Don’t just get the tech… First get your thinking straight

Session Speaker: Grae Laws, Founder, Beyond Touch Ltd
Theme: Business Planning & Development
Date: Autumn Trimester, September 2024

Grae Laws opened our autumn term with a sharp provocation: AI isn’t your future expert, it’s your newest graduate. And like any new graduate, it brings enthusiasm, capability, and the odd wildly misplaced sense of confidence. The opportunity, he argued, is to guide it wisely, not blindly follow its lead.

The session was rooted in first principles thinking, not just how we use AI, but how we think about it. For many SMEs, the lure of AI tools is their promise to save time and accelerate work. But without rethinking the basics of how your business creates value, there’s a risk of overlaying smart tools on shaky foundations.

Rethinking the AI Role: CAIO and the Organisational Brain

Grae made the case for a new role: the CAIO - Chief AI Officer. Not a tech wizard buried in the server room, but a connector across strategy, culture, and operational process. If the CFO keeps the business funded, the CAIO keeps it thinking. Why? Because AI is now everywhere, in how you write, how you sell, how you plan.

He broke AI down into three categories: - Narrow AI (task-specific tools like spam filters or auto-scheduling) - Broad AI (generalists like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Siri) - Agentic AI (systems that can take action, not just advise - like Lindy or smart automation platforms)

The takeaway wasn’t “get the tech”, it was “get your thinking straight.” Before delegating to AI, know what question you’re answering. Before asking it to create, know what you value.

First Principles in Business Planning

Grae challenged us to ditch assumed truths and rebuild our business planning from the ground up: - What do we assume to be true about our market, team, or offer? - What if we stripped those assumptions away? - What would we build differently from scratch?

AI can help accelerate this process, not by doing the thinking, but by testing it, challenging it, even mocking it if necessary. The graduate that pokes holes might be more valuable than the expert that simply nods along.

What This Means for SME Leaders

This wasn’t a call to appoint a CAIO tomorrow. It was a call to: - Take ownership of your thinking inputs, what you ask AI to help with, and why - Avoid falling into “automation theatre”, looking busy but going nowhere - Reflect on how digital tools can amplify clarity or confusion depending on the quality of the leadership behind them

For Magma members, many of whom are juggling big ambitions with lean teams, this session landed clearly: AI is a multiplier, but only if what you’re multiplying is sound.

• Grae’s final point? Don’t start with “What can AI do for me?”
• Start with “What is the real problem I need to solve?”
• Then let the graduate have a go.

So where does this leave you? Perhaps it’s time to ask: - Which assumptions in your current strategy have been left untested? - Where might a curious, smart-but-green assistant offer a fresh challenge to your thinking? - And who in your team could be your best internal ‘questioner’ - the person who’s not afraid to push back on what’s always been done?

Those aren’t just questions for your next planning session, they’re the starting point for building a business that can think clearly, move quickly, and act wisely in a world full of tools but short on sense.

Compiled by the Magma Editorial Team, facilitated by Elizabeth Adlington.