I think the tool RTM was referring to is SMIT or SMITTY.
I am not into AIX either but I have access to AIX boxes and occassionally am forced
to use SMIT.
Because of this I am not particular fond of AIX because you are forced to do certain sysadmin tasks with such a tool.
As far as I remember SMIT gives you the chance to view the CLI commands SMIT was using behind the scenes, which on the other hand is nice.
HP-UX has a similar tool which is called SAM.
Like SMIT SAM dumps the OS commands for your inspection.
But unlike SMIT SAM isn't at all mandatory for any sysadmin task
but rather just another option,
which is exactly what I expect from a decent Unix OS.
In fact there are some sysadmin tasks that can only be done on the command line on HP-UX.
But you shouldn't regard this as a drawback.
Generally on Unix systems the CLI offers you the greatest liberty to perform your tasks exactly the way that suit your needs and preferences best.
And for repetitive or complex tasks you always have the choice to script.
The GUIs lure you with the false promise to make system administration clicking easy.
But I haven't come across any GUI that really lives up to their expectation.
I would advise to get as much shell exposure as possible.
You could however start with a tool like SMIT, SAM, Yast or whatever comes with your Unix.
And keep reading the manpages.
What discerns the Unix guru from the average user is only the fact that the first has more often read manpages, howtos, whitepapers, comments in source code etc.