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AI vs. Humans or AI + Humans: Reflections on HumanX

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For an event with “Human” in the name, the forecast for humans was questionable at this week’s inaugural HumanX AI conference in Las Vegas.

Walking onto the exhibit floor on Day 1, you couldn’t help but notice a booth with a huge sign of a young woman that shouted – “Stop Hiring Humans”.

I hustled down to the fourth floor to attend a working session where the two consultants presenting said if you adopted Gen AI and followed their plan, you can begin firing knowledge workers in six months and managers in a year.

Next up on center stage, the speaker opened, “The year 2025 is going to be the explosion of AI agents and agentic AI!”  Who needs humans if you have AI agents, right?

Moving over to the track stage, a panel of two venture capitalists had one saying to the other: “Lawyers, accountants—so many knowledge workers are going to be automated out of a job, and they don’t even see it coming. The history of technological revolutions tells us this will be nasty. People will get angry. And when they do, pitchforks start coming out.”

And the other VC guy jumped in, “Eventually, there won’t be a single task where humans outperform AI or robots. Just let that sink in. We’re heading into a really, really rough patch where things just aren’t going to work out very well for humanity.”

Not a great outlook for humans. “Are humans really going to be expendable?” I wondered.

Next thought: “It’s gotta be 5 o’clock somewhere – happy hour.” But it was only noon — and even in Vegas, that’s a bit early for a cocktail. Though after those cheerful predictions, I was tempted.

Are these stark warnings for real, or are they hype?

I think mostly hype, but there is a seed of truth. Three days of AI immersion in Las Vegas and here are my takeaways:

  1. There is no doubt – the AI revolution is now. Gen AI is for real, it is getting better and advancing rapidly. It’s not going away.
  2. Gen AI is reshaping industries, companies and jobs at an unprecedented pace.
  3. Tech companies are pushing AI agents to drive their revenue and valuations. Each of these companies is hyper focused on winning the AI prize. Doesn’t matter that most brick-and-mortar companies are nowhere close to being ready to adopt their agentic and automation tools. As one tech CEO panelist remarked, “This is an arms race, let’s be honest, and we’re all arms dealers.”
  4. AI anxiety is high at companies among humans. Mostly because leaders haven’t figured out their AI strategy and communicated it. Also, leaders and knowledge workers aren’t receiving the upskilling and training that’s necessary for Gen AI adoption and proficiency. Without training, support and encouragement, your humans will assume the worst.
  5. If you are a CEO and not leading your company to rapidly adopt Gen AI, you are falling dangerously behind. Get yourself and your leadership trained on using Gen AI responsibly and lean into it. As you adopt it and become proficient, you’ll see endless possibilities.
  6. See Gen AI as a catalyst for human potential. An enabler of humans — not a replacement. Encourage your people to become Gen AI power users. Be the role model and become one yourself.
  7. No one said unequivocally (that I heard) AI agents are ready for prime time — yet. You need humans. Their insight, empathy, experience and judgment still surpass AI’s abilities.
  8. Encourage your humans to use Gen AI to solve their biggest problems. To handle the parts of their job they don’t like. And free up more time for work they do like — creativity, connecting, and purposeful work.
  9. Get trained. Use it for 30 minutes a day for 30 days. Shoot for a 20% increase in personal productivity in a month. You’ll develop a valuable new habit and transform the way you work.
  10. A growth mindset is essential. Continuous learning and reinvention is a must. Forever. It’s the requirement to thrive in today and tomorrow’s world.

Reflecting on the week at HumanX, I’m excited about AI, but I’m even more bullish about the opportunities it will bring humans who seize this transformative technology. In this race, the AI + Humans will prevail. That’s a combination to stay relevant and thrive. That’s what I’m betting on!

 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed about where to start on your AI journey or how to develop an effective AI strategy for your company, reach out. You might also find practical guidance in my book, The CEO’s AI Playbook: A Human-First Approach for Leveraging Gen AI to Create Massive Value, where you’ll discover how CEOs learn, apply, deploy, evolve and lead AI. The future belongs to those who embrace this technology, not fear it. Let’s navigate this transformation together.

The CEO’s AI Playbook: A Human-First Approach for Leveraging Gen AI to Create Massive Value

 

Embracing Gen AI: Which Type of CEO Are You?

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From Skeptics to Visionaries—Finding Your Path in the Age of AI

As we stand on the edge of a technological revolution, it’s fascinating to witness how different CEOs are responding to the advent of Generative AI (Gen AI). As a horizontal technology that has transformative potential across the entire business, CEOs must seize the opportunity and learn, apply, deploy and lead Gen AI. From the cautious skeptics to the visionary pioneers, five distinct types of CEOs are emerging in this space. Let’s explore these categories, and I invite you to reflect on which one best describes you – or which one you aspire to be.

Exhibit from The CEO’s AI Playbook: A Human-First Approach for Leveraging Gen AI to Create Massive Value

The Denier/Deep Skeptic

The Denier, or Deep Skeptic, is the CEO who dismisses Gen AI as just another passing trend. They may think it’s all hype, see the risks as outweighing the rewards, or simply lack the time and energy to dive deeper into the technology. If this sounds familiar, here’s a challenge for you: head over to a free LLM platform like ChatGPT or Perplexity and type in this prompt:

“Give me the pros and cons of investing time to learn Gen AI. I am a CEO of (company name), operating in (industry), with annual sales of (amount) and (number) employees. I’m skeptical about dedicating time to this technology. Can you provide me with arguments to reconsider?”

Take a moment to reflect on the AI’s response. Still skeptical? Gen AI offers countless opportunities that can’t be ignored – even for the most hesitant CEOs.

The Fence Sitters

Next, we have the Fence Sitters. These are the CEOs who are intrigued by the possibilities of Gen AI but are unsure how to implement it in their companies. They may experiment with Gen AI in their personal workflows but haven’t yet figured out how to scale it for the company. The issue is particularly prevalent in regulated industries like medical technology and financial services, where concerns about risks, privacy, and regulatory compliance keep these CEOs on the sidelines. Rather than take a responsible, pro-active approach to mitigating the risks, they are frozen in a do-nothing mode, lacking the courage and vision to move forward.

While the Fence Sitters hesitate, their competitors are already gaining traction with Gen AI, reaping the rewards of early adoption. It’s time to stop waiting for the technology to “improve” and start taking calculated risks to unlock its potential.

The Dabblers

Then, we have the Dabblers. These CEOs understand the value of Gen AI but only engage with it sporadically. They’ve entered the discovery phase but haven’t moved beyond it. Without clear goals or expectations for use, they allow employees to experiment with their own AI tools, creating a fragmented approach. The problem with this approach is that it’s inconsistent and lacks the focus and intensity needed to capitalize on Gen AI’s full potential.

Dabbling is like bringing a pocketknife to a sword fight. In a game where your competitors are using AI intentionally and strategically, your half-hearted effort won’t be enough to win.

The Cost Cutters

The Cost Cutters are the CEOs who view Gen AI primarily as a tool for reducing expenses. Their focus is on slashing costs, eliminating positions, and cutting headcount. While this may produce short-term financial savings, it will lead to disengagement among employees and a toxic company culture. The real power of Gen AI lies not just in cost reduction but in productivity enhancement, innovation, and employee empowerment. When CEOs prioritize cutting corners, they risk missing the longer-term strategic benefits that AI offers.

Your workforce is your greatest asset. When leveraging Gen AI, focus on enhancing their capabilities, not just trimming their numbers.

The Human-First, AI-Augmented Leaders

Finally, we have the Human-First, AI-Augmented leaders. These CEOs understand that Gen AI is not a replacement for human talent, but an enabler of it. They deploy AI to create value and enhance both employee experiences, customer experiences and business outcomes. These leaders are committed to ongoing learning, both for themselves and their teams. They use Gen AI strategically to empower employees, reduce mundane tasks, and increase productivity, all while fostering a positive work culture.

They understand the opportunity trifecta: better jobs for employees, enhanced customer experiences, and improved business performance. These CEOs don’t just see AI as a tool—they see it as a partner in their mission to create a thriving, innovative company.

Which Type of CEO Are You?

Now, the question is: which type of CEO describes you today? More importantly, which type do you want to be?

The reality is that the age of Gen AI is upon us. CEOs who embrace it and lead their companies with vision will set themselves up for long-term success. Those who hesitate or resist will risk falling behind and potentially worse.

As Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, said: “Every CEO and company knows they need to make major investments in AI right now. This is the single most important moment in the history of the technology industry.” It’s clear: Gen AI isn’t just a trend; it’s a seismic shift in how businesses operate and compete. CEOs who act decisively now will reap the rewards, while those who delay will find themselves struggling to catch up.

The Consequences of Inaction

The cost of inaction is steep. If you don’t embrace Gen AI, and your competitors do, what will than mean for your business? Your top talent may seek opportunities elsewhere, attracted by competitors who are already integrating this technology. Your customers might be drawn to AI-enhanced products, leaving your offerings in the dust. And investors may start questioning your ability to compete in a rapidly changing world. Your #1 job as CEO is to create a more valuable enterprise. If you aren’t leveraging the #1 value creation technology available, you are failing to do your job.

But here’s the good news: you have the power to steer your company into this new era. You can be the visionary who seizes the Gen AI opportunity, leads your company to new heights, and drives value for shareholders, employees, and customers. Do your job. Embrace Gen AI and create massive value.

In just a few years, we will look back and see two types of leaders: those who embraced Gen AI and those who didn’t. Which one will you be?

For More Information:

The CEO’s AI Playbook: A Human-First Approach for Leveraging Gen AI to Create Massive Value

AI in the Doctor’s Office: The Prescription for Healthcare’s Future

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How Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing Patient Care and Medical Education

The intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare is rapidly evolving, promising to revolutionize everything from patient care to medical education. In a recent Washington Post Live webinar, two leading experts in the field, Dr. Lloyd Minor, Dean of Stanford’s medical school, and Dr. Rebecca Mishuris, Chief Medical Information Officer at Mass General Brigham, shared their insights on the current state and future prospects of AI in medicine. Here’s a link to the webinar.

Here are the top five points made by Dr. Rebecca Mishuris:

  1. Mass General Brigham is piloting AI technology with 800 physicians to summarize clinical visits, which is improving patient-provider interactions and potentially reducing provider burnout.
  2. There is a need to not only reduce the burden of getting data into the system but also to make it easier to retrieve and use that data for clinical decision-making.
  3. One of the biggest current gaps is the ability to monitor for hallucinations and inaccuracies in the content generated by AI, especially when it comes to using AI for diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making.
  4. AI has the potential to reduce inequities in healthcare outcomes, but it requires starting with diverse data sets and retraining models to perpetuate more equitable outcomes.
  5. Medical education will need to evolve as AI technology advances, shifting from memorization of facts to understanding how to integrate and interpret data for clinical decision-making.

Here are the top five points made by Dr. Lloyd Minor:

  1. The potential of AI and generative AI to revolutionize healthcare delivery and biomedical research is enormous, but it will likely happen through a series of incremental steps.
  2. AI has the potential to significantly impact medical education by helping physicians stay up-to-date with rapidly evolving medical content and by shifting the focus to reasoning and application of knowledge.
  3. AI is already being applied in areas like radiology and pathology to improve the accuracy and efficiency of medical imaging interpretation and diagnosis.
  4. One of the major roadblocks to AI implementation in healthcare is the fragmentation of health data across different systems and the need to protect patient privacy while enabling data sharing.
  5. Ensuring that AI models are trained on representative and unbiased data is critical to preventing erroneous conclusions and perpetuating health inequities.

We stand on the brink of a new era in healthcare, the integration of AI presents both exciting opportunities and significant challenges. While AI has the potential to reduce administrative burdens, improve diagnostic accuracy, and even address healthcare inequities, it also raises important questions about data privacy, the risk of perpetuating biases, and the need for evolving medical education. As Dr. Minor and Dr. Mishuris emphasized, the key to harnessing AI’s potential lies in responsible implementation, continuous monitoring for accuracy, and ensuring equitable access to these technological advancements. As we move forward, the collaboration between technologists, healthcare providers, educators, and policymakers will be crucial in shaping an AI-enhanced healthcare system that truly benefits all patients.

 

 

 

Seizing the Gen AI Opportunity: Insights from the 2024 IBM CEO Study

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CEOs Must Strike a Balance Between Caution and Courage to Harness the Power of Gen AI

CEOs who seek to position their companies to thrive in the years ahead should review the findings of the recently released 2024 IBM CEO Study and take appropriate action – particularly with seizing the immense opportunity Generative AI offers in building a competitive advantage.

This is the 29th annual release of the survey, which was taken by over 2,500 CEOs worldwide, reveals that Gen AI presents an “opportunity paradox” – it can drive immense productivity gains and uncover new avenues for growth, but also poses significant risks if not managed properly. CEOs must act with both caution and courage, accelerating transformation while uniting teams to deliver results responsibly.

A key challenge is that CEOs’ workforce isn’t as prepared for the Gen AI era as they believe. Significant retraining and reskilling will be needed, with 35% of the workforce requiring upskilling in the next 3 years. CEOs must accurately assess skills gaps and look to forward-thinking talent to redefine how work is done.

Gen AI also enables hyper-personalized products and experiences, but the customer isn’t always right about what they will want in the future. While co-creating with customers, companies must still innovate beyond current sentiment while using customer data ethically and transparently to maintain trust.

As strategic priorities shift, CEOs must be unsentimental and selective about partnerships, prioritizing expertise over long-standing relationships. Healthy debate among the C-suite is also crucial; CEOs must encourage diverse perspectives while providing clear rules of engagement for constructive conflict.

Internally, employees often resist the change Gen AI brings. CEOs must inspire adoption by communicating its value, providing ample training, and cultivating a culture of innovation. Importantly, there are no technology short-cuts – digital infrastructure investments must align with long-term business strategies, not just exciting new use cases, to provide a foundation for growth.

The study identified a group of top-performing CEOs whose organizations excel in areas like digital infrastructure, innovation, talent development, ecosystem partnerships and strategy execution. These leaders provide a model for the capabilities required to fully harness Gen AI.

Looking ahead, CEOs have ambitious plans for the technology. While less than half are focused on Gen AI pilots today, 49% expect to leverage it for growth by 2026. This will require taking calculated risks and leaps of faith to avoid being left behind.

Ultimately, successfully adopting Gen AI demands that CEOs confront difficult realities head-on – from talent gaps to legacy technologies to resistance to change. By taking an eyes-wide-open approach while moving with agility and speed, CEOs can seize the Gen AI opportunity and lead their organizations to outperform.

Here are the top takeaways and findings from the report, courtesy of ChatGPT4o.

The Top 10 Takeaways from the IBM 2024 CEO Study are:

  1. Gen AI has the potential to drive unprecedented productivity gains and reveal new growth opportunities, but also poses significant risks. CEOs must strike the right balance between caution and courage while moving faster than ever.
  2. The CEO’s team isn’t as strong as they think when it comes to leveraging Gen AI. Significant workforce retraining and reskilling will be required, and CEOs need to accurately assess skills gaps.
  3. Customers don’t always know what they want. Gen AI enables hyper-personalized products and experiences, but companies must use customer data ethically and be transparent to maintain trust.
  4. CEOs must be selective about partnerships, prioritizing expertise over sentimentality. Changing strategic priorities demand reconfiguring core business partnerships.
  5. Healthy debate among the C-suite is crucial for good decision-making. CEOs must set ground rules to keep conflict constructive and leverage the diverse expertise of their leadership team.
  6. Employees are resistant to change brought by Gen AI. CEOs must help them see its value, provide training, and create a culture that inspires adoption of new technologies.
  7. There are no technology short-cuts. CEOs must invest in digital infrastructure aligned with long-term business strategies, not just exciting new use cases.
  8. Top-performing CEOs’ organizations have more effective digital infrastructure, innovation, talent development, ecosystem partnerships and strategy execution compared to peers.
  9. Over the next few years, CEOs will increasingly leverage Gen AI to drive efficiency and growth. By 2025, over half expect to use it for expansion.
  10. Taking risks with Gen AI is necessary to remain competitive. CEOs on a “burning platform” must take a leap of faith while building organizational agility to pivot as priorities shift.

The Top 10 Findings from the IBM 2024 CEO Study are:

  1. 67% of CEOs say the potential productivity gains from automation are so great that they must accept significant risk to stay competitive.
  2. 62% of CEOs say they will take more risk than the competition to maintain their competitive edge.
  3. 72% of top-performing CEOs agree that competitive advantage depends on who has the most advanced Gen AI.
  4. 65% of CEOs say their organization’s success is directly tied to the quality of collaboration between finance and technology functions.
  5. 64% of CEOs say their organization must take advantage of technologies that are changing faster than employees can adapt.
  6. 61% of CEOs say they’re pushing their organization to adopt Gen AI more quickly than some people are comfortable with.
  7. 59% of CEOs say they aren’t willing to sacrifice operational efficiency today to drive greater innovation.
  8. 55% of CEOs say changing strategic priorities demand reconfiguring core business partnerships.
  9. 51% of CEOs are hiring for Gen AI-related roles that didn’t exist last year.
  10. 49% of CEOs expect to use Gen AI to drive growth by 2026, up from less than half focusing on generative AI pilots today.

The findings of this study underscore the urgency for CEOs to act swiftly. Priority steps include implementing Gen AI training for knowledge workers and leveraging this technology to optimize individual workflows and company-wide processes. CEOs should then harness Gen AI to drive key performance indicators such as revenue growth, cost management, margin expansion, and enhanced customer and employee experiences. As their expertise grows, CEOs will spearhead efforts to utilize Gen AI in developing transformative products, services, and business models, while simultaneously reshaping organizational operations and culture. The imperative is clear: those who most effectively deploy this critical technology will emerge as the winners of the future.

 

What’s The Best City in the US for a Medtech Hub?

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Here’s What ChatGPT Recommends …

In a recent Executive AI Bootcamp, our group of 25 CEOs discovered how to use Gen AI to enhance their strategic capabilities. We chose a use case of  selecting the best SMSA to locate a research and development center for a respiratory products medtech company, backed by private equity, that sought to become the market leader in its sector. ChatGPT gave us its recommendation, based on a set of criteria we provided.

That’s a timely, real-time use case it turns out, with a little twist.

Under the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, the US Department of Economic Development, will award ten tech hubs in the US a $40-70 million investment. The goal is to invest in regions that have the potential to be global powerhouses, leveraging their technology, today and in the future, to grow employment and revenue.

The CHIPS and Science Act initiative brings together diverse stakeholders from the public, private, and academic sectors. The desired outcome will create Tech Hubs that build the workforce of the future, enable businesses to start and scale, and deploy and deliver critical and emerging technologies.

Medical technology has been identified as a key focus area. A recent Twin Cities Business article, Minnesota’s Campaign for MedTech Prominence, profiled several local medical device CEOs and others on the topic, who are lobbying for the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul SMSA to be chosen for a tech hub. So, let’s put it to the test.

I prompted several Gen AI large language models to provide the right answer. Modifying our prompts from the AI for Strategy session at the bootcamp, here’s the prompt fed to ChatGPT4, Claude Opus 3 Haiku and Perplexity for the definitive recommendation.

Spoiler alert. ChatGPT4 chose Minneapolis-St. Paul as the overall winner. But not without some controversy. The other LLMs had different ideas.

Play the role of a skilled panel of judges with deep medtech / healthtech industry experience. The judges are considering the following metropolitan areas for the “smart med” designation. The overall winner will receive investment from the CHIPS and Science Act. The cities are: Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Research Triangle Park, San Diego, Orange County, CA, San Francisco-Bay Area, Seattle and Austin.

Please do a broad-based assessment that includes the following factors:

  1. Supply of labor and skilled medtech human capital.
  2. Local tax situation and business climate.
  3. The health of the medtech/healthtech ecosystem of each SMSA, to include the size and impact of medtech / healthtech companies, the quality of nearby universities, the quality of healthcare providers, healthcare insurers and availability of venture capital firms.
  4. Ease of transportation and infrastructure.
  5. Community support.
  6. Quality of life and affordability.
  7. Other considerations you may identify.

Present a summary for each city. Create a table that evaluates each SMSA on these factors. Provide an overall recommendation of your top 3 finalists. Finally, choose an overall winner.

Here’s how the LLM’s responded:

ChatGPT4

Overall Winner: Minneapolis-St. Paul

Recommended Medtech Hub Finalists: Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Research Triangle Park

Claude 3 Opus Haiku

Overall Winner: Boston

Recommended Medtech Hub Finalists: Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Research Triangle Park

Perplexity

Overall Winner: Boston

Recommended Medtech Hub: Boston, San Diego, Minneapolis-St. Paul

The most widely used LLM, the workhorse of Gen AI, ChatGPT, chose Minneapolis-St. Paul as its recommended winner. The other two LLMs chose Boston. Both Minneapolis-St. Paul and Boston were mentioned in all three, while Research Triangle Park was mentioned twice and San Diego once.

What do you think? If you were the distinguished panel of judges, which city would you pick for investment as the premier medtech hub in the US?

Here’s Why Smart CEOs are Embracing Gen AI

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Twelve months after the launch of generative AI large language model ChatGPT, one thing is certain. Gen AI has been widely accepted and adopted, being the on-ramp for tens of millions who seek an intelligent partner who can generate and synthesize text, code, audio, video and images. Think of it as a smart teammate who can brainstorm ideas, interact with customers and complete tasks.

As 2023 has been the year when gen AI went mainstream with individuals, 2024 will be the year when business follows. Over the next year, smart CEOs who have not yet discovered the powers of gen AI will adopt and implement AI solutions to boost productivity and increase profitability. Getting trained and incorporating gen AI into individual and company-wide workflows will move from novelty to necessity.

If you have not discovered the superpowers of gen AI, it is imperative to move quickly. This is no time for taking a “wait and see” attitude or to sit on the fence. If you need more facts and projections about the torrential growth and enormous opportunity of AI, consider the following:

Unprecedented global growth. AI is projected to contribute over $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Source: PWC Global 2023 Artificial Intelligence Study

Capture a competitive advantage. The AI investment forecast will approach $200 billion globally by 2025. Source: Goldman Sachs

Opportunities for early movers. 82% say AI may provide new attack strategies for adversaries. Source: KPMG 2023 CEO Outlook

Enormous productivity potential. $4.4 trillion is the potential productivity gain from AI. Source: McKinsey

Top investment priority. 70% of CEOs report generative AI is their top investment priority.  Source: KPMG 2023 CEO Outlook

Boards desire AI acceleration. 66% of board members want to accelerate the adoption of AI. Source: IBM

Quantity and quality of knowledge worker productivity rises substantially. AI increases knowledge worker productivity by 66% and work quality by 40% on certain tasks. Source: HBS and BCG.

 Leaders fear being unprepared for AI. 81% of executives say learning AI is mandatory. 79% fear being unprepared without it. Source: 2023 edX AI Survey

 Learning and applying AI tools will soon be mandatory. 77%s of executives say AI skills will become more important over the next two years. Source: 2023 edX AI Survey

Saves time. In IT, a 55% increase in productivity when generating code. In marketing and sales, an 80% reduction in time to marketing copy drafts. In customer service, a 75% potential reduction in volume of human-serviced contacts. Source: McKinsey

It’s getting better. The gen AI models are far from perfect, but they are improving rapidly. AI is either “good” or “excellent at 70% of managerial skills. Smart managers will use AI to make better decisions and improve their performance. Source: Indeed.

Widespread workforce retraining is required. 61% of workers will require retraining by 2027. Source: WEF Future of Jobs report

Everyone needs a smart teammate. AI is a smart, tireless teammate. 91% of executives would like AI to support them. 81% are excited to learn AI skills and apply them to their job. 75% hope many aspects of their jobs can be augmented by AI. Source: 2023 edX AI Survey

Still skeptical? The 2023 edX AI survey, taken by over thirteen hundred CEOs and C-suite leaders, found that 47% of the respondents believed “most” or “all” of the CEO role should be completely automated or replaced by AI – and 49% of the CEOs agreed!

The advent of gen AI marks a pivotal moment in technological evolution, and there’s no turning back. For CEOs, achieving proficiency in gen AI is not just beneficial, it’s imperative. This new era demands a transformation of the CEO’s role, leveraging AI to future-proof their leadership and pave the way for others.

Understanding and utilizing gen AI to enhance decision-making is the first step. Once mastered, it opens doors to vast improvements in business operations, and the development of innovative AI-augmented to products and services. The potential of gen AI extends to elevating your productivity, creativity and strategic thinking. To stay in the game and thrive, it’s time to get going on your AI journey.

 

GenAI and Medtech CEOs: What I’ve Learned

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To Thrive in An AI-World, Leaders Must Master New Skills to Be More Productive, Creative and Strategic 

It’s been one year today since ChatGPT launched and brought generative AI into the mainstream. In just five days, over one million people tried ChatGPT – it took Twitter two years to hit that milestone. And in 2023, terms like “artificial intelligence,” “generative AI,” and “AI” are ubiquitous in business publications.

ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) allow us to write a prompt and see GenAI’s superpowers at work within seconds. It excels at generating and synthetizing text, video, audio, images and code. It’s also exceptional at brainstorming and generating ideas, completing tasks and interacting. However, it’s not perfect. It’s quirky and sometimes provides wrong answers.

Is this GenAI hype or the real deal? The jury is still out, but the quality of the LLMs is improving rapidly.  CEOs are jumping on board – mentions of AI on S&P 500 earnings calls have tripled compared to last year according to Bloomberg. And CEOs are putting their money where their mouths are. The investments and projections are staggering:

  • AI investments could approach $200 billion globally by 2025 (Goldman Sachs).
  • AI could contribute over $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030 (PwC).
  • AI productivity gains could reach $4.4 trillion (McKinsey).

In the medtech and healthtech sectors, moving to the “AI class” is vital.  2023 has been challenging – EY projects anemic 0.4% revenue growth versus the modest 3.5% growth last year. Slow growth and shrinking margins make productivity gains imperative. Meanwhile, AI in healthcare is projected to have an 85% CAGR through 2027 – faster than any other industry – and becoming a $22 billion market (BCG).

While medtech has been slow to adopt AI, firms that embrace it can optimize productivity, accelerate revenue and transform their businesses with new innovative AI-augmented products and services.

Productivity starts at home. An HBS/BCG study showed AI boosts knowledge worker productivity 66% on certain tasks. The productivity gains apply to executives, too. Yet, in my discussions with CEOs and senior leaders, most executives admit they don’t use AI in their daily work. They know “AI” as a term but haven’t realized its potential. That is a risky position. While AI may not take your job, someone who knows and uses AI soon will. When I ask these leaders if they would like to learn how ChatGPT, Claude and other AI-based tools can save them time, make them more creative and improve decisions, I get an overwhelming “Yes!”

Yesterday, I gave a CEO client a ninety-minute abbreviated version of the AI for Executive Productivity workshop. First, we identified the work he does that requires both brain and brawn. His list of “use cases” included:

  • Preparing the board deck and prepping for the board meeting.
  • Preparing for important meetings with key customers and investors. Gaining updated news about their companies, thinking of ideas to build rapport, questions to ask, questions to anticipate.
  • Writing the monthly letter to all employees
  • Preparing, writing and sending emails
  • Analyzing the monthly financial reports
  • Analyzing and summarizing industry financial reports such as proxy statements, annual reports, S-1s and 10Ks.
  • Reading and summarizing analyst and industry specific reports.
  • Preparing for sales calls.
  • Preparing for and rehearsing difficult conversations.
  • Writing performance reviews.

One-by-one, we took each of his use cases and he discovered first-hand how gen AI can help with a first draft or complete each of these tasks as an assistant, a strategist or a creator.  In ninety minutes, we just skimmed the surface, but he was amazed and sees the potential. Hours and hours of drudge work will be saved each month. Imagine if you and your team was AI-fluent and applied it daily. What would that be worth?

The takeaway is clear: AI is here to stay and rapidly improving. Leaders who don’t skill up on AI’s potential will struggle to remain competitive and become obsolete.  Medtech firms that fail to adopt it will be left behind. Make this your personal strategic imperative. Make AI your teammate to augment your daily work routine. The time to start is now – because an AI-powered future is closer than it appears!