I was speaking to some university students recently about an AI project they were working on.
They showed me a survey form they were planning to send out to local businesses. The core question was essentially: "What AI use cases do you have so we can build a solution for you?"
I offered a different perspective. I told them that identifying the use case—finding the specific problem that makes economic and practical sense to solve—is half the battle.
If a business already knew exactly what their high-value AI use cases were, they would be most of the way toward solving them. They would just be looking for a developer.
But it's not just the students. Corporate leadership often falls into the same pattern.
The Hidden Job Description
Right now, companies are telling their employees to "upskill in AI" and "reinvent their roles."
It sounds empowering. But let's look at what we are actually asking a standard employee—an Accountant, a Sales Rep, or a Designer—to do.
We aren't just asking them to use a new tool. We are asking them to suddenly become:
- A Product Owner: To define the scope and requirements of a technical solution.
- A Business Analyst: To map out current workflows and identify inefficiencies.
- A Financial Analyst: To calculate the ROI of the time spent learning vs. the time saved.
- A Change Manager: To convince their team to adopt this new way of working.
We are asking people who are already busy doing their actual job to take on four other complex roles on the side.
The "2 out of 10" Reality
Think about your team before AI arrived.
In a team of ten people, how many were actively pushing the needle on "ways of working"? How many were constantly tweaking processes and reimagining workflows?
Maybe two?
The other eight were just trying to do their job really well. And that is totally fine. We need reliable operators.
But now that AI is here, there's often an expectation that all 10 out of 10 will suddenly become process innovators. In practice, teams tend to evolve more gradually.
The Amplifier Effect (Why "Just Adding AI" Fails)
AI without a structured workflow is just a distraction. To actually get value, you need someone who can look beyond the prompting. You need someone who can reimagine the entire process through three critical lenses:
- The Customer: Does this actually improve their experience, or does it just add generic, impersonal touchpoints?
- The Administrator: Does this remove the drudgery for the staff member, or does it just add another tool they have to manage?
- The Business: Does the cost of building and running this actually make sense for the bottom line?
Where I Come In
I've always had a mindset of "making things better," and with my practical AI capabilities and wide range of experience across functions and industries, I can be the missing piece in your team. I'll evaluate your workflows, build solutions, and take your people on the journey so more time is spent making you money than spending it.
If this resonates, let me know if you want to talk about:
- Custom Workflows: Eliminating the manual copy-pasting, data searching, and organizing that slows your team down.
- Client Management: Streamlining your communications and client experience so nothing falls through the cracks.
- Capability Uplift: Distinct, practical training to raise the AI literacy of your wider team.
- Project Reality Checks: Bringing a practical, user-centric AI perspective into your product management.
Jasper Irvine
Founder, Plain Logic