🐶 Adding AI value to Pet Valu

Pet Valu is a large Canadian pet retailer, with revenues clawing over one billion dollars. They are headquartered in Markham, in the Greater Toronto Area, where I had the opportunity to train the board and executive management team in AI.

I went through what's happening in AI, why it's happening, and of course, how it affects businesses now and in the future.

Then we conducted several exercises. Tasks ranged from simple ones like teaching ChatGPT to purr in different styles, to more complex prompts that could help brainstorm product ideas.

Finally, all participants got to build their own AI bot, a GPT. I was impressed by the variety of GPTs created. Everything from finding restaurants in Toronto, to room design, presentations for the board, discovering new products – there was much to howl about.

Here is the CEO, Richard Maltsbarger, on the session:

"Mathias was able to educate our team on how quickly advanced AI capabilities are becoming available through natural language to the average user globally. And, he was able to do so in a hands-on experience that was accessible, relatable and fun. 

While the topics themselves are serious (What can AI be used to do in a business? What risks and opportunities should a Board and senior leadership consider? How fast is this reshaping work?), Mathias's approach to facilitation brought a sense of levity and even some laughter that helped get beyond initial concerns or questions and allowed our team time to truly contemplate how this could be used at the front lines and in the everyday work of a company, helping to find greater productivity and better serve our customers. 

And, it was fun to see how many truly paw-ful puns a GPT can create!"

Companies that adopt AI early stand to gain a lot. There are many low-hanging fruits with increased productivity, which leads to many in the company becoming skilled in AI. From this, a whole kennel of small and large innovations will emerge, ready to leap into the market.

All the bad pet-related wordplay was added by ChatGPT. I'm sorry.

Mathias Sundin
The Angry Optimist