Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Business Blueprint! Hosts Joe Sandin and Clay Kraby introduce themselves and set the stage for a deep dive into artificial intelligence, a topic that has taken the world by storm. Joe, President and CEO of OnSharp (a technology consulting business celebrating its 25th anniversary), and Clay, OnSharp's marketing director, aim to share their practical experience to help entrepreneurs and business leaders work smarter, scale faster, and build more successful companies.
In this episode, the hosts tackle the fear and anxiety surrounding AI, discussing how the speed of change, the redefinition of human work, and a power imbalance are making some companies apprehensive. They encourage a culture of curiosity and experimentation, stressing that businesses must adapt to this "new capability" likened in its disruptive power to electricity.
The conversation covers practical AI adoption, urging leaders not to ignore the technology but to "iterate small" and foster a culture where employees can test and share learnings. They emphasize the need for policies to protect confidential information while giving employees the liberty to explore.
The discussion then moves to AI's impact on sales and marketing, focusing on the "flood of content" and audience fatigue. They advise against simply generating high-volume, low-quality content and instead suggest using AI as a research assistant and for workflow automation to free up human creativity. For small businesses, AI acts as a great equalizer, allowing small teams to compete with larger marketing departments.
Finally, the hosts explore the future of customer service. AI is transforming this area by enabling customers to solve issues quickly and efficiently, often via 24/7 automated services like advanced chatbots. This frees human staff to handle complex problems and provide "next-level service." The goal is to use AI to enhance relationships, not replace them, by combining technology with genuine human care.