The Real AI Curve: Value, Not Velocity

👋 Welcome to the grind

I’m John Harden, and after years in the MSP world, I’ve got a few thoughts—and I’m not shy about sharing them. You might’ve seen me breaking things down on LinkedIn. This newsletter is where I connect the dots: fresh posts, honest takes on what’s really going on in the industry, and clips from recent webinars and livestreams. If you're building an MSP, navigating change, or just want a voice that gets it, you're in good company here.

Coffee Chats Recap: AI Hype vs. Human Learning: Navigating Faster Cycles with John Astorino

AI is accelerating at breakneck speed, but our human learning pace is steady as ever. COO John Astorino of Auvik explored where hype meets practical reality. Read on for practical leadership and adoption insights!

(Watch the episode)

🔍 What we learned:

AI’s hype cycle is faster than ever—“what used to take years now takes weeks or months,” but people learn at the same pace. John emphasized pragmatic adoption and warned against treating “AI as a feature” instead of a real solution. He shared frameworks for change management, experimentation, and focusing on value that are essential for leaders navigating the rapidly shifting AI landscape.

💡Biggest Takeaways:

1. AI Magic Wand: “AI is not the feature. It’s a method that enables solutions, but not every problem needs AI.” Validate the problem and the value first before using an AI tool.

2. Accelerated Adoption, Same Human Pace: While AI tools and expectations move fast, “people are still fundamentally people.” Leaders must support slower learning cycles and give teams permission to experiment and even fail.

3. Change Management Technology: The hardest part isn’t technical, it’s change leadership. Allow teams “permission and time to experiment,” and create a safe learning environment, even if productivity dips before efficiency gains.

4. Look for Low-Friction, High-Value Use Cases: AI delivers best on repetitive, documentation-heavy tasks, such as code documentation, automated testing, training material creation, and digesting unstructured data.

5. Prompts Matter: Specificity and context in prompting AI (a “modern Google-fu”) are must-have skills for extracting real value.

✅ Recommendations:

• Before rolling out AI, ask: “What problem are we solving,” then decide if AI is the best tool for the job.

• Encourage hands-on experimentation: Host an AI-driven hackathon or pilot program, back your team, and allow for learning curves.

• Identify easy-win, low-friction AI use cases such as documentation, DevOps automation, and support ticket summarization.

• Invest in prompt engineering skills and reward specificity and contextual detail in team interactions with AI tools.

• Have your team’s back—support temporary productivity drops as they upskill, and make experimentation a cultural norm.

A huge thanks to John for his honest, grounded perspectives and relatable leadership tactics. “Focus on the value, not the tool.” Whether you’re C-suite or boots-on-the-ground, championing AI starts with safe experimentation, a clear sense of value, and empathy for the slow-and-steady human learning pace.

Stay tuned for more actionable discussions where business and technology collide. What resonated most with you? Drop your thoughts or questions below and join us for another round of coffee and conversation!

MSPs, AI, and the Human Side of Change: How to Lead the Revolution and Keep Clients for Life

We are deep in the AI revolution, and it’s moving fast. Every week seems to bring a new tool or trend, promising to reshape how we work. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned, especially after that recent coffee chat with John Astorino, it’s that adopting AI successfully isn’t really about the technology. It’s about how well we help people manage change.

For MSPs, this creates both a challenge and a major opportunity. The challenge is that tech is evolving at lightning speed. What used to take years now happens in months or even weeks. But people? We still learn at the same pace we always have. That’s where change management comes in.

The opportunity starts with the vCIO role and the way we approach QBRs. These aren’t just checkpoints anymore. They’re strategic conversations where we help clients step back and look at where their business is heading. This is the perfect time to talk about how AI can solve real problems, not just add noise.

As John pointed out in our coffee chat, “AI is not the feature. It’s a method that enables solutions.” That one sentence says a lot. If you lead with the tool instead of the problem it solves, you’re setting everyone up for frustration. The value comes from solving something real. So ask better questions. Where are the bottlenecks? What processes feel too manual or slow? What’s getting in the way of growth?

Once you’ve identified real friction points, that’s where AI can shine. Look for those low-friction, high-value opportunities. Automating documentation. Summarizing support tickets. Creating training content. These kinds of wins are concrete, measurable, and immediately helpful.

Still, this isn’t a plug-and-play transformation. It takes leadership. Teams need space to experiment and time to learn. There may be a temporary dip in productivity, and that’s okay.

Supporting your team and your clients through that learning curve is one of the most valuable things you can do.

Because at the end of the day, people are still people. No matter how fast AI moves, change will only stick if it’s grounded in empathy and trust. That’s where MSPs can really shine.

When you’re the one guiding clients through this evolution and when you’re the one helping them connect AI to real business outcomes, you’re not just a service provider anymore. You’re a strategic partner. And that builds relationships that last.

So lead with curiosity in your QBRs. Champion experimentation. Focus on value, not hype. If you do, you’ll not only help your clients thrive during this wave of change, you’ll come out with stronger relationships, more revenue, and clients who see you as irreplaceable.

🎙️ I’m Live Next Week

How to build lean go-to-market motions powered by AI (Thursday Sept 4th, 9am ET)

Discover how to sharpen your go-to-market & sales strategies with AI insights

Join me as I host Benyamin, GTME at Cyft.ai, for a LinkedIn Live session. We'll explore how to transform bloated GTM strategies using AI, driving efficiency and precision so that not a minute or a dollar is wasted. If you're eager to elevate your strategic game, this conversation is a must-attend.

• GTM Pain Points & the Search for Lean: What inefficiencies do teams fall into again and again, and how has the meaning of 'lean' evolved with AI?

• Beyond the Buzzword: How do we distinguish between gimmicks and game-changers in AI-driven GTM tactics?

• Tactics, Tricks & Lean Lessons: What are the first steps for companies embracing AI in their GTM workflows?

Thursday, September 4th, 2025, at 9:00 AM EST on LinkedIn Live. Bring your coffee.

Leave your questions in the comments, tag a friend to join, or share how you're integrating AI into your strategy.

🎧 Register here 

🔗 Stuff Worth Clicking

• Dave Sobel interviews John Harden (hey that’s me!) about navigating SaaS Management and AI

• The Register: In the rush to adopt hot new tech, security is often forgotten. AI is no exception

• SysAdmins: The First Responders of the Digital World

📬 Hit Me Back

John Astorino nailed it: AI may be moving at warp speed, but human learning? Still cruising at a steady pace. So let’s dig in:

⚙️ Where have you seen AI overhyped—and where has it actually delivered real value in your org or stack?
🧠 How are you creating space for your team (or clients) to experiment without fear of falling behind?
📉 Have you ever led through a temporary productivity dip in exchange for long-term growth? How did you handle it?

We’d love to hear how you’re balancing the pace of AI innovation with the patience of real leadership. Drop your story, share a win (or a failure), or just let us know: how are you navigating the human side of this revolution?

Fast tools. Steady learners. Real outcomes. Let’s keep it rolling.