The Duty to Pay Attention
Happy Friday, and... buckle up,
The knowledge and experience that got you into leadership or on the Board of Directors are no longer enough to keep your company competitive.
Read that closely, and let it sink in for a minute...
AI is advancing at an extraordinary pace, and it's being leveraged by some competitors you know, some you've never heard of, and some stealth competitors you might currently be trusting too much.
I know this in part because twice a week I have my agent scan scores of public sources (you could do this), from earnings reports to LinkedIn, professional journals, industry magazines, interviews, professional publications, websites, vendor newsrooms, and more. After a few weeks, clarity emerges around new and existing competitor strategies, the financial and business implications for traditional consultants, and first-mover opportunities. I'm not an "authority" (if such a thing even exists), but I've deliberately chosen to be very, very well-informed.
AI has enabled new entrants to directly challenge the consulting business model that equates the value of expertise with the time required to deliver it. As a consequence, how engineering services will be delivered and by whom, who will capture the value, and how consulting firms will be valued going forward is being rewritten.
Still, many company leaders and board members remain decidedly under-informed about the timing and degree of these changes and what they imply for their business, its stock value, their own retirement, and its employees. That's a choice. A conscious choice to be under-informed.
The status quo... the status quo... it is not a strategy for managing such fundamental change. It's a conscious decision to accept the risks of that change without adequately preparing for them.
Leadership Carries an Obligation
It isn't explicitly written in the job description, but leaders are entrusted with more than managing the business. They're entrusted with the well-being of the people and families who rely on them and that business. I've felt that weight, and what's weird is, I still do. Strongly.
Most companies proudly proclaim "Our people are our greatest asset" or something similar. Who is "our" if not the leaders?
Some of these people "we" care about have invested their savings in company stock, have children in college, 30-year mortgages, and retirement plans dependent on the company's continued success and growing valuation. If you're a leader and also a human being, that's relevant.
Being Well Informed Is the Job
Every executive and director has a duty to at least understand enough to ask intelligent questions, challenge assumptions, recognize threats, evaluate opportunities, and guide strategy. If not that...?
Right now, 'that' requires a well-informed, shared understanding of the evolving marketplace and your firm's SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). Delegating AI implementation is sensible. Delegating responsibility for understanding AI's strategic implications is not. Leaders aren't expected to know the future. But they are expected to make a serious effort to understand and prepare for it.
Punchline: Leadership carries an ongoing obligation both to the business and to all of its stakeholders. When consequential change is underway, as it is now, that obligation becomes more important, not less. The question isn't whether leaders have time to become knowledgeable about AI. It's whether anyone with such responsibility can justify not doing so.
Whatever your chosen stance on AI and the future of the consulting profession, you owe it to your staff, and certainly to potential buyers of your company's stock, to convey it plainly so they can make an informed judgment about where they should invest their future.
Be smart, stay strong,
Dave
Feedback and blowback are welcome: dave@goodnewsfriday.com
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