You Don't Need an AI Agent. You Need a Plan.
"It's easier to help winners win than to stop losers from losing."
The line stuck after I read a short history of the first industrial robot. In 1961—same year IBM unveiled the Selectric typewriter—General Motors rolled out Unimate, a one-armed welder that never slept, took breaks or called off sick.
Sound familiar?
Newspapers hailed a new era. Struggling plants ordered the same machines, thinking steel and servos would cure bad throughput.
They quickly learned what Detroit insiders already knew: a robot on a sloppy line only stamps defects faster. Winners got faster; losers just burned cash at machine speed.
Sixty-four years later, I'm watching the same story play out in every industry.
Here’s What Two Years of Founder Calls Taught Me
Most calls follow the same format.
The pattern is so consistent I could set a timer by it—and it mirrors those 1961 factory floors perfectly.
The opening ask is nearly always an AI agent to "handle" something—demos, follow-ups, content. Ten minutes later we uncover the blockers: shaky offer, shifting ICP, undocumented steps that live entirely in someone's head.
(Side Note: An AI Agent is essentially automation that uses an AI to use reasoning (and tools) to complete a goal or task that you have. It won’t stop until the end goal is reached.)
An agent can't fix that. It only sprays the problem across more channels—just like those struggling plants in 1961 that thought better machines would fix broken processes.
And history is repeating itself, but with different players and shinier tools.
I've noticed two distinct camps, both making the same fundamental mistake.
SMBs and startups chase automation as a shortcut when traction feels wobbly.
I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve heard "Can you build an AI closer?"
Yet their funnel leaks and their product story keeps changing every quarter.
Meanwhile Enterprise companies have budget and talent in abundance, but speed gets trapped under legacy tools and compliance walls. Integration feels like surgery in a moving bus.
Both groups reach outward first.
They expect agencies to act as strategist, architect, and operator in one package. The muscle never forms inside the firm, so every new tool restarts the cycle.
It's the same mistake those factory managers made in the '60s—thinking the technology itself was the solution, not understanding that successful automation requires mastering the fundamentals first.
Automation is pure leverage. It amplifies whatever already exists—good or bad.
If you have a strong offer, clear ICP, documented steps then automation multiplies your gains.
And if not, then it's going to multiply the errors.
Simple as that.
Of course consultants can guide strategy and implementation, but the things that make your company unique must live inside your company. Your processes, your data, your institutional knowledge—it all needs internal ownership.
It's important to note that the companies that succeed with automation and AI agents don't start with the sexiest use cases. They start with the most frequent, revenue-tied tasks. The boring stuff that happens every day.
I’ve found the best automation projects begin with a single page of documentation. Every step, every decision point, every handoff. If you can't write it down clearly, you can't automate it effectively.
And more importantly: Internal champions make or break automation projects.
The person who owns the process needs to own the improvement. External consultants can guide, but they can't care about your business the way you do.
So before you hire another agency or buy another tool, try this:
Pick one recurring task that directly impacts revenue. List every step on a single page. Mark each step as consistent (happens the same way every time), measurable (you can track success), and owned (one person is responsible).
Any empty boxes?
Fix those first.
When your process is solid—when every step is consistent, measurable, and owned—then tools will multiply your gains instead of your problems.
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Until next time -
Jelani