The Steve Mills Results Mastery Podcast - Helping businesses to grow one episode at a time!

How to use AI to Grow Your Business

Steve Mills Season 2026

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0:00 | 34:47

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AI Fundamentals & Business Reality

  • AI definition clarified
    • Not actually intelligent - simulates human cognition through pattern recognition
    • LLMs predict next best word from preset data; they don’t search internet live
    • Already embedded in daily tools (biometrics, social media)
  • Current AI landscape
    • Perfect storm of hype vs practical application
    • Arms race between platforms (OpenAI, Claude, Copilot, Manus)
    • The market will likely level out in next 12 months
  • Human-AI relationship
    • AI is an enhancement tool, not replacement for humans. However, someone who knows how to use AI could replace you in the future
    • Humans still needed for creative/strategic work. AI + humans is the way forward
    • Humans can delegate predictable, repeatable tasks to AI leaving them to get on with other work

Strategic Implementation Approach

  • Problem-first methodology essential
    • Stop and identify business problems before selecting tools
    • Build business case with impact assessment
    • Consider affected user base size for maximum ROI
  • Pharmaceutical company case study
    • Initial pilot affected small team
    • Replacement leader identified 10x larger user base opportunity
    • Lesson: Map organizational impact before piloting
  • Risk-value balance
    • AI creates operational efficiencies and value
    • Also exposes new risks (security vulnerabilities, data exposure)
    • Need awareness of risk-value seesaw

Effective AI Usage Techniques

  • Prompting best practices using GRIP methodology
    1. Goal - Define what you’re trying to achieve
    2. Role - Specify expert persona (Seth Godin, pricing expert, etc.)
    3. Instruction - Provide detailed, specific directions
    4. Product - Define exact output format needed
  • Advanced prompting strategies
    • Assessment mode: Ask AI to critique and improve work
    • Socratic prompting for deeper analysis
    • Challenge AI’s thinking with follow-up questions
  • Context limitations
    • LLMs lack business-specific context
    • Require detailed briefing like new employee
    • Always review and refine outputs

A big thank you to Ben Raynor of Strategis Sherpas for being on my podcast and for sharing his expertise. Ben’s Services & Contact

  • Diagnostic-first approach for each unique business
  • Typical process: diagnostic → pilot → wider implementation
  • Contact options
  • Ben and his team specialise in identifying 3-5 operational bottlenecks costing time/money/risk

Ben's Profile

+447980 297260 Ben Rayner | LinkedIn ben.rayner@strategicsherpas.com

Ben Rayner has helped over 50 SME leaders recover over £3 million in wasted
operational costs - often finding £50K+ in the first two weeks.
If you're running a business with 20 to 100 people and you feel like you're
constantly firefighting, Ben's your guide out of the chaos.
Most leaders know what's wrong. They just don't have the time or clarity to fix it
in the right order. That's where Ben comes in. He identifies the 3 to 5 operational
bottlenecks draining time, margin, and momentum - the ones costing you the
most, not just the easiest to fix. Then he works hands-on with your team to
implement improvements using a mix of process redesign and AI.
The focus is always practical: what to fix first, what it's worth, and how to
implement it without stopping the business.
Based on rec

If you want to know more from me and you want to benefit from nearly 30 years of experience helping thousands of businesses in hundreds of industries all over the world and the time that I've spent learning from the worlds leading masters in the world of sales and marketing, the next step for you is to book a one-to-one meeting with me and you can do so by going to resultsmastery.com thanks very much for listening.

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