Kingdom
Data is the new oil, and you’re basically giving it away for free. When you sign up for these AI platforms, you’re not just buying a service; you’re potentially compromising your entire business model.
The Stark Truth: Giving all of your contextual data to a third party hands over the keys to your kingdom. You’re basically telling them how the sausage is made, what the secret family recipe is, what works, what doesn’t, and who you’re selling to that is making most of your revenue.
Historical Context: Remember how Amazon gobbled up the book business by leveraging data… including bookstore data? And then how they did the same thing with consumer goods? History doesn’t repeat, but it sure does rhyme.
The Real Cost: Every lesson you had to learn the hard and expensive way, now the model knows, eliminating the barrier to entry and applying it to your competitors. You are better off isolating your data from competitors and the platforms, and processing AI using a better strategic approach.
5. Your AI ‘Easy Button’ Is Making You Lazy and Stupid
You thought AI was going to do all the hard work for you, didn’t you? Well, surprise! It’s actually making you intellectually lazy and strategically inept.
The Brutal Fact: In the digital age, there’s no harder work than that of sustained, critical thought. Doing the formidable work (DTFW) of, you know, thinking before you commit to action, is key to taking the road less stupid – that can save your organization from blunders and oblivion.
What’s Really Happening: You’re outsourcing your strategic thinking to AI, expecting it to solve problems you haven’t even properly defined. It’s like asking a calculator to write your business plan. Garbage in, garbage out.
The Reality Check: AI is not going to magically create a compelling brand voice or a coherent business strategy out of thin air. If you’ve been bullshitting your way through strategic plans and content, don’t expect AI to turn those turds into gold bars.
6. You’re Training AI to Train Your Competition (And You’re Paying for the Privilege)
Here’s a mind-bender for you: Every time you use these AI platforms, you’re potentially training your competition. And the kicker? You’re footing the bill.
The Inconvenient Truth: Most AI platforms have terms of use that allow them to use your data and outputs to train their AI further. Remember how Adobe got bad press over this? You’re not just using a tool; you’re contributing to a system that’s learning to do your job and train your competitors.
The Bigger Picture: This isn’t just about your individual business. Entire industries have been upended by similar data-grabbing strategies. Remember how newspapers and magazines went all-in on Facebook, convinced to natively publish their content there… only to go out of business because they lost control of the ad revenue – and all that data? Or Bookstores, remember those? They posted their inventory on Amazon rather than create their own website… we all know how that played out right?
What’s at Stake: Your competitive edge, your industry knowledge, and potentially your entire business model. You’re handing over the blueprint of your success to companies that have no obligation to keep your best interests in mind.
7. Your AI Solution Is Probably Solving the Wrong Problem
You jumped on the AI bandwagon because everyone else was doing it. But did you ever stop to think if you’re even asking the right questions?
The Hard Truth: Most businesses are putting the cart before the horse – they’re implementing AI solutions without a clear strategy in place. You’re so focused on the ‘how’ of AI that you’ve completely forgotten about the ‘why’.
What’s Really Going On: You’re likely trying to use AI to plaster over the cracks in your business model or to compensate for a lack of clear strategic direction. AI can’t fix a broken business strategy; it can only amplify what’s already there – good or bad.
The Reality Check: Before you even think about AI, you need to do the hard work of defining your business problems clearly. What are you actually trying to achieve? How does AI fit into your broader business goals? If you can’t answer these questions, you’re not ready for AI – you’re ready for some old-fashioned strategic planning.
8. You’re Underestimating the Human Factor (And It’s Going to Cost You)
In your rush to automate everything, you’ve forgotten the most important element of your business: the human touch.
The Brutal Reality: AI is great at crunching numbers and generating content, but it’s terrible at understanding context, emotion, and the nuanced needs of your customers. You’re so focused on efficiency that you’re sacrificing effectiveness.
What’s at Stake: Your brand identity, customer loyalty, and the very essence of what makes your business unique. In a world where everyone is using AI, the businesses that maintain a strong human element will be the ones that stand out.
The Wake-Up Call: Stop trying to automate everything. Instead, focus on using AI to augment and enhance human capabilities. Your employees shouldn’t be competing with AI; they should be leveraging it to do their jobs better.
9. You’re Not Prepared for the AI Arms Race (And You’ve Already Lost)
You think you’re ahead of the game because you’ve implemented some AI tools? Wake up. You’re not even in the race yet.
The Cold, Hard Truth: The AI landscape is evolving at breakneck speed. What’s cutting-edge today will be obsolete tomorrow. If you’re not constantly updating your AI strategies and tools, you’re falling behind – fast.
The Real Challenge: It’s not just about having AI; it’s about having the right AI at the right time. And more importantly, it’s about having a team that knows how to leverage AI effectively as it evolves.
What You Need to Do: Invest in ongoing AI education for your team. Create an AI task force that’s responsible for staying on top of the latest developments and figuring out how to apply them to your business. And for the love of all that’s holy, stop thinking of AI as a one-time implementation and start seeing it as an ongoing process.
Conclusion: The Path Forward
Look, I’m not here to tell you that AI is all doom and gloom. Used correctly, it can be a powerful tool for business growth and innovation. But the key word here is “correctly.” And from what I’ve seen, most businesses are doing it dead wrong.
So here’s what you need to do:
- Get Back to Basics: Before you even think about AI, make sure you have a rock-solid business strategy and brand identity. Go deeper into articulating your brand. Create a Brand Bible or Culture Book for your organization. It should go deeper than color swatches and logos, but talk about mission, vision, values, purpose, and the behaviors, attitudes and mindsets that result in sustainable high performance, and high quality products and services. Why do all this? Because this is the roadmap and foundation for current and future AI and automation efforts. So don’t half-ass or Bullshit this assignment.
- Do the Formidable Work (DTFW): Stop looking for easy buttons. Embrace the challenge of critical thinking and strategic planning at the top layer, so you can take advantage of AI and automation where they work best – at the technical execution layer.
- Protect Your Data: It’s your most valuable asset. Treat it that way. Read the fine print, know when and how to encrypt, work-around, side-step or otherwise mitigate exposure points of your data.
- Invest in Education: Not just in AI tools, but in understanding how AI can be strategically applied to your specific business needs.
- Stay Human: In a world of AI, your humanity is your superpower. Don’t lose it.
- Be Agile: The AI landscape is changing fast. Build a team and a mindset that can keep up.
Remember, AI is not a magic wand. It’s a tool. And like any tool, its effectiveness depends entirely on the skill and wisdom of the one wielding it. So, are you going to be the strategic genius who leverages AI to dominate your market, or are you going to be another cautionary tale in the graveyard of AI failures?
The choice is yours. But whatever you do, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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