The skill that mattered most when I built my own AI powered email sorting tool was not coding. I have been writing code and building stand alone apps for more than 20-years. Flat files, SQL, VB, C#, etc. I can read and understand Python but I still did not write any of it for this build. Claude did. The thing that made the build possible and ultimately effective was knowing what the system needed to do before I opened the code editor. The categorization rules. How to handle the edge cases. The trigger to add a fourth category I did not think I would need. That is process clarity. It is the skill operators already have and most agencies or consultants pitching AI agents do not. You can read about the entire project and why I tell clients not to build these tools here: thecrysler.club/process-clar…

Talked with someone recently who built AI bots to do a pile of admin prep work, with a person approving every output before it moves forward. Good design on paper. In practice, people get fatigued from double checking things that are almost always right, and slowly it turns into "yep, looks good, go." A root cause process that demands a full investigation for every small problem decays the same way. Save the full treatment for what repeats, reaches a customer or costs real money.

A problem came back every few months for nearly a decade. When we finally solved it, we didn't use a single new tool.

What project are you holding back because it's not "ready"? What would it look like to ship V1 this week?

I’ll never regret doing nice things for good people

It’s interesting... You want fewer bottlenecks but haven’t streamlined your internal communications. It’s interesting... You want more efficiency but skip regular reviews of your team's workflows. It’s not just about working harder, it’s about working smarter.

Sometimes it feels like instead of running at peak productivity, we're struggling to survive incoming orders and tackle the backlog. If this is how you’ve been feeling lately, you'll want to join the interactive Productivity Improvement Lunch & Learn that Max Krug and I are hosting. The event is free to attend but registration is required: events.teams.microsoft.com/e…

Always smile when we receive feedback like this from members of @theCryslerClub

"Customer dissatisfaction is usually the result of a breakdown in established business systems." - Ron Carroll Same goes for our teams. More than likely, you've got process problems, not people problems.

Another benefit of creating business systems: Consistent customer experiences When our customers know what to expect they tend to keep purchasing. When they're unsure of what experience they'll get, they tend to shop around amongst our competition.

You should never ignore a customer complaint. You might not have an answer yet but tell your customer that. How you handle complaints can make or break your lifetime customer value.

Creating systems that impact profitability and culture start with engaging and empowering people close and adjacent to the process you're trying to improve.