Shannon is a 2020 Nuffield Scholar, Director and Co-Owner of Rural Accountants and has investments in agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture businesses. In this article Shannon shares her insights into how to make AI work well for you.
Making AI Work for You
The first time I saw ChatGPT in action was in the summer of 2023, at a friend’s house. We asked it to write a poem about accountants. It was hilarious — but underneath the humour, I realised the potential.
Very quickly, AI became my assistant. At first, it fixed grammar and spelling in emails and reports. My writing became sharper, more concise, and easier to read with far less grammar and spelling mistakes! Mark Twain once said, “If I had more time, I would have written less.” With AI, that constraint no longer applies.
The real turning point, though, was when I used AI to turn something messy into something structured and useful. Not “robots taking over the world.” Just getting the AI to ask me questions, one by one, about a project I was working on, then pulling my answers into a clean, usable format.
That’s when it clicked: AI isn’t just a word-smithing assistant. It’s a strategic tool. Used well, it takes work off your plate, sharpens your thinking, and creates scale without the hours of refining.
It Starts with the Question
The biggest lesson? It’s not about having the right answer. It’s about asking the right question.
I now frame prompts like I’m briefing a new hire: clear role, clear context, clear task. For example, as a CEO, I don’t just type, “Help me with strategy.” That’s far too broad. Instead, I say:
“You are my Scaling Up Strategy Assistant. Ask me one question at a time. Start with People, then Strategy, then Execution, then Cash, then Risks & Opportunities. Only show me the full summary once we’ve covered all five areas.”
The result is an interactive interview where AI does the admin while I do the thinking. That’s the power of a good prompt: it forces clarity, and the output is miles better than a vague question ever delivers. And, in truth, learning to prompt AI has made me a better leader — clearer, more structured, and more intentional in what I ask of others.
Small Steps, Big Wins
You don’t need to overhaul your whole business to start. Try it on something small, try it on something creative.
Don’t know what to have for dinner? Take a photo of what’s in the fridge, upload it to AI, and it’ll generate recipes with step-by-step instructions.
It sounds trivial, but it proves the point: AI can sift through messy inputs, structure them, and give you something useful in seconds. In business, the same applies — pulling data from multiple reports, tidying client communications, or drafting meeting notes. These aren’t tasks we can’t do. They’re tasks that chew through time — and AI gives that time back.
The Power of Projects
The real magic happens when you start treating AI as a project partner. I’ve been experimenting with GPT-powered projects that run like structured workflows — guiding me step by step, capturing the right inputs, and producing a clear, consistent output.
Here’s what that looks like:
- A marketing project where AI builds a content calendar in my brand voice.
- A reporting project where AI pulls numbers from my files and formats them into a tidy monthly pack.
- A strategy project where AI interviews me (or my team) and distils the answers into a one-page plan.
You define the outcome, give AI the right resources (files, data, context), set simple rules, and let it guide the process. The result is structure, quality, and momentum — without false starts or bottlenecks.
And once a project is set up, anyone in the team can run it. That means clarity and consistency, whether I’m leading it or handing it over.
AI in the Tools You Already Use
AI isn’t just in chat windows. It’s already creeping into the software you use every day.
Take Microsoft Copilot. It can scan emails and Teams chats, spot an approval request (“Can I go ahead with this?”), and track it. If three days go by without a reply, it nudges the approver and updates the requester.
That alone kills the “lost in the inbox” problem that slows teams down. But it also shines at surfacing related documents inside Microsoft 365 — I’ve saved hours finding what I need.
A New Way of Leading
Here’s the mindset shift: AI isn’t just tactical. It’s strategic.
The sticky note on my desk simply says: “How can AI help me do this?”
Whether I’m writing a report, mapping a process, or planning strategy, I pause and ask where AI could take the load. Most of the time, it’s not about replacing me. It’s about clearing space so I can show up where it really matters — with clients, with strategy, with people.
How to Start Today
If you’re ready to dip your toe in, here’s a simple path:
- Pick one task you repeat often (emails, stakeholder lists, client notes).
- Write a clear prompt that sets role, context, and task.
- Let AI break it into questions and interview you.
- Use the output, tweak it, and save the prompt for next time.
Once you’ve got one win, build a small “AI toolkit” for yourself and your team — a set of prompts or projects that anyone can use.
Final Thought
AI won’t magically run your business or your life. But it will tidy the messy bits, speed up the slow bits, and track the bits you’d usually forget.
And when you start treating AI less like a novelty and more like a colleague — one that never gets tired of chasing approvals or formatting tables — you’ll see what I’ve seen: the power to do more, without burning yourself or your team out.
I completed the Spark-funded AI Mini MBA course, and it was one of the best investments of time I’ve made. If you get the opportunity, take it.
Shannon’s 2020 Nuffield report on Kiwifruit PVR’s ‘Getting Plant Varieties Right’ can be viewed here.
