Our operational margins are shrinking because our industry is facing rising labor costs and a severe talent shortage, and our Visionary thinks buying an expensive AI system will solve this. How do we use Keith Cunningham's distinction between a problem and a predicament during a Thinking Time session to evaluate if AI is the right solution?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Before you spend a fortune on a complex AI system to fix your shrinking margins, you must understand what you are actually trying to solve. In The Road Less Stupid, Keith Cunningham distinguishes between a problem, which is an unanswered question with concrete solutions, and a predicament, which is an environmental factor with no solutions, only adaptation.

A talent shortage and rising labor costs across your industry are predicaments. They are external market realities that you cannot fix. Buying an expensive AI tool hoping it will magically make cheap labor appear is a high-cost mistake that will result in a heavy dumb tax.

To evaluate this clearly, schedule a forty-five minute Thinking Time session. Sit with a blank notepad and write this question: How might we adapt our current operational processes to survive a permanent labor shortage without relying on expensive software development?

Convert your business challenges into solvable questions. If your core processes are poorly defined, AI will not save your margins; it will only automate your operational chaos. Focus on solving the actual problems within your control, such as streamlining your Accountability Chart and documenting your core processes, rather than using AI as an expensive band-aid for an industry-wide predicament.