Nearly 40 years ago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched a groundbreaking initiative titled “Management in the Nineties,” which suggested that technological evolution would progress through phases of localized exploitation and internal integration before encountering a revolution through business process reengineering, business network redesign, and business scope redefinition.
Fast forward to the 21st century, and the recursive relationship between IT and business strategy is widely accepted. Only a corporate dinosaur would lack awareness of digital technologies. If one were to mount a similar research today, the focus would surely be on data, analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and their impact on business processes. Managerial responses would need to be calibrated based on the firm’s maturity in data capture, ingestion, storage, and dissemination, and its comfort in making decisions based on predictive and prescriptive analytics.
In the minds of C-suite and board executives, it is clear that future leaders must cope with, manage, and lead using automation and AI as strategic tools to capture opportunity share and dominate their industries.
Game-Changing Technology
So, what makes mastery of AI imperative in this changing business environment? Following the proliferation of newer versions of AI models like ChatGPT and the impact AI has had on customer preferences across industry segments, progressive firms have realized that leaders and managers who understand AI have nothing to fear. It is the naysayers, with their heads buried in the sand, who stand to lose out and get swept away by the tide of new capabilities.
However, a recent warning bell has emphasized the need for a thorough understanding of AI’s potential hazards. On July 19, airlines and businesses around the world came to a grinding halt for a few hours when a simple upgrade triggered a complex set of compiler failures, bringing down a near-ubiquitous software like Microsoft Windows. One can blame the testers, but with automation and AI increasingly taking over testing and verification, who will we blame when future failures are caused by AI?
Embracing AI in Leadership
In such a world, what should leaders do to embrace AI and provide thought and action leadership to their teams across functions and geographies? Our own research for a forthcoming book on leadership in the era of automation and AI shows that leaders who are comfortable discussing their moments of epiphany and plans are also taking robust action in three areas:
Enhancing Understanding and Developing Insights: Leaders must deepen their understanding and develop new insights on where AI can best augment their organizations’ capabilities. This involves staying informed about the latest AI developments and considering how they can be strategically applied.
Encouraging Experimentation: Leaders should foster a culture of experimentation with AI across all processes within their organizations. This allows teams to explore AI’s potential, learn from failures, and innovate continuously.
Driving a Data-Driven Organization: Leaders must ensure their organizations are driven by data. This means actionable insights are generated through timely presentation of contextualized knowledge, enabling management teams to move beyond retrospective situation analysis to truly future-oriented proactive behavior.
Leading with AI
This is a time for leaders to demonstrate their true mettle. AI should be viewed as just one more tool in the arsenal of strategic weapons, deployed thoughtfully at the right places and times to bring managers closer to their teams, customers, and all stakeholders. Leaders must set new goals for their organizations, or even their states or countries, and deploy AI wisely to realize the true potential that lies ahead.
In conclusion, the age of AI presents a unique opportunity for leaders to shine. By mastering AI and leveraging its capabilities strategically, leaders can navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape, driving innovation, efficiency, and success. Let AI be the catalyst that propels leaders to new heights, transforming challenges into opportunities and creating a future where human ingenuity and artificial intelligence coexist harmoniously.