The CEO in the Age of AI – Part 3

In Part 2, I focused on what remains constant, the enduring fundamentals of competitive advantage and the discipline required to use AI effectively.  As we push further into this shift, the bigger question starts to emerge: what kind of people and organizations this era will ultimately reward? And what patterns are already beginning to take shape?

Long-Term Hypothesis – Where We Are Headed

We aren’t fully adjusted to this yet, but I have two hypotheses. These are informed by my lived experience, as well as observations, academic research, and even using a crosswalk. 

People are glued to their phones. Many already “doom scroll” to see algorithmic posts suggested by (and often, with paid promotional placement) social media titans.  

Three Types of People? Maybe Headed to Just Two

Have you ever heard the aphorism, “There are 3 types of people: the ones who don’t know what’s happening, the ones who watch things happen, and the ones that make things happen.” 

I foresee that the latter two types will be compressed into a single cohort.  

Those of us who understand that tools are implements to wield, not crutches to use unnecessarily. We who challenge ourselves not to take easy shortcuts will comprise the cohort that makes things happen (Type II).

The ones who doomscroll, or ask an LLM, will be “Type I”, and, I fear, the majority of people. However, as leaders, we can address this, and have a dual obligation. 

The Dual Obligation

As humans, we have the obligation to foster the understanding of this coming predilection to our friends, colleagues and others. 

As leaders of enterprise, we have a shareholder mandate to do so.

Tomorrow’s Winners – The Cognitive Sovereigns

The enterprise with the most, and most talented, “Type II” meta-cognitive thinkers stand the best chance of winning. 

Parting Thoughts

This is a step change at warp speed, a different way of operating, one that expands what a single leader can realistically see, evaluate, and act on, and simultaneously threaten that leader if they over-rely on the easy path.  And the Agentic / Fourth Industrial Revolution has only truly begun to be tangibly accessible.

Speed isn’t an advantage now, it’s table stakes. Moving with haste must be balanced with deliberate thought, courage, and empathy as we take risks and have to make hard decisions. 

With the right judgment and awareness, we can compound our results more rapidly than before, finding new markets and solutions. 

But it isn’t about simply moving faster. It’s about owning the direction and decisions we make while we all move faster.  

Those who can practice and master this discipline will no doubt succeed.