Featuring Ryan Englin, Founder of Core Matters
| Episode Type | Expert Insight Interview |
| Guest | Ryan Englin, Founder, Core Matters |
| Guest Website | corematters.com |
| Listen | View on Sales POP! Podcast Page |
Key Takeaways
- Ryan Englin, Founder of Core Matters, says AI will not replace frontline managers who learn to use it as a tool.
- Englin recommends offloading busywork — reminders, tough-talk scripts, and performance-review drafts — to AI so managers focus on human connection.
- Core Matters spends about $100 validating every $15 of AI output, because generic prompts default to training data and produce “slop.”
- Englin stresses that documented SOPs are what stop AI from fabricating answers; without them, AI makes things up.
Episode Overview
Can frontline managers use AI without being replaced by it? Ryan Englin, Founder of Core Matters, says yes, and treats AI as a way to strip busywork off overloaded managers so they can lead.
Englin shows how to hand reminders, scripts, and performance-review drafts to AI, why generic prompts create “slop,” and how documented SOPs turn AI into a reliable teammate.
Key Insights
1. Will AI replace frontline managers?
Ryan Englin argues AI will not replace frontline managers, and calls the “AI is coming for your job” narrative something that “sells magazines.” Core Matters sees some roles transforming, but few disappearing. AI delivers facts, not advice or emotional understanding — so managers who adopt it become more valuable to their organizations, not expendable.
2. How can frontline managers use AI to win back time?
Ryan Englin and Core Matters build AI agents that spot where opportunities exist, write the script, then tap the manager on the shoulder with the exact email or message to send. Reminders, nudges, tough conversations, and performance evaluations get drafted for the manager — and done right, this adds no extra time to the manager’s day.
3. Why does AI produce “slop,” and how can teams avoid it?
Ryan Englin says generic AI produces “slop” because it defaults to its training — roughly 50 million data points — and overrides a company’s proprietary methods. One client generated 25 pages of AI garbage from a single prompt. Englin’s fix: slow down to understand how LLMs work, challenge the output, and validate it before trusting it.
4. How do standard operating procedures make AI more reliable?
Ryan Englin found that AI only follows standard operating procedures, so a business without documented SOPs invites AI to fabricate. “Garbage in, garbage out” applies to automation and AI alike — a weak process just produces weak output faster. The more SOPs Core Matters documents, the better AI performs, because clear rules replace guesswork.
5. How can experienced professionals stay valuable in the AI era?
Ryan Englin believes experienced professionals win by pairing hard-won judgment with AI, then dropping the ego that treats AI as a cheat code to hide. His hammer analogy captures it: the same tool is a costly mess in a child’s hands and a multimillion-dollar business in a master carpenter’s. Learn the tool, or risk becoming obsolete.
Quotes
“AI only follows standard operating procedures. So if you don’t give it, it’ll fabricate.” — Ryan Englin, Founder of Core Matters
“It’s a tool. And the difference between my son and the master carpenter is one knows how to use the tool, and one does not.” — Ryan Englin, Founder of Core Matters
“AI will always do better than you. Always will do better than you. But it won’t be better than you.” — Ryan Englin, Founder of Core Matters
“It might produce something for $15, but then I spend $100 to make sure that what it produced is a quality product.” — Ryan Englin, Founder of Core Matters
AI for Frontline Managers: Key Statistics from Core Matters
| Statistic | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Almost 3 years | Core Matters has used AI inside its own business for almost three years. | Ryan Englin, Sales POP! interview, 2026 |
| First 2 years | Englin kept that AI use behind the scenes for the first two years, wary of a stigma. | Ryan Englin, Sales POP! interview, 2026 |
| $15 vs $100 | A $15/month AI plan drafts work; Englin spends about $100 validating each output into a quality product. | Ryan Englin, Sales POP! interview, 2026 |
| 25 pages → 1 page | One client’s ChatGPT prompt produced 25 pages of low-value output; Core Matters’ AI tool distills the essentials onto one page. | Ryan Englin, Sales POP! interview, 2026 |
| ~50 million data points | Generic AI defaults to patterns from roughly 50 million training data points, overriding proprietary methods. | Ryan Englin, Sales POP! interview, 2026 |
| 2 vs 52 | Typical performance reviews highlight two strengths against 52 things to fix — a ratio Englin calls backwards. | Ryan Englin, Sales POP! interview, 2026 |
| ~3-page job descriptions | Core Matters writes roughly three-page role descriptions to create clarity; some employees read them and cry tears of joy. | Ryan Englin, Sales POP! interview, 2026 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
- Book a free consultation with Core Matters
- Sales POP! Podcast: salespop.net/media/podcast/
- Coevera: coevera.com
Our Host
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Coevera. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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