AI creating new professional development blindspot = new growth risk

Businesses are of course investing in AI, eager to see productivity gains.

The vast AI media coverage is assisting workers to better understand the growing demand for AI skills and where to go to learn via the ever-increasing options of AI webinars, self-serve education platforms and communities.?

On the surface this is great, because 66% of business leaders surveyed by Microsoft and LinkedIn said they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills. Ironically, many businesses are still figuring out what are the key AI skills they need.

For the small to mid-cap software businesses we work with, experimenting with and leveraging AI is generally not the problem. Obtaining AI skills is a focus and there is enough internal energy and experts on staff to support identifying what is needed (at least with what is known about AI today.)

But for overall success, our innate human capabilities are necessary for many critical business requirements:

1?? Understanding Complex Business Needs

2?? Relationship Building

3?? Customization and Consultative Sales

4?? Domain Expertise and Industry Knowledge

5?? Strategic Decision-Making

6?? Creativity and Innovation

7?? Adaptability to Dynamic Situations

8?? Ethical and Social Responsibility

9?? Effective Communication and Team Collaboration

?? Customer Support and Satisfaction

It’s essential to recognize this contrast between AI and humans.

The risk that is emerging, especially for many early-career professionals (of which our software clients employ many) is a lack of a plan to develop the ability to professionally think, feel, and judge like a human informed by learned work experiences, specifically for function or industry-specific nuances.

This focused development is important for the practical, tactical skills (including AI,) and the required skills for effectively collaborating in cross-functional initiatives, leading projects and eventually managing teams.

For small businesses, the reality is that often there isn't an available budget or leaders’ time to support this focused development and coaching.

Our focus is Human + AI which can be an ideal work partnership. AI can perform massive calculations in the blink of an eye at a pace far superior to even the most intelligent human on the planet. When paired with a human capable of making quick decisions based on lived experience, judgment, and practical wisdom, it’s an immensely more powerful tool than it is on its own.

If nothing else, the intense interest in generative AI has heightened businesses’ focus on assessing the skills that your people currently bring to their job.?

But how will workers get critical work experience and training when entry-level tasks can be done by AI? Without, how does one learn the judgment, values, and culture of a business that are essential as they climb the ladder? How can they obtain training and coaching, not covered or only minimally covered in schools, for the above 10 workplace requirements?

For early-stage software companies, this is amplified with fewer experienced leaders. The early leaders in start-ups often are technical or product experts who do not have go-to-market or back-office experience who can coach and mentor early junior hires with function-specific expertise. That is, if they would even have the time to dedicate to their new hires in sales, marketing or customer success.

One solution I’ve seen suggested, is asking older workers, who are considering or preparing for retirement, if they would continue working part-time to help with mentoring and coaching. This has promise, given workers are tending to pursue employment much later in life, for a variety of reasons. The downside, for my clients who are software companies, is that older tenured workers who might be interested in part-time work and who would be valued for their mentorship, sadly, are often not employed in early-stage software companies.

At Brightrose Ventures we are well-versed in these 10 business requirements (as well as AI.)?

Given these unprecedented times of change influenced by eagerness to embrace AI, we have developed a non-traditional new GTM augmentation model to support small and mid-cap business software companies and their investors to accelerate growth and overall business success.

The goal of our 90-day Fast Start Model is to align or realign your GTM model to your company’s business thesis by factorizing your GTM capabilities based on strengthening trust.

We customize your growth plan to your company’s current situation, by selecting core marketing, sales and customer success plays among a set of established proven trust-building strategies for today’s software businesses. We focus on heightening your company’s credibility with employees, customers, partners, prospects and investors.

The Fast Start accelerates transformation time to value for companies who are often seeking to meet critical or special situation deadlines.

Another unique element of our Model is that we address long-term talent development goals. Within the initial 90-days, in addition to implementing GTM plays, we also work with your broader team to train and coach on modern GTM strategies and software industry business acumen. We conclude the 90-day engagement with a go-forward plan with your trained employees that fits within your current and near-term budgets, that will also scale outcomes with maturing GTM capabilities as your business grows.

Unlike most agency models, our advisory model includes ongoing function-specific senior leader mentorship and coaching for tactical delivery team members, until your company has on-staff senior talent who can assume team development responsibilities. This ensures sustained in-house capture and maintenance of your company’s institutional and proprietary knowledge with added ongoing infusion of outside software-experienced expertise and coaching from executives who remain smart on your business.

With AI transforming workplaces, it's also time to transform how we define and support the professional development of our future leaders. It's imperative for long-term business growth and success.

If you’re a small or mid-cap business software Founder, CEO or investor considering realignment of your GTM model, we'd love your feedback on our new augmentation model.

Feel free to like, comment, share or reach out.

Together, we can support you in building high-performing functional teams with leaders who will grow alongside - and stay - as you build your business.

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