FN / FIELD NOTES

Field notes from the practice.

Short essays on applied AI, systems thinking, practical workflows, and creative engineering, written by Matt MacDougall, founder of Guidance Systems.

FN-07 / PRACTICE

2026.06.11 · 4 min

The Best AI Use Cases Are Hiding in Your Workflows.

The best AI opportunities are not the ones executives name or vendors sell. They hide in the workflows you have stopped seeing, and finding them is the real work.

FN-06 / STRATEGY

2026.06.09 · 4 min

Why Small Businesses Need Specific AI, Not Enterprise Theater.

The Fortune 500 AI playbook does not fit a 30-person business, or a 300-person one. The alternative is smaller, sharper, and built for the way SMBs actually run.

FN-05 / DECISION

2026.06.02 · 5 min

When Not to Use AI: A Practical Checklist for Operators.

AI is being recommended for everything right now. Most of those recommendations are wrong. Ten signals that AI is the wrong tool, and what to do instead.

FN-04 / METHOD

2026.05.27 · 5 min

The Guidance Loop: Observe, Model, Prototype, Guide, Calibrate.

Every applied AI engagement runs through the same five stages. The Guidance Loop is the operating model of the practice, and the reason useful systems ship instead of stalling.

FN-01 / APPLIED AI

2026.05.25 · 5 min

AI Is Not Just Automation. It Is a New Thinking Layer.

Automation is useful, but the larger opportunity is guidance, systems that help teams see, think, decide, and create better.

FN-02 / SYSTEMS

2026.05.25 · 5 min

Every Business Needs a Guidance System.

A business is always moving along a trajectory. A guidance system helps see where it is, where it is headed, and what needs to change.

FN-03 / CRAFT

2026.05.25 · 5 min

Real-World Engineering Is Art Under Constraint.

The clean diagram is never the whole system. Useful AI work requires more than technical knowledge. It requires taste.