AI & Business Strategy with Intern Michael Doerffler
Student of the Game · Season 3 · Episode 7
AI & Business Strategy
with Michael Doerffler, Noll Team Real Estate intern
Brad Noll talks AI with Michael Doerffler, a Fort Wayne native studying AI and business analytics at the University of South Florida and interning with the Noll Team this summer. Michael explains AI and machine learning in plain terms, walks through the projects he built for the team, and shares practical ways small business owners can start using these tools without losing the human side of business.
▶ Listen to the episodeKey Takeaways
- AI will not replace you. Brad shares a line he heard: AI is going to replace the person who does not use it. Michael sees AI upgrading jobs instead of eliminating them.
- Better prompts bring better results. Garbage in, garbage out. The more context you give, like price range, location, and who the buyer might be, the more useful the answer.
- Your reviews hold hidden lessons. Michael uploaded hundreds of client surveys in batches and asked AI to find patterns in what the team does well and where it can grow.
- Use AI to learn the tool. Instead of having AI build the team dashboard, Michael used it to teach himself Power BI and built a branded scorecard the whole team can read.
- Thinking without doing goes nowhere. Brad compares it to salt: two elements that are harmful alone but valuable together. AI can help you think, but you still have to act.
- Start with one task. Pick something you do often, like writing emails or summarizing a process, and treat AI like a collaborator. Be real with it and it will meet you where you are.
Chapters
- 00:00Meet intern Michael Doerffler
- 01:35What AI and machine learning actually are
- 04:43Why numbers tell a story, from Deming to the ballpark
- 08:00Prompts and the tools Michael uses
- 11:54Turning client surveys into insights
- 15:48Agent dashboards and cutting busy work
- 21:22AI that upgrades jobs instead of replacing them
- 28:29How small business owners can start simple
- 34:11Why experience still matters
- 40:25Lessons from the internship and the downside of AI
Read the article
AI for Small Business: What a Summer Intern Taught Brad Noll's Team
The full story behind the episode, written to be read, shared, and found on Google.
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