Rewire or Retire?
How small firms become mighty in the age of giants.
I’m pretty sure I don’t need to tell anyone how much hype surrounds AI and automation right now - it’s everywhere, and it’s basically impossible to avoid.
As someone working in the space, the outlandish claims that land (on an almost hourly basis) often do more harm than good. Of course, it’s good to be positive but the level of exuberance and click-baiting has killed the signal-to-noise ratio and made it very difficult for clients like mine to discern what is (and is not) viable with current technology. I love AI, and I’ll be writing a lot more about it … but we should try to stay grounded in reality.
All that being said, we are clearly in the midst of an absolutely enormous social, technical and economic rewiring. There’s a hell of a lot to say on the topic but for now, I want to throw out a few takeaways based on how this rewiring is unfolding across the small businesses I’m working with.
Erm. So… Are we cooked?
Alongside the optimistic buzz that comes along with every new engagement, there is also (normally) a moment where we step across the bright line from hope, into worry.
Naturally, no two clients are the same but you could probably guess some of the big ones…
Security and Data Protection
Process Disruption (the destructive kind)
Internal Resistance to AI
Mistakes in Critical Outputs/Artefacts
However, if you talk to the business owners and key decision makers, this pales into insignificance behind a bigger worry…
Yeh. So…anyway…is my business about to become obsolete?
This is especially true in the professional services space that I tend to work in. There’s a genuine (and very rational) concern that customers will choose to use ChatGPT, Copilots and Agents in place of the services, skills, and experiences that the business has spent decades developing.
Small businesses worry that their edge will be commoditised, that the “big players” will just throw money at the problem until they win, and that they’ll be left picking up the crumbs.
So, time to pack-up shop and retrain as a plumber? No. Not yet at least.
Small but mighty
The small businesses I work with are often better positioned than they realise. Their edge lies mainly in the things AI can’t easily replicate or train on - the trust they’ve built, the nuanced social dynamics, the relationships they’ve nurtured, and the unique knowledge acquired from diving deep into a particular niche.
Not to mention that small businesses are nimble in a way that larger organisations envy - they can adapt faster, experiment sooner, and thread A-grade tools into their workflows without a 400-year roll-out plan (if you’ve ever been committed to using sub-par tools by the board of a large organisation - you know this pain). Decision makers in small businesses typically feel the consequences of their decisions more directly - it’s why I like working with them.
Anyway, I know you’ve probably heard something like this before and I’m not intending to regurgitate stale AI tropes but I really do believe these are the super powers of small business. Especially relative to the faceless Gigacorps.
With the above in hand, add in some thoughtful automation and AI tooling to get acceleration, dexterity and leverage - not obsolescence. Firms that lean into that combination usually end up doing more of what they’re great at, not less. Naturally, this will likely change the shape of the business as certain departments shrink and others grow … but it will not eliminate it.
Like most things, this is an opinion based on the information available right now. Of course, some revolutionary new innovation could (and probably will) change the game (again) but, even then, it takes a long time for this sort of technology to diffuse through the economy (I’m still waiting for the self-checkouts to reliably weigh my loose vegetables).
We have to face the problems in front of us today and, with the current rate of change, anyone telling you they know how things will look in 5 years is dishonest or deluded.
Personal Reflections
Recently, I’ve been fortunate enough to start working with an internationally renowned advisory firm (I would put them squarely in the “elite” tier of small businesses). They know their stuff; they regularly appear in podcasts and newspapers, they’ve published best-selling books, and some of the most elite businesses in the world have been paying for their advice for decades.
By doing all the above. Consistently. For decades. They have established a huge network of high-value clients that really trust them. With that solid foundation to build on, I’m now working with them to introduce AI and Automation, and I have extremely high hopes for where this is going to take us.
From my own side, I’ve learnt a lot from working with this business. For whatever reason, I’ve never prioritised networking, public writing or any other form of “authority building” - part of that is my character, part of it is circumstance. I’m trying to address that now as I think it’s necessary for the success of my own firm. We live and learn.
If you’re a small business owner and you already have all the foundational stuff in the bag … I think you’re really, really well placed to be a beneficiary of AI rather than a casualty.
Be courageous! Go for it!