Please, Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

Look, I get it. The AI revolution has everyone spooked. Every other LinkedIn post or Accounting Today article ponders your professional extinction and replacement by new silicon overlords. The prevailing wisdom seems to be that we should all start learning to code or prepare for early retirement.

But here's the thing – we're all getting caught up in the wrong end of the story.

Remember that climactic moment in The Wizard of Oz when Toto pulls back the curtain? The one where Dorothy and friends discover that the almighty Oz is just some guy with excellent props? That scene has become shorthand for exposing fraud, for revealing that something seemingly magical is actually mundane.

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,” panics Oz, great and powerful.

I'm here to flip that script.

In our AI & accounting narrative, we must PAY attention to the person behind the curtain. Because, that's where the real magic happens.

Think about it. ChatGPT, Claude, or whatever your AI flavor of choice might be – they're not actually magic. They're incredibly sophisticated tools, yes. Mind-bogglingly powerful ones, absolutely. But they're still just tools.

The real wizards are the people (not just men) behind the curtain, operating the levers.

Consider the creative director who uses AI to generate initial concepts but knows exactly how to tweak and transform them into something truly original. Or the financial analyst who can spot the one anomaly in AI-generated market research that everyone else missed. Or the growth consultant/blogger…

These professionals aren't being replaced – they're being enhanced. The AI is their lever, their force multiplier, their enchanted sword. But without their expertise guiding it, it's just a very impressive calculator.

Here's the truth: AI isn't making expertise obsolete; it's making it more valuable than ever.

The real competitive advantage isn't just having access to AI tools (those are becoming commoditized faster than you can say "neural network"). The advantage lies in knowing how to use them effectively. So instead of hiding the person behind the curtain, we need to celebrate them. Because that's where the real transformation is happening – in the synthesis between human expertise and artificial intelligence.

The next time someone tells you AI is going to replace professionals, remember this: Oz wasn't magical because of his smoke and mirrors. He was magical because he knew how to use them to create an entire world. The curtain didn't hide a fraud – it hid a craftsperson, an inventor, a problem-solver, an expert.

In this brave new world, don't be afraid of the AI. Master it. Because the real magic isn't in the machine – it's in you, the wizard wielding it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go see a man about a flying monkey.

The future of professional services firms isn't about becoming technology companies – it's about using technology to be better at what you already do best: serving clients and growing your business. If you want to talk about how to get started, send me an email at bruce@chiefseconds.com

Bruce & Lefty