Fictional, anonymised story: The Apothecary That Stopped Waiting for Wizards

Based on real HowToFly work: Pharma · Custom AI platform for strategic research. Characters and dialogue are invented.

The Moonleaf ApothecaryFictional, anonymised story · 8 participants
Real-world reference: Pharma · Custom AI platform for strategic research

Fictional, anonymised story: The Apothecary That Stopped Waiting for Wizards. Based on real HowToFly work, with invented characters and dialogue to protect client confidentiality.

Mr. HowToFly created the group · The Moonleaf Apothecary
Monday · A very expensive question
Dr. Elspeth MoonleafClient · head of strategy

Mr. HowToFly, Elspeth Moonleaf here. Our next research scroll has arrived. Two hundred pages. A season late. The market has already moved.

Mr. HowToFlyAI augmentation

And the Council of Very Expensive Wizards has sent the invoice on time, I suspect?

Dr. Elspeth MoonleafClient · head of strategy

To the minute. We need to choose which patients to serve, which treatments to back and which partners to approach. Can we stop renting an answer every time?

Mr. HowToFlyAI augmentation

Let’s build a research capability your people can use themselves. I’m bringing in Doc Gold and Laura. First, your questions. Then, the crystal ball.

Doc GoldResearch · evidence first

Elspeth, show me the last decision you made. Which evidence helped? What was missing? And which questions do you keep asking again?

Moonleaf scientistScientific & medical team

We know the science. We don’t have time to read every study, competitor update and market report. And we can’t interrogate a printed scroll.

Mr. DittoEmpathy · understands your people

Then the tool should start where your working day starts. A question, a deadline and a pile of evidence. No new ritual involving pointy hats.

🧙😂
Week 2 · Meet your research team
LauraCoding & generative AI

First working version ready. One coordinator, several specialist agents. Ask a question once; they divide the reading between them.

Dr. Elspeth MoonleafClient · head of strategy

What if the agents disagree?

Doc GoldResearch · evidence first

Good. We want to see the disagreement. Each claim needs a source, and gaps stay visible. Your experts challenge the draft before it informs a decision.

Moonleaf scientistScientific & medical team

The patient journey skips the delay between referral and diagnosis. That changes the whole opportunity.

LauraCoding & generative AI

Added your correction. Rerunning that part, keeping the other work. This is why the experts stay in the driving seat.

Mr. HowToFlyAI augmentation

The AI does the reading. You do the judging. The output is strategic research, with your people responsible for the decision.

Week 3 · A chess league for possible futures
Doc GoldResearch · evidence first

We have several possible directions. Let’s make them argue with each other: patient benefit, market assumptions, evidence gaps and feasibility.

Mary PGamification · makes change stick

A scenario tournament! Head-to-head rounds, a visible ranking and a reason for every result. A clever argument still has to survive an expert review.

Moonleaf scientistScientific & medical team

The leading scenario depends on a partnership we haven’t secured. I want to test it without that assumption.

LauraCoding & generative AI

Changed the assumption. The ranking moved. You can inspect why, instead of trusting one polished recommendation.

Dr. Elspeth MoonleafClient · head of strategy

And the research we bought last year? Please tell me it doesn’t become expensive shelf decoration.

Doc GoldResearch · evidence first

It becomes the starting point. We preserve the useful evidence and refresh what changed. Every study helps the next one.

Later · The next question costs less
Dr. Elspeth MoonleafClient · head of strategy

We answered the next strategic question in days instead of a season. A fraction of the gold, and my experts spent their time challenging the answer instead of searching for it.

Moonleaf scientistScientific & medical team

I can ask a follow-up myself. That might be my favourite feature.

🙌
AstroCrew leader · higher ambitions

Mission accomplished when the capability stays with you. Your platform, your questions, your judgement.

Dr. Elspeth MoonleafClient · head of strategy

The wizards have taken up gardening. Apparently the turnips appreciate a 200-page report.

Mr. HowToFlyAI augmentation

Don’t rent the crystal ball. Build your own, and keep your best people looking into it.

Fictional client. Very real challenge.

These characters, conversations and outcomes are imagined to explain the kind of work HowToFly does. They are not a transcript or a named client testimonial.

A pharmaceutical company relied on a large consultancy for strategic research: market and patient-journey analysis, competitor scans and scenario planning. It was slow, very expensive and hard to reuse. Its own experts knew a lot but had little time to research themselves.

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