As an SME manager, you know this all too well: Your everyday life is packed with decisions that constantly sap your energy. Artificial intelligence (AI) is supposed to provide relief, but it often feels more like an additional burden.
Imagine if you could just start AI - and combine it with movement that gets you into the flow. That's what this issue of the Flow Factor newsletter is all about. Based on my experience at mmind.ai and purpose.li I'll show you how you can live as an SME innovator without burnout.
🎙️ You prefer to listen? Here's a short, AI-generated audio summary of this issue:
AI & Flow: Mental freshness for SME managers
Simplicity is the key.
We have seen this time and again in recent AI projects with SMEs: Overcomplicated processes are a killer of innovation. If you automate chaos, you only reinforce it.
The way out? Start small. Audit a single "painful" process in your company and improve it with a very simple AI solution. Studies show: AI can reduce workload by up to 50% (OECD Effects of GenAI 2025). Tiresome tasks, such as writing reports, are handled by a custom GPT. This relieves you and your team on a daily basis.
The problem: Mental stress due to complexity
But without conscious reflection and a focus on simplicity, the mental burden can quickly get out of hand. In our work with SMEs, we see how managers get bogged down in complexity and lose valuable time for innovation. AI can change precisely this: it is not just a tool, but a dialog partner that helps you to find new creative impulses and clear your head. Without such smart approaches and regular habits such as exercise, we often lack mental clarity and our heads go round in circles.
The solution: your first custom GPT and physical flow for mental freshness
The solution is to see AI not as a burden, but as a personal innovation partner to see.
A simple and effective step? Build your first custom GPT - Google calls them 'Gems - a customized version of a chatbot that has been trained with your own data to better handle specific tasks or use cases'. It's easier than you think and brings immediate relief and new impetus.
Such a Gem essentially has three components:
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Name: Give your Gem a clear, descriptive title - such as 'SME Sales Lead Qualifier'. This makes it immediately usable.
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Instruction: This is the core. Use the proven 'Brockman anatomy' for posts: Define the OBJECTIVE (what should be achieved?), the OUTPUT FORMAT (what exactly should the result look like?), add WARNINGS (what should be avoided?) and extensive CONTEXT (important detailed information and assessments). Let the AI think for itself instead of prescribing rigid steps.
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Knowledge: Upload your own files or texts. This is crucial. By including your original wording and expertise, you ensure that the results are authentic and reflect your voice, for example - not generic AI texts.
This process not only creates concrete solutions, but also frees your mind. The combination with physical activity, as I describe in my 'Creative Run 2.0' on vacation in Spain reinforces this effect. While you are running or walking, you can stay in dialog with your mind, develop new ideas and increase your productivity and creativity enormously. It's like a walking meeting with your smartest co-pilot. McKinsey's "Superagency in the Workplace" highlights how AI empowers people to reach their full potential.
A fresh perspective on this, inspired by the London School of EconomicsBuild a flow culture in your company by combining AI and healthy habits. Encourage innovation that engages everyone through mentoring. This engages teams, boosts outputs and can increase productivity by up to 40% (WEF AI in Action 2025).
To summarize the practical steps for you:
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Introduce simplicity: Choose Google Gemini, for example. Build a Gem for content creation (e.g. presentations, speeches, newsletter and marketing texts, reports). Also use the audio functions and experience the relief.
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Take the strain out of routines: Use automation to create meeting minutes (AI saves valuable time per meeting). Record meetings on your smartphone and let Google Gemini create minutes from the transcript.
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Flow with movement: Integrate walks, runs or bike rides into your working day. Dictate your prompts and ideas. It helps you to focus and reduces stress.
Start with the specific question: Where would you like AI to help take the pressure off you? Go out into the fresh air, record the answer with your smartphone and send me the recording.
I will send you one immediately customized solution proposal.
Register now: AI Café on September 10 in Schaan!
After the summer break, the KI-Café with specific SME topics! We cordially invite you to an event that will give you practical impetus for digitalization and present exciting examples of digitalization from SMEs in the Liechtenstein and Eastern Switzerland region.
What you can expect:
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Presentation of the new digitization guide: Developed by the KMU-HSG and MMIND.
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Exciting practical application examples: SMEs for SMEs present their digitalization and AI projects, including b_smart, sl.one, CSL Corporate Services, HSW AG Reinigung und Facility Service, and CFP Business Consulting.
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Aperitif and exchange of experiences: Make valuable contacts and exchange ideas with like-minded people and experts.
Why you should be there:
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Gain practical insights and concrete examples of AI and digitalization directly from SMEs.
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Learn how you can use the new digitalization guide for your company.
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Find inspiration and solutions for your own digitalization issues.
When: Wednesday, September 10, 2025, 4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Where: RUUF, Duxgass 55, 9494 Schaan
Costs: Free of charge
Organizer: MMIND in cooperation with the KMU-HSG
Get in touch right away here free of charge and mark the date in your calendar.
P.S. Would you like to have the most important findings at a glance? In the following PDF you will find a compact summary of the key points of this newsletter:
