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Notes on how work gets done

Short notes on everyday work problems: what someone asked for, what was actually in the way, and the simplest fix.

  1. Customer requests going cold while you work? Have the replies drafted for you

    Customers and follow-upAI at work

    A shop owner's custom requests took a few rounds of email to pin down, and a reply could sit long enough for the customer to go cold. Now when he says "check email," a ChatGPT project drafts the replies in Gmail, a form for a new request or a follow-up when details are missing, and he reads every draft and sends it himself.

  2. Can't afford the real fix yet? Look at what's keeping you from it

    Before you automateCustomers and follow-up

    One owner's biggest struggle was getting big orders out of his basement, and he already knew the fix was a warehouse the business couldn't justify yet. So we looked for the work that kept him and his team out of their sweet spot, and started with his customer service emails.

  3. Can't add a folder to your ChatGPT project? You may be in a browser tab

    AI at workTraining

    A few business owners couldn't attach a folder to their AI project so it could keep their files and past work. They were using ChatGPT in a browser tab and didn't know there was a desktop app. They needed the app and a little training.

  4. Systems that don't talk to each other? Ask what each one will share

    Systems that don't talkBookkeeping and invoicing

    A business coach keeps hearing the same complaint: something doesn't talk to something else, like a job-site hours app and QuickBooks. Usually the apps can be connected. The question is what each one will give you access to, and what happens to the pieces that don't line up.

  5. If your team logs time at the end of the week, try logging it when the work ends

    Bookkeeping and invoicingAI at work

    An agency owner hates chasing time logs, and the invoices are built from them. What I suggested was logging time by voice the moment the work ends, using the AI assistant already in their project app, so the hours get caught while they're still in someone's head.

  6. Automating a finance task? Let people check the work first

    Bookkeeping and invoicingAI at work

    An operations manager said a spreadsheet that fed QuickBooks would be handy, but they'd have to double check its work at first. So a first version should show its numbers next to the source and wait for a person to approve them. Especially with AI and money, a deterministic workflow comes first and trust comes second.

  7. Instead of a recap email, each person I talk with gets a private page

    Customers and follow-up

    A recap email probably gets read once and sinks. Each person now gets a private page that starts with the summary of our first conversation, holds any numbers we agree a problem is worth (labeled as potentials, not forecasts), and lets them choose how often they hear from me, including "stop."

  8. Hire an assistant or automate? Size the work first

    Before you automate

    When a business coach asked whether to automate his admin work or hire an assistant, I answered before asking a single question. Now I start with a list: which tasks, how often, and how long each takes. Then I fix the one that costs the most, the simplest way, and sometimes the honest answer is to hire the person.

  9. Our garage door kept getting left open. A reminder wasn't the fix.

    Before you automate

    From inside the house, nobody could see whether the garage door was open. Now a camera and an AI model on a computer in the house announce it on the speakers when the garage is empty and a door has been open too long. In a business, I ask the same thing: is it a people problem, or is the information somewhere they can't see it?

  10. Tutorial videos you can remake in minutes when your software changes

    TrainingAI at work

    A software company needed tutorial videos and nobody had time to record them. Instead of paying someone to re-record after every release, we built a pipeline that turns their help pages into narrated videos in about five minutes each, and they left with a written spec any AI can rebuild it from.

  11. Entering contacts in two places? Check what your CRM can already do

    Before you automateSystems that don't talk

    A client was entering contacts in both his CRM and his note taker, and was thinking about hiring an assistant. Before building anything, we checked what he already paid for: his CRM's built-in AI could create the contact and suggest a follow-up date, right from his phone.

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