Doug McColgin, Director of Marketing Strategy at UScellular, shares his insights on maximizing AI in marketing. He argues that AI alone won't guarantee success as competition intensifies. Instead, McColgin emphasizes using creative applications of AI to stand out and discusses his organization's experiments with foundational frameworks like Jobs-to-be-Done and the Theory of Constraints. These frameworks can guide smarter AI adoption by focusing on identifying customer needs rather than solely on product features.
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insights INSIGHT
Jobs-to-be-Done AI Insight
Customers buy products to complete jobs, not for incremental product features.
AI should be applied to improve how products serve these jobs for true productivity gains.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Encourage AI Experimentation
Encourage employees to experiment with AI tools like ChatGPT daily.
Use experimentation to discover valuable automations and build AI familiarity in your team.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Automating Reports with AI
Doug automated a weekly subscriber report with ChatGPT, reducing 1.5 hours of work to 30 seconds.
This automation unlocked his imagination for more AI possibilities beyond coding expertise.
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The book tells the story of Alex Rogo, a factory manager who is given three months to improve his underperforming plant or face its closure. With the guidance of his former physics professor, Jonah, Alex learns to apply the Theory of Constraints to identify and manage bottlenecks in the production process. Through this approach, Alex and his team transform the factory, improving efficiency, reducing inventory, and increasing profitability. The novel uses the Socratic method to teach fundamental business concepts and emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement and critical thinking in management[2][4][5].
Jobs to Be Done
Jessica Wattman
Stephen Wunker
David Farber
This book provides a practical methodology for companies to innovate by focusing on the jobs customers want to accomplish. It outlines a roadmap that includes establishing objectives, building a Jobs Atlas, generating ideas, and experimenting with solutions. The authors emphasize understanding customer needs beyond product features to drive successful innovation.
Doug McColgin, Director of Marketing Strategy at UScellular, says that AI tools aren't enough to build an effective marketing strategy. As more and more companies adopt AI, the playing field will be leveled when it comes to productivity gains. But McColgin thinks AI can be used in more creative ways to differentiate from your competitors. He explains the tests his organization has done, and how two foundational frameworks—Clay Christensen’s Jobs-to-be-Done and Eliyahu Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints—can shape smarter, more strategic AI adoption - focusing on problems, not products.
Decoding AI for Marketing 
