Evolve into an AI Age Business

Businesses that adapt to the possibilities of their time are the ones who lead. During the Industrial age, businesses that were able to shift from small productions to machine-led factory setups were able to move ahead. The Gilded age saw US-based companies quickly adopt logistics and transportation innovations to build their dominance. The Internet age saw massive investment in organisations that removed the friction of physical engagement and yet grasped communication’s ability to market.   

Across economic history, organisations and leaders who were able to adopt the latest technologies and bring in the necessary cultural and management change were able to gain dominance. This remains true in the AI age too. Firms and leaders who invest in cultural change and intelligent adoption win, especially when change is a perennial leadership challenge.    

The rise of AI will absorb a huge range of tasks that people do. This presents an existential challenge to leaders. New jobs will rise, while old tasks will get automated and this does shock the status-quo of doing things. Leaders will have to inspire, manage, navigate through these disruptions and build an organisation that continues to succeed. As a firm invested in our client’s digital transformation journey and integration of advanced AI tech, we have identified 6 actions for successfully leading in the age of AI.    

1. See the Big Picture- Every Process & Data Connects & Matters   

AI unlocks an entirely novel set of performance opportunities. Passive data clumps turn into value-generating data assets— value in the form of data monetisation and in the newfound ability to leverage data assets to deliver new capabilities and services to customers.   

An open-minded and creative approach toward intra- or inter-industry collaborations creates greater rewards. Improved customer experience and enhanced product relevancy are outcomes that are increasing through collaborations between industries and departments. Proactive engagement with data and processes is helping companies stay relevant in the rapidly transforming digital landscape.   

Leaders willing to re-evaluate the value chain’s opportunities in the light of AI tech, benefit from identifying new revenue streams and avenues of greater profitability.   

2. Over-Communicate the Change   

Evolving into a data-driven organisation is as much a cultural change as a technological one. Employee mistrust or a plunge in employee morale has been the reason for the transition’s derailment. This can be dealt with by providing clarity. Leaders who have successfully managed the transition offer clear vision and direct communication about the change. They explain — why AI is important to the company’s goals, how it can augment their work, and what every employee’s role will be. This cannot be a one-time announcement. Consistent and regular repetition of the message generates conversation around the impending change. Engaging the employees during the period improves trust and inspires greater productivity.   

3. Empower Decision-Making Across the Organisation   

In the age of AI, the best method to get high-quality decisions will be to combine centralised top-down management styles and decentralised, bottom-up management styles.   

The rapid pace of technological evolution has rendered many traditional hierarchical approaches ineffective. At the same time, there is an enhanced need for a controlled framework and strategic vision to operate and manage cultural changes and implications of AI. Successful leaders view themselves as planners or architects, who create the singular master vision and also enable informed decision-making across the organisation. Leaders are involved in designing systems within which individual efforts can flourish.    

4. Evolve into Second-Order Thinkers   

As a frontier tech, artificial intelligence-led solutions do raise questions of ethics, cultural integration and decision-making. These questions don’t get solved on their own and this is where leaders can step in and moderate the conversation and envision the cause & effect.   

AI engagement requires heightened critical thinking and the ability to anticipate the consequences of decisions. Second-order thinking capabilities will play a key role in shaping the organisation’s future.   

5. Data Security is Cultural   

According to security education company Cybint, 95% of cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error, in spite of well-crafted policies and world-class security standards. Cybercriminals are increasingly becoming more attuned to leading cyber-attacks with AI.   

Data security cannot be a stand-alone referential guide but needs to be part of the organisation’s cultural priority. Leaders must embed data security into the culture. The security teams should be able to enforce and gamify training to help employees stay vigilant. It does not stop here, everyone in a leadership role should proactively manage data risk at the level of policy, technology and culture when they launch new digital products and services.   

6. Keep Your Tech Stack Up To Date   

Staying at pace with tech development is equal to relevancy. Products and techniques for data mining, data extraction, data cleansing, and data science that were state-of-the-art nine months ago are now obsolete.   

Whether a large company should go with a major vendor or build the DevOps capabilities in-house to keep an open-source stack up to date will depend on their strategic goals. But, regardless of which direction is chosen, we believe firmly that you can’t fudge the issue.   

With rapid technological advances, staying current makes for a prudent leadership strategy. As a business owner, you do have the choice to either employ professional services or build your own DevOps capabilities with open-source tech. Both options have their own pros and cons. Here, it is of paramount importance to make decisions that align with your strategic goals and reinforces operational agility and scalability.  

The fundamental laws of leadership — vision, communication, and flexibility — are still very much in effect. However, it’s necessary to take AI into consideration to unlock new business opportunities that do increase leadership responsibilities. A leader will err on the side of irresponsibility to consider AI as just another technology. Adoption of AI brings with it new opportunities, responsibilities, insights and risks as well. And all of this requires a new approach to leadership. 

With our expertise in this subject, we have helped our clients in the Ooh, fintech and retail industries accumulate massive competitive advantages. We look forward to helping you make the best of AI that augments human intelligence. Click here to connect with us.