By the time the AI video version of PeakOps was running smoothly, I was proud of it.
It worked exactly as designed: fast processing, accurate detections, full compliance reports.
The problem was… no one wanted to use it.
The Friction Tax
Recording and uploading videos sounded simple to me sitting behind a laptop.
But to a restaurant manager in the middle of lunch rush? It was ridiculous.
One operator said it perfectly:
"Alistair, this is great, but my managers don't have time to be cinematographers."
That line stuck with me.
We'd built this advanced AI system to make inspections easier, but in practice, it added steps.
More process. More effort. More friction.
We were solving the right problem with the wrong level of effort.
It wasn't a technical failure. It was a usability failure.
The product was heavier than the problem it was meant to fix.
And that's when I finally started to internalize a painful truth:
Innovation isn't about what's possible. It's about what's easy.
The Weight of Good Intentions
As builders, it's easy to overestimate how much effort users will tolerate.
We see potential ROI and think, "Of course they'll do this. It's worth it."
But that's not how behavior works.
People don't choose the best solution; they choose the easiest one.
If the workflow doesn't fit into their day, it won't matter how good the AI is.
And no clever onboarding flow can fix that.
So, we started asking a different question:
Instead of, "What can we automate?" we asked, "What's the absolute minimum a manager could do and still make progress?"
The Lightbulb
That question flipped everything.
We stripped the system back to its core:
- ✅ Quick check
- ✅ Immediate feedback
- ✅ Visible progress
No uploads. No logins. No friction.
Just three micro-checks a day, delivered via text message, completed in under two minutes.
That's how PeakOps evolved from an AI inspection platform to a habit engine.
We stopped trying to digitize audits and started trying to change behavior.
What I Learned
Ease is the real innovation. Friction is more powerful than any feature.
Adoption is emotional. If it feels like work, it won't last.
Behavior > Automation. Great products fit naturally into routines.
Less is usually more. Every feature adds weight. Most of them don't add value.
The "too heavy" phase of PeakOps was the turning point.
It taught me that even the smartest system dies if it doesn't fit in someone's day.
And that's what led to the simplest version yet: micro-checks, the lightest thing we could build that might still create real change.
Next in The Pivot Chronicles
Part 5: Micro-Checks: Simplifying to 3 Questions a Day
What if we stripped everything away? No uploads, no dashboards, no AI. Just three critical questions delivered via email every morning.