(Photo by Christine Roy on Unsplash)

A recent Simon Willison blog post summarizes an onboarding document – almost an operations manual – for the production team behind YouTube sensation MrBeast. It's well worth the read.

This is when many of you will ask: "Wait, why is Q talking about operations? Isn't he an AI guy?"

The short answer is that my work covers the entire range of AI: conception and strategy; product; research and modeling; and keeping it all afloat in production. Even if your product focuses on a single AI model, you're toast without those other components. Especially that last one.

So yes, I have a deep interest in operations. I enjoy hearing how other people run their shop. Even if (or, "precisely because") they're in a different domain. Best practices often translate well across domains because they all center on the same concept of get it running, keep it running, and protect against malfunction.

(Also, I'd never describe myself as an "AI guy" but that's a story for another day.)

If you have any connection to operations in your company – and that includes "making sure the AI model stays up in production" – I'd encourage you to read Willison's post.

Two points stand out:

• Critical components – The thing that you're actually trying to achieve. It doubles as your north star. Anything you do that isn't aimed at that goal is a distraction.
• Working with consultants – A good consultant (this is anyone who has done what you're trying to do; it's not limited to people like me who formally hang the "consultant" shingle) can shave tons of time, effort, money, and risk from your project.