Generative AI Has Become One of My Most Useful Tools as a Business Owner

Over the last couple of years, generative AI has quickly become one of the most useful tools I use as a business owner. As the owner and CEO of Clark Computer Services, my job is to think clearly, make decisions, and communicate well. Generative AI has helped me do all three.

I remember when ChatGPT launched. I was at home, up early, reading the news when I came across an article about it. My interest was piqued, so I opened an account and started to play around with it. I immediately saw how powerful a tool ChatGPT was and have been using it daily ever since.

Since then, I’ve found myriad business uses for generative AI, but when I step back and reflect on it, I’ve found that ChatGPT and, to some extent, Gemini, have become my “thought partners.”

The CEO’s Paradox: Fewer People to Think Freely With

As my business has grown, I’ve noticed that fewer people are willing to give me their honest, direct, and blunt opinions. As a result, when I ask for them, most opinions are weighed down by the fact that I’m the boss. This is the CEO’s paradox: The more senior you become, the fewer people there are with whom you can think freely. Conversations get filtered, disagreements soften, and thinking out loud can create unintended consequences. Because of this, over time, many leaders end up carrying their biggest questions alone.

That reality is simply part of leadership, but it also creates a real gap when it comes to having a true thought partner, someone who doesn’t care about your title and isn’t afraid to tell you your logic is flawed.

Preparing for High-Stakes Moments With a “Thought Partner”

These moments are something I’ve seen play out in different high-stakes situations. One clear example that comes to mind for me was when Maryland proposed expanding the Sales and Use Tax to cover business services and labor, and the Chamber of Commerce asked me to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee and the corresponding Senate committee. I already knew where I stood on the issue, but I wanted to communicate in a way that was authentic and would actually get my message across.

While preparing, I used generative AI to think through my testimony, refine my wording, and pressure-test how my points might be received. I even practiced giving my testimony while driving to Annapolis using ChatGPT’s voice mode. In the end, the testimony was well received, and the experience reinforced the value of having a place to think clearly before speaking publicly.

In business matters, I often use generative AI in a similar way, such as when preparing for an interview related to a city’s IT services RFP. Going into that interview, I wasn’t looking for canned answers or sales language; I wanted to be clear about how to articulate our approach, our values, and why we would be a good technology partner. To that end, I used AI to anticipate likely questions, refine how I explain our services, and make sure my answers were clear, direct, and consistent with how I actually run the business. In essence, AI gave me a forum to think out loud and prepare before walking into the room.

AI Is Not Replacing Judgment. It’s Supporting It.

I don’t think of generative AI as a replacement for experience, judgment, or human conversation, but rather as something much simpler and more practical, a thought partner. As business leaders, our responsibility is to think clearly before we speak, to work through ideas before we act, and to communicate honestly and effectively. The higher you go on the corporate ladder, the fewer places you have to do that safely.

Used in the right way, generative AI can quietly fill that gap. Not by telling you what to think or what to do, but by giving you a place to think out loud, challenge your own assumptions, and prepare before it counts. For me, that’s where its real value is, not as a tool for answers, but as a true thought partner.

If you’re a senior leader and the idea of having a thought partner resonates, feel free to reach out. I’m happy to share how I use generative AI in my day-to-day work and what’s worked well for me to help you explore practical AI use inside your organization.

You may also like our Clark Report posts on AI, including ”What is AI?” and ”Your Ultimate Guide to AI for Estimators Using ChatGPT”.

If you’d rather talk it through with our team, you can give us a call at 301-456-6931 or reach us through our Contact Us page.