There’s been a lot of talk about all the things that A.I. can do, and I am a big fan of many of them, but here’s the one thing A.I. will never take away from effective businesses, that’s the concept of “cover”. Let me explain.
An effective business does not have the most efficient number of employees and / or machines to do the job, they have “cover” built in. What effective businesses know is that “if it can go wrong, it will”. This applies to humans, machines and A.I. The problem with so many businesses that blindly pursue the great god of productivity without reference to “cover” is that they will be caught out. Ask yourself this simple question: If any of your people / machines / A.I. / systems were to stop tomorrow what would happen? What would happen if you were subject to a cyber attack and you had to shut it all down for a day, a week or a month? What “cover” do you have in place? Many businesses have insurance on “key” employees but the question is, in reality, either all employees are key or you have the wrong employees. A.I. may replace the order processing, accounts, marketing, production planning etc but what happens if it doesn’t work? In the same way, what happens if you have only one person who can run the payroll, or pay suppliers and they go sick, leave or die? Effective businesses have “cover” to keep things going. They wan’t be done as well, or as efficiently, or as productively as before, but they will get done.
In the last few months we have seen two high profile cyber attacks, Marks & Spencer and now JLR. I wonder how many people in those businesses are able to abandon the system and go back to basics with a pen and paper to keep the vital parts of the business going? Increasingly, as A.I. takes on roles, we forget. or never learn how to do the basics. When I was at school, calculators were first introduced. Calculators are more efficient and more productive at making calculations but, in those days the batteries would often run out. We need to use the technology, but never forget how to do the basics and have “cover” in place for when it all goes wrong. Effective businesses build this into their everyday requirements, and not just for the flashy front end stuff. Some people call it “redundancy” but I don’t like that word, it has unfortunate links with getting rid of people, I prefer “cover”.
Effective companies know that they shouldn’t just go for short term productivity and, that due to an increased reliance on systems including A.I. there is an increasing requirement to ensure the back room is still there as a back up. Effective companies ensure they can still do the basics. Yes, A.I. can improve things but, just like anything, or anyone there needs to be “cover” and that’s the one thing A.I. will never take away from effective companies.
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