Productivity
Why automations break, and the ones nobody notices
The automation that fails loudly is the safe one. The expensive break keeps running, keeps reporting success, and quietly does the wrong thing.
· Harrison Smith · 11 minute read
AI automation, explained.
What the tools actually do, where each one stops, and how to work out which jobs in your agency are worth handing over.
Topics
Productivity
Is it safe to give AI access to your CRM?
The risk everybody asks about is data leaking. The risk that costs you is write access quietly doing the wrong thing. Ten questions to ask any vendor.
· Harrison Smith · 12 minute read
Insights
Make vs Nrth Star: a canvas you draw, or a plan you read
Make gives you a powerful canvas and expects you to draw on it. Nrth Star gives you a plan in English. Where each one wins, including where Make does.
· Harrison Smith · 11 minute read
Insights
The best AI automation tools for marketing agencies
Zapier, Make, n8n, HighLevel, agents, and the automation you already pay for. What each one is genuinely for, and where each one stops.
· Harrison Smith · 13 minute read
Productivity
AI agents vs AI automation: what's the difference?
An agent is something you hand a task to and watch. An automation you set up once and leave running. The real difference is whether anybody reads the output.
· Harrison Smith · 11 minute read
Productivity
How to work out what to automate in your business
A method you can run yourself with a spreadsheet and a fortnight: how to find where the hours actually go, and which jobs are worth handing over.
· Harrison Smith · 12 minute read
Productivity
What is AI automation? A plain-English guide
Software that does a repeating job for you and makes the judgement calls it needs. What it is, what goes wrong, and how to tell if a job is worth automating.
· Harrison Smith · 10 minute read
Company
What is Nrth Star? AI automation for agencies, explained
Nrth Star audits your agency, writes each automation as a plan you approve, then proves it against your last 30 days before anything runs at all.
· Harrison Smith · 11 minute read
Insights
Claude Cowork vs Nrth Star: delegating a task, and automating a process
Claude Cowork is an agent you hand work to. Nrth Star builds processes that never need handing anything. They are not competing for the same job.
· Harrison Smith · 8 minute read
Insights
Zapier vs Nrth Star: who builds the automation, and who keeps it alive
Zapier hands you the tools and the maintenance. Nrth Star finds the job, writes it and keeps it running. An honest comparison, including where Zapier wins.
· Harrison Smith · 10 minute read
Insights
Lovable vs Nrth Star: what each one actually builds
Lovable builds web apps you describe in a chat. Nrth Star builds automations that run in the background of an agency. The difference decides which you need.
· Harrison Smith · 9 minute read
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