Last month, I had my brand shoot with our photographer, Ana, founder of Ana Frantz Photography. We do this every quarter, and this time we spent a day on the streets of Birmingham. It’s one of my favourite things I do all year. One theme kept surfacing in every conversation we had on set: human connection and authenticity.
It ties into something I wrote about recently, prompted by Ben Elton’s We Will Rock You. There are two things I don’t believe AI can ever replace: creativity and connection. That might sound strange coming from someone who has built an AI tool. Our growth operating system, Anchor, helps small business owners plan, prioritise and make decisions, and I’m proud of it. But its entire purpose is to give people back time. It makes the admin, the planning and the repetitive thinking faster, so there’s more room left for the conversations that actually move people forward.
The same principle sits behind our Strategic Coaching Diploma. We’re not training people to be more like a chatbot. We’re helping them become the kind of strategic thinking partner that clients seek out precisely because they’re human.
We’re living in a world of deepfakes and AI-generated visuals. I love AI as a tool, but it should be an enabler, never a substitute for the real thing. It scares me how easily it can be used to deceive.
That’s exactly why the quarterly shoot matters so much to me. It would be far easier to generate an image and move on. Instead, we spend a full day getting it right, because our brand should look and feel like us, not like everyone else.
My advice to other business owners is simple: use AI to free up your time, then reinvest that time in people. Have the conversation. Pick up the phone. Show up as yourself, imperfections and all. Your customers can tell the difference, and increasingly, they’re choosing businesses that feel real. In a world leaning harder into automation, the businesses that keep connection and authenticity at their core are the ones people will remember.
About the author Emma Fishlock is the founder of Worcestershire-based Real World Consultancy and creator of the Vision to Value Methodology®. Over eight years, the business has supported more than 1,700 business owners and is now an accrediting body for strategic coaches. Its free Strategic Coaching Certificate and a free 14-day trial of Anchor are available at realworldconsultancy.org.
