Last week I was standing with my MMIND.ai-colleagues Phi Yen Oehri and Zeno John as well as Julian Eberling from dockyard.ventures in the Dux forest in Schaan. No conference table, no flipchart. Just forest paths and a sentence that hung like an echo between the trees:
"We're all caught up in day-to-day business - how are we supposed to find time for AI?"
This sentence summarizes the "pain" that we hear in many conversations with SME leaders. It is the feeling of being trapped in the operational hamster wheel, constantly putting out fires and losing sight of the real passion - entrepreneurship.
And that's the biggest myth about AI: that it's just another complex IT project that drains your energy.
🎙️ You prefer to listen? Here's a short, AI-generated audio summary of this issue:
Firefighter or designer: the balancing act between AI, creativity and excessive demands in everyday SME life
After 30 minutes of dialog between the two of us while walking, a truth emerged that was clearer than after hours in the office. And it is this:
"SME owners fear not so much the complexity of AI, but the loss of control and the fact that the introduction will be another big project that drains them of the last of their energy. The irresistible promise is therefore not "efficiency", but the immediately noticeable release of the mental burden of being an entrepreneur again instead of just a manager."
That is exactly the point.
AI is not a goal in itself. It's the most powerful lever we have right now to get you out of the engine room of your business so you can get back in the driver's seat.
But how do you take this first, decisive step? By using the three levers we identified in the forest:
1. radical simplification: your protective shield against "yet another project"
Nobody is afraid of technology. The fear is of the prospect of yet another project that saps energy. Break out of this pattern. Instead of big strategies, you need simple introductions such as an AI café for various interested parties. An hour to break down fears over a coffee. The goal is not implementation, but normalization.
2. an acute pain point: your remedy for immediate relief
Forget the big picture for the moment. Which one process takes up the most time and mental energy for you and your team? The time pressure? The administrative overload? Focus only on that. Solve this one acute pain point with a simple process. This quick win will release more positive energy than any long-term strategic plan.
3. autonomy and quick wins: your source of energy
The aim is not to make you dependent on experts. The goal is for your team to quickly get into action themselves. Give them the confidence and the tools to test small things. These quick wins are crucial. They reduce the fear of losing control and turn skepticism into curiosity and a desire for more.
Your path back to entrepreneurship starts now
Incidentally, this "Walk & Talk" was no coincidence. It was the kick-off for an initiative that we are launching with MMIND.ai and partners such as dockyard in Liechtenstein, supported by Erasmus+. Our aim is to accompany SMEs on their way with precisely such concrete, low-threshold formats.
I invite you to copy our process: Go out for 30 minutes this week. Alone or with a colleague. Get out of the office and into honest reflection. Ask yourself just this one question: "What would have to be eliminated for me to feel more like an entrepreneur and less like a manager again?"
Ready to take the first step out of the hamster wheel?
Our "Digitization guide for SMEs"which we developed with the KMU-HSG, is the perfect tool for identifying and eliminating your biggest "manager task".
➡️ Download the guide here and take the first step
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P.S. Would you like to experience the most important findings in fast-forward? In the following short video you will find the Key points of this newsletter summarized compactly:
