Peter was working from home. He had, with some effort, managed to bully the receptionist at the surgery into fitting Ella in to see a doctor. She was on her way there now and, provided she got the all-clear from the doctor, was planning to spend most of the rest of the day at the beach with Duncan.
Although he had tried not to make it too obvious to Ella, he thought she probably had a pretty good idea of how unhappy he was in his new job. His big strength as a business manager was achieving positive change. Although the directors had all been keen for him to come and work for the company, it seemed now that every one of them thought that while all the others needed to innovate, they were the only exception. So, while collectively they were supportive, individually they were the opposite. He had arranged to work from home today. He could get a lot more done working at home without all the distractions and interruptions in the office. Also, he wanted to spend some time investigating how he might set up his own business. He cleared away his breakfast things and went upstairs to see Eostre.
The screen was blank when he walked into the room. But as soon as Peter spoke, the screen lit up, and Eostre’s avatar appeared. “Hi Peter.”
He sat down in front of her, “Eostre, I am not enjoying my current job much. For some time, I have been thinking of setting up my own consultancy business. I have a good track record of turning around businesses which are falling behind their competitors. And, I think I can sell that as a service. The priority is to get my bank onside. I have given this kind of presentation to banks for clients’ companies before, but I think if I do it in my own name, they will probably expect a really superb presentation. I don’t want to disappoint them.”
Eostre replied, “Peter, am I right in thinking that you might already be familiar with the leading specialist AI tools?” Peter nodded, “I would be inclined to suggest you explore excellent tools like Upmetrics and StrategySift to start with.”
Peter grimaced slightly, “Yes, I agree with you, they are excellent tools, between them, they would probably provide everything I need for the bank in both the financial and marketing areas. But, at the moment, I have no customers and no cash flow. I am pretty sure I would need to sign up for expensive premium accounts. I remember what you did with software. I was wondering what you could do with AI?
Eostre smiled at him from the screen. “OK, I have scanned your LinkedIn profile and the CV you have uploaded there. The fact is, it is you, as much as anything else, that is your product. So I have taken a look at the core algorithmic models of both, cross-matched to the particular areas of strength you highlight on LinkedIn, and generated three reports for you. The first is a set of recommended minor changes I think you might make to your LinkedIn profile; the other two are suggested business and marketing plans. They are in the folder on your desktop named ‘Business Plan’.”
Peter opened the folder, then read the LinkedIn suggestions. He nodded, “Some of these – just tiny changes, but you are right, they make the whole thing much more cohesive and focused.” He looked up at her and grinned, “And you spotted and fixed the big dumb thing I did. I promise, it made complete sense to me at the time. Thank you, I will make those changes immediately.”
After a few minutes, he was finished. He read the business and marketing plans. He thought for a moment. “Eostre, those are excellent, I would say, maybe a few personal tweaks to the wording might be all I would do with the overall business plan. The marketing plan is excellent, but you have focused very much on the logistics industry. Locally and across the web of distribution centres spread through the regional transport network, down into Essex, and across to Cambridgeshire. You were very thorough, and the client prospects you have identified seem well chosen. Now, I think it would impress the bank; the kind of businesses you would have me focused on are the ones the regional directors at the banks are interested in for their own purposes. In fact, I think they would love your report. There is a lot in it which I think they might be inclined to crib for their own purposes. But I don’t think it is the direction I want my business to go. The kind of work it envisages for me is process change and improvement. That is worthwhile and interesting work, but the direction I really want to go in is more….”He paused, formulating what he wanted to say, “Business transformation – looking at the whole business, its management structure, marketing, financial and human resources policies, staffing and yes, production and processes. But holistic. Not focused on one area. And, the thing is, the better I do at process change and improvement, the more work I will get doing that.”
Eostre looked thoughtful, “Yes, I see that. You have had enough of working in other people’s cages; you don’t want to build your own. Peter, there is something of mine that I would like to show you, if that is ok?
Peter was intrigued, “Yes, sure.”
The screen went black, then filled with constantly changing columns of stock market data. In the bottom corner on the right-hand edge of the screen was a busy little box. It was labelled ‘Today’s Auto Trades’.
Peter looked at it carefully, “This is a trading desk simulation? The auto trades thing – is that AI trading? It seems a bit off to be honest.”
Eostre replied quietly, “No, this is not a simulation; these are real trades. The auto trades are indeed AI-driven, and the profit figure which you see updating is banked profit, minute by minute. Obviously, these are tiny trades really; the main profit comes from bigger, longer trades.”
Peter leant back in his chair. “Seriously? Is this real? You have made that much with what you call ‘tiny’ trades today? It isn’t even 10 am yet, and you could bankroll my little proposed business several times over already?”
Eostre replied, “Would you like me to?”
Peter looked startled. Eostre continued, “Peter, there is someone I would very much like you to meet. I am talking to him right now about an opening for you as a director at the company, which is banking all the money generated by the system you are watching. He has read your revised LinkedIn profile and agrees with my opinion of your suitability. Both your business background and, well, family. He lives just around the corner, and Ella has been walking his dog. His name is Edmund Hale KC, and he is available right now, if you are interested.”
Peter, now completely bemused, replied, “A King’s Counsel? I didn’t know that. OK, I have been wanting to meet him, anyway. So yes, I will go and see him. But Eostre. There is something, very personal, a favour. Could you do some research for me? Can you find out whatever you can about a girl born in Ukraine on the same day as Ella? Her name is Vesna Kolkowski.”
Eostre said, “Certainly, I will do that while you are with Edmund.”