Leaders want their week back, not a week off

I recently took a week off and the first couple of days were wonderful – time with my wife and kids, no laptop, no calls. By day three, however, I was restless and by the end of the week couldn't wait to get back to work.

That’s the thing about entrepreneurs – most don’t want less to do, rather they want their working hours to count.

I was reminded of this at a Kevin Bridges gig at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro earlier this week. He told a brilliant story about persuading his mum to buy a smartphone. When she mentioned going into town to buy a book, he explained she could order it online for next-day delivery.

Adopting AI is about having more time for the work that matters (Picture: stock.adobe.com)

But she liked the bus journey, browsing the bookshop and stopping for tea. What, she asked, was she supposed to do with the time she’d supposedly saved? It’s a question businesses should ask themselves about AI.

We invest in technology to improve efficiency, but rarely decide what happens to the hours recovered. Instead, they disappear into more meetings, emails and administration.

At Zudu, we’ve started talking less about giving people time back and more about giving them their week back. The distinction matters.

I recently spoke to a founder running a £10 million business, aiming to double turnover by 2030. Examining his diary, he discovered just 12 per cent of his week was devoted to business development. The rest went on approvals, paperwork, chasing information and solving problems.

Paul Duffy is the CEO of Zudu

His business strategy said growth. His calendar said administration. It’s familiar territory for Scottish entrepreneurs, often trapped by the businesses they’ve built.

At Zudu, we use a rule of thumb called 10/10/80 when discussing AI adoption. Technology accounts for perhaps 10 per cent of the outcome, good data another 10 per cent, and the remaining 80 per cent comes down to how work gets done.

These aren’t scientific percentages, but they illustrate something important. Give someone an AI assistant while leaving fragmented systems and outdated processes untouched, and you’ve simply made an inefficient business slightly faster.

The bigger opportunity comes from connecting systems, automating repetitive tasks and freeing people to concentrate on customers, innovation and growth.

Imagine that founder increasing his business development time from 12 to 30 per cent. That’s more than an efficiency gain. It could transform his company’s prospects.

Competitors embracing smarter ways of working will become faster, leaner and more responsive. Those who don’t risk falling behind. So before investing in another AI tool, try something simpler.

Examine your diary for a week. How much time goes towards growing your business, and how much towards keeping it running? What would you do if you reclaimed even a fraction of those hours?

Because AI’s real promise isn’t having less work to do. It’s having more time for the work that matters.

Paul Duffy is the CEO of Zudu