The Business Case for Productivity

The explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and generative apps and features are pushing our daily pace faster than ever. And there's a fine balance between being distracted by shiny objects while learning new tools that empower you to be even more successful.

Most of what we would call AI tools I'm personally using today are for enhancing productivity. Sure, I use some of the generative AI features...but again, not to be creative, but to save me time. I do NOT use AI tools for everything. I have a business need, a reason, for when I pick up any of my tools. That's the quintessential business case that we should carry through in all our daily work.

Know the business need of the item you are addressing or problem you are solving BEFORE you pick the best tool to address it.

A business case is nothing more than a justification for a course of action. Yet good business cases acknowledge the pros and cons with that said course of action. Business cases also explore the alternatives and rate or even assess why one particular option is the best option given the circumstances. And for the recommended approach, the expected return on investment (ROI) is considered. This is simply where you are justifying the time or expense.

So back to AI tools - take this same approach as you explore the new and shiny features that are constantly emerging. Take stock of the amount of value you can get in daily business work over the time and effort it takes to learn the tool and costs to invest in. I personally use so many free tools because it gives me a good ROI for exploring. Not much more than my time is used to figure out if it helps. I explored a tool (listed below) that is free cause I'm often in a web browser and using online apps. To show others what I'm using AND how I'm using it is great value. When I can get a free tool that lets me simply behave like I do in "normal work mode" (i.e., me in action, not a made up scenario for demonstration purposes) and captures the work for me? Now I've just cut the time it takes me to share a tool tip with someone in half! For FREE! But see I connected an app to a business need.

I've had a number of friends rant and rave about how awesome some of the video tools are. Sure, I took a look or watched a webinar. But an app that takes my keynote video and makes a bunch of Tik Tok videos for me? Again, cool! But my clientele and audience are often NOT on Tik Tok. They're on Linkedin :) So what value would a tool that sure, can make a bunch of short videos for me, be worth to me? Right now, not much. Now we start talking about YouTube shorts and the power of quick tips. And if a business goal is to grow my YouTube following and shorts are the preferred watching method, then a tool that helps me take existing content and puts it in short format has value. But even in this quick decision, I'm looking at what I need and what options are out there.

So know that there are tons of apps out there. Before you just go crazy buying all kinds of apps, ask for what purpose. There are lots of options that can increase productivity that are at your fingertips, but only when you apply them to the scenarios you are actively working.

For writing this article, I actually turned on an AI tool - Scribe - to help demonstrate the power of the tools when applied to the right scenario at the right time for the right reasons. I wanted to show someone how easy it is to write a newsletter article. You can see what was produced simply by turning on an app where I was working. It honestly took me longer to write this newsletter than the full tutorial below!

Tools are great to share! Let's definitely put them in the comments your favorite productivity apps you're using. But more importantly, let's share WHY we're using those apps. I have Grammarly going as we speak because it's so much faster for me to correct while working than having to go back later. We may not realize it, but those apps you can't live without are the ones that have a good business case to support them. And you want this for any new app you're searching for - having a solid business case for buying anything, especially productivity!