“Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.” – W. Edwards Deming

Most business owners make the same mistake with ChatGPT as they do with new staff: they expect too much, too fast, with no training.

Think about when you hire a graduate. What do you do?

• You onboard them. Show them the ropes, the company culture, the expectations.
• You give them context. “Here’s why we do it this way. Here’s what good looks like.”
• You start small. They don’t lead strategy on day one. They write drafts, take notes, do the grunt work.
• You refine. Feedback loops help them get better until you can trust them on autopilot.

Now swap “graduate” with “ChatGPT.” Exact same rules apply.

If you just throw in: “Write me a marketing strategy” , you’ll get generic AI slop.

But if you say:

“You’re a marketing assistant for my physio clinic. Your job is to draft weekly social posts. Our tone is friendly, not salesy. We help athletes recover faster…. Give me 3 short drafts.”

Now you’ve trained it. It’ll learn faster than any human, but only if you give context.

Example 1:

New hire → You role-play customer calls so they know what to say.

AI equivalent → “Pretend to be a new patient asking about back pain treatment. I want to practice my responses.”

Example 2:

New hire → You wouldn’t say “Just improve customer retention.” You’d start with: “Call 5 past clients and ask why they haven’t come back.”

AI equivalent → Don’t say “Boost retention.” Instead: “Write 5 survey questions I can send to past clients asking why they stopped visiting.”

The principle is simple: AI is not a genius consultant, it’s a trainable intern.

The better you train it, the faster it pays off.

Then it becomes that genius consultant you wanted.

So next time you open ChatGPT, ask yourself: Am I treating this like a new hire I want to succeed, or like a vending machine I’m frustrated at?

Use it wrong, it’s a cost.

Train it right, it’s leverage. Incredible leverage.

— Zac

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Disclaimer:

This newsletter is for general information only and isn’t business, legal, or financial advice. Examples are illustrative and not guarantees. Always consider your own circumstances before acting.