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“Did You Read It?”
A little over a month ago I had a tough conversation with a young tech founder. Not a blow-up. Just one of those “here’s what I’m concerned about” conversations. I had a number of concerns and I wanted him to really think how he’d address these concerns as the company grew. Instead, the next morning, I awoke with an obviously AI-written 25-page report in my inbox addressing those concerns. I didn’t ask for a report. I am the LAST person to be anti-AI. I use AI all day every day. But this was not ‘thinking’. This was 100% outsourced thinking. I did skim it. It looked thorough. It sounded polished.…
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The Rise of the Chief AI Officer
Most companies are making the same mistake with artificial intelligence: they are treating it like software or as hype. That instinct is understandable. For the last two decades, business leaders have been trained to evaluate new technology in familiar ways. A product emerges, vendors make their case, the IT department reviews security and compatibility, finance negotiates pricing, and another software subscription is added to the stack. That model worked reasonably well in the SaaS era. It may prove inadequate in the AI era. The companies that solve this early may create years of advantage. Artificial intelligence is not simply another application layered onto existing workflows. It can replace certain repetitive…
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Admitting Mistakes
https://hbr.org/2015/10/a-simple-formula-for-changing-our-behavior?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=twitter Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. The linked Harvard Business Review article is, in my mind, more about making mistakes than changing behavior. According to the article, the main focus of confronting someone who made a mistake is: Identify the problem State what needs to happen Offer to help This does make sense and the article goes into detail about what to do and what not to do. For me, the more important management issue is to admit when you are wrong early and often. It sets an example. The worst thing you can do is attempt to pass the blame or even worse cover it up. By…
