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Can I Just Have Ai Create My SOPs? You Can, but Here’s What You Need to Know!

By Al Levi |

You’re probably asking, “Can I use Ai to create my SOPs?” In short, yes, you can. But, there’s a catch that you need to be aware of.

Ever since artificial intelligence (Ai) ChatGPT burst onto the scene in November 2022, I’ve been fielding questions about whether it can be used to create SOPs and operating manuals.

“Generative” Ai models (like ChatGPT) base their responses on what its large language model has learned from a huge repository of information. The better questions you ask, the better output you will get—though sometimes it takes a few rounds.

That said, with the right prompts, absolutely Ai can generate a list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). An SOP is a list of to-dos or a checklist—very useful!

However, if your goal is to establish uniform operating procedures, keep them in the culture, integrate them, etc., achieving this takes more time effort and money than you might think—which is why I created a program with 90% done for you operating manuals you just have to tweak.

Here are just 7 reasons why you should buy proven, integrated operating manual templates and tweak them instead of using an Ai model like ChatGPT.

Buy-Sell and the 5D’s

By Al Levi |

My dad, Irving, called my two brothers and I into a private meeting one day centered on him telling us that we each needed to get an estate plan done. He also instructed us to put together buy-sell agreements for our family business.

At the time, I, as the last full-time member having joined the business, had worked five full years even though I was just 25. Marty was 29, and Richie was 28, and we thought, “We’re young… so… why do we need to do this?”

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The Dirty Secrets about Side Work

By Al Levi |

The Dirty Secret about Side Work is that it has been around forever in the contracting business. What this means for those who are unfamiliar with the term “Side Work,” it refers to a Tech who also has their own business to bring in extra money and they’re potentially taking your calls for themselves or just not being available to you and your company.

To better understand this dynamic, I wanted to share an exchange I had with a contractor about this all-too-common employee-employer issue. (The names have been changed to protect the innocent and the not so innocent.)

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Why YOU Should Become a Better Trainer

By Al Levi |

I had a lot of goals when I worked in my family’s plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical business, but I guarantee you becoming a great trainer was not one of them.

Until one day I’d just had enough. I was so tired of feeling like a hostage to our existing employees who were doing things whatever way was convenient for them. I wanted to be able to take Willing Apprentices with No Skills and turn them into Willing Techs with Great Skills who would do things our way.

How I was going to get us there was a little hazy, but I was determined to figure it out.

What does this have to do with “Why YOU Should Become a Better Trainer”? Everything!

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Will They All Quit if You Put in Operating Manuals?

By Al Levi |

Will they all quit if you put in Operating Manuals?

The short answer is, “No!”

The reason I say that is I did it at my own plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical company decades ago. We were a NYC Union shop and, we didn’t lose anyone.

And I know this is a fear of some contractors as I have done so many free 30-minute calls with prospective clients who would share this fear with me. To help, I’d share this following story.

One of my many different jobs at my very busy shop was being the Install Manager where I was running five Install Crews a day. Each morning, I’d setup the job files and debrief each Lead Installer on what to expect and let them know I’d make the rounds to check in on how things were going.

One day…

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5 Signs Your Business is Growing Too Fast

By Al Levi |

Can a contracting business really grow too fast? You bet it can.

I remember waking up at 6 a.m. for the second day in a row after working until 2 a.m. the night before at my family’s 70-person plumbing, heating, cooling and now electrical company only to face another day of massive stress and thinking, “At this growth pace, something’s got to change, or I’ll be a rich dead guy.”

That was not my goal and I bet it’s not yours either!

You were handling it—somehow—until you one day you just couldn’t and that’s when the wheels started to fall off or at the very least began to wobble. It’s like you’re in a batting cage and the pitches you used to be able to hit are now coming so fast you can’t even get the bat off your shoulder. That’s how it feels when you’re growing out of control and can’t keep up anymore. Sound familiar?

Here are five clear signs your business is growing too fast and you need to act—now.

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Two Roles You Can Never Leave as an Owner

By Al Levi |

“I fired all of them,” said the Canada-based condominium developer I was helping to optimize his business. “Wow,” I said. “What happened?”

The developer continued. “You said you wouldn’t work through a bunch of layers, and so I fired all my vice presidents. And you know what I found out? They were keeping things from me. If I hadn’t done that, my business would have been out of working capital within six months. Now you just have to help me navigate out of this.”

I told him in a nice but direct way, “I blame you… not them. It was your job to know for yourself what was and wasn’t happening at your company, and we’re going to fix that starting with getting you to a much better designed Box Org Chart.”

And we went on to do just that.

Unfortunately, this is a story I’ve heard all too many times over nearly 20 years of 1-to-1 consulting with contracting clients. The owner would delegate responsibility for their financial position to someone only to discover all kinds of impropriety once that person went on vacation, departed — or the bank or creditors started calling!

The Financial Manager role is one of two roles you can never give up. The other is Marketing Manager.

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How to Get Your Life Back and Have the Business You Want

By Al Levi |

“I just wish my Dad was around more,” said my daughter Pam to her 7th grade teacher. When my wife, Natalie, heard this during a parent conference she said, “My husband is the only dad in the back of the room doing things like videoing her shows and recitals.”

But when Natalie told me what Pam had said, I thought to myself, “Ouch.” The reason is, I had thought by being at every dance recital with my big camcorder was enough. My daughter saw through me though. The problem was I was there in body, but my mind was on work, specifically my family’s plumbing, heating, cooling and now electrical contracting business. The video camera caught what was going on, but if you’d have asked me the details after the show, I couldn’t have told you. I was too busy thinking about the disgruntled customer I had just come from and that I needed to call back or go see after the show was over.

Vacations? Forget it. My wife and I would go someplace nice and my cell phone would ring again and again. It was not relaxing. And then there was the big backlog of work that would take me a week to get through once we got back.

One day, the stuff hit the fan. The chaos I was accepting day after day was hurting me and everyone around me. I had to get my life back. I needed to put systems and processes into place at my company that would allow my staff to handle more on their own (the way I would do it). Also, I wanted to be able to delegate responsibilities to others in a way where stuff actually gets done and doesn’t boomerang and land back on my plate.

So I went home and made my wife, Natalie, a promise. I said, “For the next two years, I will be around even less than I am now and you deserve to know why…”

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Mastering the Art of Business Collaboration | Successful Life Podcast

By Al Levi |

Al Levi. Ellen Rohr. Corey Berrier. All on one podcast.

In this episode of Successful Life Podcast, they share their career experiences and how they became trusted consultants.

They discuss key topics such as financial literacy, collaboration, and project management. Al and Ellen offer practical advice on setting priorities, structuring teams, and using ride-alongs to build trust. They also highlight the value of customer testimonials in strengthening business relationships.

The conversation covers personal challenges, leadership, and creating a productive workplace culture. Tune in for insights you can apply to your own business.