AI with agency
& urgency

A practical guide for business leaders — January 2026

↓

Why me

Operator, not AI pundit

I am Maximilian Wühr, CEO of FINN. FINN is a car-subscription company in Germany and the US, with digital demand, financing, fleet operations, logistics and customer operations in one operating system.

Context

SME constraints, at scale

Speed, margin, quality and customer trust matter at the same time. AI is not a lab topic; it is a leadership and execution topic.

Surface

Real operating breadth

We see AI in recruiting, customer service, engineering, data, marketing and internal workflows, where the work actually happens.

Practice

Personal daily usage

I use these tools myself to build products, automate workflows and prepare better decisions.

FINN is not the point. The point is that these patterns transfer to every organization with too much work, too little time and high quality expectations.

A personal note

Why I Built This

01

To inspire action

I created this as an internal memo at FINN to encourage our teams to embrace AI tools. The response was overwhelming — people wanted to share it externally.

02

Because I believe in the impact

I've seen firsthand how AI transforms work. Analysts query databases without writing SQL. Designers generate images in seconds. PMs ship fixes without waiting for engineering queues.

03

Because I use it every day

I built a Slack CLI in 10 hours. An Obsidian plugin in 3 hours. These aren't hypotheticals — they're my actual workflow. The productivity gains are real.

This guide is what I wish I had when I started. I hope it helps you too.

Executive Summary

01
The shift is here.
AI is at >80% human quality in any discipline.
02
This is not optional.
Companies using AI tools are shipping faster. Your competitors are already experimenting.
03
The reality check:
AI won't do the hard parts — you still prioritize, decide, and own tradeoffs.
04
Start now.
Pick one idea this week. Be specific. Accept imperfection.
0%
human-level quality across disciplines

The Reality Check

AI will not take your job. It will replace parts of it — the repetitive, the tedious, the "I could do this but it takes 3 hours" parts.

✓ AI can

  • ✓Write production-ready software
  • ✓Search and synthesize information
  • ✓Execute repetitive tasks at scale
  • ✓Explore possibilities you wouldn't have time to try

✗ AI can't

  • ✗Make difficult decisions
  • ✗Know your context without you providing it
  • ✗Compensate for lack of planning
  • ✗Own outcomes
"If you work them and if you learn them, you'll be, no exaggeration, 0x as productive."

From the last session

Quality comes from judgement, not from banning the tool

Good AI usage needs rules, but the operating model is still human accountability.

01

AI remains a tool

The person using it still owns prioritization, decisions and outcomes.

02

Regulation should focus the work

Clear criteria, approval paths and guardrails matter more than broad fear-based bans.

03

AI can improve quality

Use it as a review layer for drafts, analyses and decisions before a human signs off.

The bar is not “AI produced it”. The bar is “a responsible person reviewed it and stands behind it”.

What Makes the Difference

The traits that separate those who thrive from those who struggle.

[?]

Curiosity

Dive into areas outside your expertise. AI will help you bridge the knowledge gap.

The barrier to entry has collapsed.

[►]

Agency

You are in the driver's seat. AI proposes; you decide. Don't accept outputs blindly.

You can literally just do things.

[■]

Knowing When to Stop

AI is a slot machine for productivity. The hardest skill: recognizing when to start fresh with a clearer prompt.

Sometimes delete everything.

[~]

Accepting Imperfection

You won't get 100%. That's fine. The goal isn't perfection; it's progress.

Be specific. Start small. Improve over time.

A map for AI tools

Quick vocabulary, then what to try.

Three Things to Know

[◉]LLM

Large Language Model — the AI "brain" that reads and generates text

Think: a very fast reader and writer

[▣]Context

What the AI can "see" — your documents, code, instructions

More context = smarter responses

[⚙]Tools

Actions AI can take: search files, run code, browse the web, send emails

Skills, plugins, integrations — all just "tools"

What Should You Try? (January 2026)

[!]
Where to start?
You probably already use ChatGPT or Claude. Good. Next step: try a coding agent like Cursor — even if you don't code. They're powerful for any complex task.

Real Examples

What people are actually building with AI tools.

External

2 afternoons
Peter Steinberger

Rebuilt a fitness tracking app (originally maintained by 100 engineers)

— steipete.me
99%
Claude Code

Built 99% using Claude Code itself — recursive AI development

— Anthropic
25% + 70%
Duolingo

25% faster onboarding, 70% more PRs merged

— faros.ai

My Own Experience

Slack CLI

Full command-line tool in <10 hours with Claude Code

by Max W.
<10h
CV Screener

AI pre-screens applications and drafts recruiter summaries

by Jan Heiselbetz
CV Screening Agents

AI agents pre-screen applications, reducing recruiter workload by 60%

by FINN HR
Customer Service AI

Agents handle 40% of customer inquiries end-to-end

by FINN CX

What This Means

This is not a "nice to have." Not using AI is like not using email in 2005 — technically possible, but you're handicapping yourself.

A PM can prototype. A designer can analyze data. An ops manager can automate workflows. The barriers have fallen.

AI lets you do in hours what used to take weeks. Every improvement shipped faster is value delivered sooner.

From the last session

Careers will change, but expertise compounds

AI makes expertise more accessible, but it also makes expert judgement more valuable.

01

Expert value scales

Experts become more important because AI multiplies the reach of good judgement.

02

Junior roles get more leverage

Juniors can onboard faster, generate more impact earlier and explore solutions more fearlessly.

03

The shape changes

Some tasks disappear. The need for learning, taste, judgement and ownership does not.

AI does not remove the career ladder. It changes what people need to learn first.

From the last session

Customer centricity still differentiates

AI can make companies more customer-centric, but it does not replace prioritization or trust.

01

Feedback becomes easier to use

AI helps understand customer signals, summarize patterns and translate them into action.

02

Human contact is not always the answer

For simple jobs-to-be-done, less handoff and more disintermediation can be the better experience.

03

Trust still needs people

When the product is an experience or a trust question, human interaction remains hard to replace.

You do not win because humans talk to customers. You win because the organization makes better customer-prioritized decisions.

Practical Guide

How to actually use AI effectively, step by step.

1

Think First

Spend 2 minutes clarifying what you want. The clearer your request, the better the result.

❌ Don't
"Summarize this meeting"
✓ Do
"Turn a messy meeting + Slack thread into a clean recap and action plan, then draft the follow-up email and tasks."
2

Be Specific

Vague requests produce vague results.

❌ Don't
"Make a recap from this meeting and Slack thread"
✓ Do
"From the notes below, write a 6-bullet recap for the team, then list owners + due dates for each action item."
3

Tell It What NOT to Do

Constraints help more than you think.

❌ Don't
"Create a recap and tasks from this meeting"
✓ Do
"Create a recap and tasks. Do not invent decisions or owners; mark unknowns as [TBD]."
4

Explain Why

Context matters. "This is for leadership" leads to a different result than "this is just for my team."

❌ Don't
"Draft a follow-up email"
✓ Do
"Draft a follow-up email so stakeholders who missed the meeting can approve next steps today."
5

Clean Slate When Stuck

If AI keeps failing, start fresh. Copy only essential context. Performance improves dramatically.

❌ Don't
Keep pushing the same broken conversation
✓ Do
New chat, paste only the meeting notes + Slack thread
6

Experiment

You don't need every tool. But try them. If you're not experimenting, you're losing out.

❌ Don't
Stick with what you know
✓ Do
Try a workflow tool that can create tasks for you

Final Thought

The tools will only get better. The question is whether you'll be ready. Start small. Stay curious. Ship something this week.

Start now →

Built with AI assistance by Maximilian Wühr

Questions? maxiwuehr@gmail.com