AI Forward Operator

In high school I took a class called dramatic arts. Anyone who knows me knows I have a flare for the dramatics — well, I took a class on it. I actually still have coffee with my old teachers whenever I am in town.

Some of the most important life lessons I learnt were in this class. The one thing I learnt though was while I enjoyed being on stage, the true artists are the ones in the background. Lights, sound, backstage.

I guess it makes sense I made it into operations.

The Background Story

I was never able to look at a concert and see just the artist. It’s about the background vocals, the dancers and the people who created the outfits.

Operations is often the unsung hero. We all praise the sales rep that closes the million dollar deal but forget about the people in the background reviewing the contracts and pulling the latest data and the team assisting with ensuring the sales team has the best tools.

AI Won’t Kill Operations

While some people are looking at this AI world and saying yes we need less operations, I see the opposite.

While I believe every sales person should be AI literate and able to answer a lot of the questions they previously had to wait for three different people to answer instantly, there is always a spot for the best operators.

You need someone behind the scenes ensuring the tools are always working, or if new features come out, how to tell a sales rep where it improves their day. And my personal favourite — when a rep is onboarding, someone needs to ensure they have access to all the tools as well as any support (AI workbooks and webpages or old video demos) as well as any debugging while someone gets used to a new tool or feature.

Operations Just Rebranded

In the AI age I don’t think we are losing operations. I think operations just rebranded.

So to all my fellow operators out there, let’s all add AI literacy to our CVs and work with the future not against it! Personally I can’t see a future without AI proofreading my posts and notebook LLMs for my sales reps to have 24 hour support. I do enjoy the occasional nighttime sleep.

“The best operators don’t just keep the lights on — they make sure the stage is set for everyone else to shine.”