Hard Skill Exchange

Which AI skills will shape 2025? Take 5 minutes to share your insights and unlock exclusive trends defining the future of work.

Should marketers have unfettered access to all consumer-facing LLMs? Get exclusive insights from Allison J. Snow, who’s transformed GTM strategies: ?? +60% satisfaction with sales enablement assets & solution-centric playbooks ?? +54% field readiness via market insights ?? 40% pipeline influence through advocacy ?? 20% reduction in at-risk ARR with targeted interventions Book a 1:1 with Allison on Hard Skill Exchange: https://lnkd.in/da_5cvKc Catch the full AI Summit replay for free: https://lnkd.in/dbkmEBWE Brought to you by Gainsight | Vivun | Expandi.io | LeanData | Nooks | Mixmax | SiftHub | Salespeak.ai | Forecastable | Tofu | Momentum.io | Discern | Substrata | Cloudlead.co #AI #marketing #GTM

Which AI tech for GTM would you drop everything to test-drive? Some I'm checking out: Rox Clay Ocean.io 11x RB2B Artisan #gtm #ai

Want to hear some of the smartest go to market leaders talk about how deep fakes could affect your company? Attend this webinar. Here's the all-star lineup. Brandee Sanders?? John A. Steinert Julia Nimchinski Karen Tran Katie J Foote Rachelle McLure Randy Littleson https://lnkd.in/gXEVHS2m #salesops #revops

THE SATURDAY SHAKEUP I just finished completing a survey launched by Hard Skill Exchange. It's all about the GTM roles that will undergo the biggest changes in 2025. I attach it below in case you'd like to make your views heard. AI isn't just a source of new capabilities and efficiencies. AI is a demand signal. AI requires a workforce that knows how to think, who knows how to think in ways that we've historically associated with our brightest minds. AI is activated by questions. This means having a mind that knows how to think, not what to think. An explorer's mind, a scientist's mind, a free person's mind. Why is this such a big Reality? In short, AI is a new major power center in Life and Work, powered not just by knowledge and capabilities, but by #questions. Your questions and mine. We are entering a reality where the people in authority aren't "right" anymore just because they sit in the corner office. This is already true in the management and leverage of knowledge. But this is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the power of AI to offer polymathic understanding of a question or problem by seeing both the patterns and the causes and effects. In my spare time, I've studied innovation during the Renaissance, contrasting the systems that were built in northern Italy v. southern Germany. As a result, I've read a lot about the life of #LeonardodaVinci and his relationships with great magnates and patrons like Medici, Borgia, and Sforza. Leonardo was known for his ability to connect seemingly unrelated ideas and create new insights, almost a 16th C human-operated AI. This started with his curiosity, leading him to pursue many disciplines and notice patterns.?He was always looking to learn and test his knowledge. We think Leonardo was the first to ever mention the idea of ""intelligenza aumentata" -- augmentation of human intelligence. He saw knowledge in reductionist terms, data being refined into understanding. Da Vinci also believed that alloying art, science, and imagination -- the "questioning virtues" -- was the key to understanding, which he believed far more important than knowledge. Leonardo also realized that he needed a way to understand and communicate new concepts.?He became renowned for his analogies and parables. He compared the arteries and veins in his cadaver dissections to river tributaries and plant branches.?He brought together ideas from different disciplines, working to make non-traditional connections that held up to reality. Most importantly, Da Vinci was eager to revise his thinking when his theories conflicted with factual reality.?This enabled him to embrace what he called "the certainty of ignorance." The more we learn, the more confident of our ignorance we should become. Da Vinci stands as a human guide for how to use AI with effectiveness and integrity.?The more areas of knowledge we explore, the more perspectives AI can synthesize for our benefit and the benefit of those around us.

One of the top benefits of AI, for me? ? NO MORE DEAD CLICK. AI forces us to rethink how we work. What’s the right sequence? Where should we focus our time? No more tolerance for wasted effort—or what I call the dead click. Something we discussed at Hard Skill Exchange's AI Summit, last week. This year, AI has been all about boosting productivity at the individual level—for SDRs, AEs, CSMs, marketers. But there’s a shift happening. I’m seeing more CMOs, CCOs, and CROs turning to AI to automate and optimize their workflows. The future? AI embedded seamlessly into existing workflows—and enabling us to create, refine, and scale entirely new ones. Across Sales. Across Marketing. Across Customer Success. Across any revenue-centric function. AI isn’t just a tool—it’s becoming part of the flow of work. How is your team integrating AI into their day-to-day?

A bit late, but I wanted to share highlights from Day 3 of the #HSEAISummit (Hard Skill Exchange). The focus was on AI regulations and compliance, business model innovation and growth strategies, and fundraising and M&A. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to learn from such inspiring leaders in the AI space. Some insights from the day: - Beth Bauer: AI helps us better understand external factors like politics and economics, allowing businesses to apply those insights internally. - Brandee Sanders??: Compliance is no longer a burden; it’s a necessity for responsibly scaling innovation, with a focus on balancing tech stacks and human elements. (Apromore just did an amazing compliance release as well—definitely something to check out!) - Paul Kühne: Start small and focus on incremental wins like campaign analysis and product-market fit before expanding, ensuring a sustainable implementation of AI. - Julien Sauvage ??: AI-first businesses break silos by embedding AI into workflows, driving collaboration and transformation across departments. - Helen Lin (Tech Demo Highlight): Showcased an AI-powered forecasting model that compares AI and human forecasts, offering actionable insights for small to mid-sized deals. Huge thanks to Nooks for bringing awareness to such an incredible event and to Julia Nimchinski for her amazing work in bringing this summit to life??! #AI #SalesEngagement #NooksAI

?? Insights from Hard Skill Exchange’s 2025 AI Forecast The 2025 HSE panels revealed pivotal perspectives on Generative, Agentic, and Causal AI. Key highlights: ? Dale W. Harrison reminded us of past “AI winters,” emphasizing cautious optimism amid AI hype. ? Tamara P. raised concerns over unresolved issues of copyright and ownership for AI-generated content, sparking debates on human authorship. ? Mark Stouse noted that while efficiency from co-pilots is capped, compounding effectiveness adds long-term value. ? Justin Daniels flagged the complexity of fragmented AI regulations, warning of compliance challenges across states. Big takeaway: Get your data ready. It all starts with data before you can optimize process, do processing mining and analytics. AI thrives on high-quality inputs and good prompt engineering. Let’s focus on measurable, pragmatic AI implementations. #AI2025 #GenerativeAI #DataGovernance

AI trends 2025: regulations, growth, fundraising, and M&A Here are some key signals driving change in 2025 (Hard Skill Exchange AI Summit - Day 3): AI regulations & compliance: 1/ Mandatory governance: 70% of organizations see AI governance as a standard driven by regulation and reputational risks. 2/ Safety standards: regulations balance innovation with shielding companies from lawsuits. 3/ High penalties: fines up to 7% of global revenue are forcing companies to rethink risky AI. 4/ IP disputes: 80% of legal battles will focus on AI-generated content ownership. 5/ Compliance struggles: 85% of enterprises will face challenges with the EU AI Act’s broad scope. 6/ Increased risk: firms without governance are 30% more vulnerable to financial and operational risks. 7/ Compliance tools surge: adoption of compliance tech will grow by 50% annually. 8/ Localized regulations: fragmented laws, like 50 U.S. state frameworks, will disrupt global innovation. 9/ Blockchain adoption: rapid uptake for traceability of AI outputs and IP ownership. 10/ Sector-specific standards: healthcare, finance, and public safety lead in adopting industry-specific AI rules. Business model innovation & growth strategies: 1/ Breaking silos: 60% of enterprises will use cross-functional AI for efficiency and collaboration. 2/ Faster launches: AI-first strategies will reduce time-to-market by 45%. 3/ Better forecasting: data insights will boost forecasting accuracy by 30%. 4/ Workflow optimization: process mining will cut inefficiencies by 50% within a year. 5/ Personalization at scale: AI-powered experiences will increase B2B conversion rates by 70%. 6/ Strategic growth: partnerships leveraging AI will unlock 2-3x revenue in untapped markets. 7/ Practical AI use cases: measurable, outcome-driven AI projects will dominate. 8/ Data monetization: unstructured data will emerge as a significant revenue driver. 9/ Adapt or fail: AI will halve innovation cycles, demanding faster organizational adaptation. 10/ Compliance by design: built-in compliance will become the standard for innovation. Fundraising & M&A: 1/ Startup risk: 90% of startups since 2008 failed; AI redefines investment risk assessment. 2/ Efficient deals: AI-driven due diligence will cut costs by 50% and flag risks in under 90 seconds. 3/ Vertical ROI: specialized AI solutions will deliver 30% higher ROI than generic platforms. 4/ Synthetic data: predictive accuracy for pre-revenue modeling will improve by 40%. 5/ M&A over IPOs: 60% of startups will pursue M&A as big-tech consolidation intensifies. 6/ Reduced failures: AI analytics will cut deal failure rates by 25%. 7/ Resilient niches: vertical-specific solutions will resist big-tech disruption. 8/ Accelerated consolidation: large firms will acquire smaller AI innovators at scale. 9/ Investor empowerment: AI democratizes financial modeling for smaller investors. 10/ Ethical priorities: climate and sustainability concerns will dominate investor decisions. #AISummit

CXO 2025 Priorities—AI’s Transformative Potential and Strategic Adoption This week at the #AI Summit, our panel dove into the big question: How will AI shape the next year of business? With McKinsey & Company’s 2024 report revealing that AI adoption has jumped to 72%, it’s clear AI isn’t just a trend—it’s here to stay. But as usual, there’s nuance. On the one hand, 65% of companies are already using generative AI in marketing, analytics, product development, and IT. On the other, McKinsey's report warns us about AI risks, including inaccuracy, cybersecurity, IP infringement, explainability, and data privacy. Dale W. Harrison echoed this by pointing out that blindly relying on AI for decision-making—without understanding the data behind it—is risky, especially with biased sentiment analysis from “marketer-generated” reviews. So Where Does AI Fit? Paradigm Shift or the Latest Overhyped Tech? I spot two camps: those who view AI as a hyped bubble and those who view it as transformative. Personally, I’m in the latter camp. AI doesn’t just connect us like the Web or mobile did—it enables intelligent decision-making that can give enterprises a competitive edge. And while it takes longer for large global enterprises to change their sophisticated workflows and processes, AI-native companies like Pocus could rip AI benefits much faster. But this only happens with high-quality data, sophisticated models, and a company-wide adoption of best practices. For CXOs, here are some critical questions to consider: What is your main value in adopting AI? Is it operational efficiency, hyper-personalization, or smarter insights? How do you manage and mitigate AI’s limitations? AI is uniquely positioned to increase competitiveness through efficiency, better customer experience, and fast, data-driven insights. Leaders like Mark Organ are using AI to help their customers find product-market fit. Here are some real-world AI applications in GTM and customer success you can implement right away: Market research: AI speeds up primary research—think rapid survey design, sentiment analysis, and customer insights. Use it to uncover trends and micro-segments faster. Personalization and CX: Tailor content and campaigns for specific segments, accounts, and individuals. Predict and prevent churn, drive customer retention and adoption of key features with AI-powered signals on product usage or account engagement. Data-driven segmentation: Financial teams can collaborate with marketing and operations to create customer tiers based on profitability, using metrics like LTV, churn risk, and more. AI helps prioritize high-value customers and identify growth opportunities. How are you planning to drive AI adoption in 2025? Comment below. Special thanks to Julia Nimchinski Justin Michael ??and my fellow panelists Mark Organ Dale W. Harrison Caitlin Clark-Zigmond Randy Wootton Alexa Grabell for the thought-provoking session. #HardSkillExchange #AISummit #BoldGTM.