Jan 6 • Tips
A Step-by-Step Lesson on Using AI in Business Today
The Modern “Five-Dollar Day” Playbook
This is the mistake most businesses make with AI.
They ask, “What tool should I buy?”Instead of asking, “What part of my operation is unstable?”
Henry Ford didn’t start with a wage increase. He started by diagnosing systemic instability.
That is still the lesson.
Below is how to apply that thinking to AI today.
Step 1: Identify Where the System Is Bleeding, Not Where Costs Look High
Ford didn’t focus on hourly wages. He focused on turnover, retraining, and lost momentum.
In modern businesses, the equivalent problems usually look like this:
- Constant rehiring or contractor churn
- Teams drowning in repetitive work
- Processes that fall apart when volume spikes
- Knowledge living in one or two people’s heads
Before touching AI, you need to name the instability.
Lesson: AI should be applied to friction, not to features.
Step 2: Separate “People Problems” From Operational Problems
Ford didn’t blame workers for quitting. He redesigned the system so staying made sense.
Today, leaders often mislabel operational failures as motivation or culture issues.
Examples:
- “People don’t follow the process”
- “Training takes too long”
- “Everyone does it differently”
Those are system design problems.
Lesson: AI works when it stabilizes work, not when it polices people.
Step 3: Redesign the Work Before You Automate It
Ford didn’t just pay more. He paired pay with standardized shifts, predictable work, and repeatable output.
AI should be used the same way.
Before automating, answer:
- What is the correct way this task should be done?
- What inputs are required every time?
- What decisions should be consistent?
If you cannot explain the process clearly, AI will not fix it.
Lesson: Clarity comes before automation.
Step 4: Use AI to Protect Human Energy, Not Replace It
Ford used wages to reduce burnout and turnover.
AI should do the same thing today.
AI is most effective when it:
- Removes repetitive administrative work
- Reduces context switching
- Preserves decision-making for humans
The goal is stability, not headcount reduction.
Lesson: AI is leverage when it reduces exhaustion, not when it increases oversight.
Step 5: Embed Knowledge So Performance Does Not Collapse
Ford didn’t rely on tribal knowledge. He engineered repeatability.
Today, AI can do what manuals and binders never did.
AI should be used to:
- Draft and maintain SOPs
- Support onboarding and training
- Capture decisions and logic consistently
When someone leaves, the operation should keep moving.
Lesson: AI becomes valuable when knowledge outlives people.
Practical Example: Customer Support Operations
The Common Problem
A growing service business has:
- High customer inquiries
- Long response times
- Inconsistent answers
- Burned-out support staff
Leadership thinks the solution is hiring more people or buying a complex AI chatbot.
That fails.
The System-Level Fix Using AI
Step 1: Map the top 10 customer questions and correct responses
Step 2: Standardize how issues should be handled and escalated
Step 3: Use AI to draft response templates and decision trees
Step 4: Let AI handle first drafts or categorization
Step 5: Keep humans responsible for judgment and exceptions
Now:
- Response time drops
- Consistency improves
- New hires ramp faster
- Experienced staff stop repeating themselves
That is a systems upgrade.
Step 6: Measure Stability, Not Just Speed
Ford didn’t just measure output. He measured consistency and sustainability.
With AI, the metrics that matter are:
- Reduction in rework
- Faster onboarding
- Lower turnover
- Fewer escalations
- Predictable outcomes
If AI increases chaos, it was applied too early or to the wrong problem.
Lesson: ROI shows up when the system calms down.
The Real Takeaway
The modern five-dollar day is not a tool purchase.
It is a decision to redesign work so people and technology reinforce each other.
AI should:
- Stabilize operations
- Reduce waste
- Protect human judgment
- Make consistency easier
When businesses treat AI as infrastructure instead of a shortcut, they stop chasing headlines and start building durable advantage.
That is operational intelligence.
And just like Ford proved, the businesses that redesign the system win long after the excitement fades.
Thoughts?
Check out the article I wrote on LinkedIn about this 👇
1
0 comments
A Step-by-Step Lesson on Using AI in Business Today
powered by
skool.com/apmj-ai-ops-leadership-5806
Learn how to keep more of the money you make, how to use AI in your business, tips, tricks & strategy.
Suggested communities
Powered by