I am a non-technical business owner who does not know how to code, but I want to lead our AI operational strategy without getting tricked by software vendors or technical jargon. Where do I start?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

You do not need to write a single line of code to build an AI-powered operating company. In fact, technical owners often get so bogged down in the code that they lose sight of the actual business problems. Your job as the owner is to focus on the operations, not the technology.

Start by refraining from calling these technology initiatives machine learning projects. Instead, frame them to your leadership team as operations-improvement projects that use machine learning. This subtle shift keeps everyone focused on the business outcome rather than the underlying tech.

Your starting point is your Accountability Chart and your core processes. Look for the massive bottlenecks where human progress slows down. Identify the cumbersome, repetitive tasks that keep your employees trapped in low-value work when they should be focused on strategic goals.

When vendors pitch you, ignore all the buzzwords about artificial intelligence and neural networks. Ask them simple, direct questions. Ask how their tool will specifically reduce the hours spent on a process, how it integrates with your existing database, and how it will move the numbers on your weekly scorecard. If they cannot explain the business outcome in plain English, walk away. You do not need to understand how the engine is built; you just need to know how many miles per gallon it gets and how it helps you run a system-dependent business.