Generative AI and C-Suite Decisions

Since the introduction of ChatGPT, generative AI has become a pervasive topic in the business world. It fills our inboxes and news feeds. Experts declare AI will either save or doom the planet, create or obliterate jobs. None of that is helpful for business executives and board members looking for practical guidance on how to navigate AI within their organizations.

Let's tackle this head-on, starting with the question of urgency.

A recent Harvard Business Review article(1) offers a pragmatic approach for determining how relevant today's generative AI is for your organization. They've categorized tasks where current generative AI tools excel into four areas: Words, Images, Numbers, and Sounds. Conveniently, "WINS." ?If you’ve done any experimentation with the current generative AI tools you’ve experienced their capabilities to accelerating your workforce in these domains. And, even if you’ve not yet taken a proactive stance on AI, generative AI is already seeping into your organization. Traditional software providers are continuously integrating AI features into tools you already use for tasks like report writing, translation, coding, graphic design, web development, and much more.

As an executive, your focus should be whether you should hit the accelerator or tap the brakes.

The HBR article offers a straightforward litmus test. If your organization incurs substantial costs related to WINS tasks, you and your competitors have a significant opportunity to enhance productivity using today's generative AI tools and harvest improvements. However, the pace at which you'll reap these benefits hinges on how digitized your organization's workflows are at present. The HBR piece anticipates a timeline of 3-5 years for companies with high WINS costs and extensive digital content to either thrive or face disruption.

I find that predicting the future is easier than pinpointing its timing. If you’re an exec leading an org with high WINS costs, now is the time to take action and not find yourself on the wrong side of that 3-5 year forecast. The stakes are undeniably high.

Once you've gauged the urgency for AI adoption within your organization, the next step is to responsibly integrate generative AI into your WINS workflows. This process demands thorough examination and mitigation of concerns such as hallucinations and copyright risks.? Like today’s "self-driving" cars; even with advanced automation, we still want a human at the wheel to ensure we stay within the guardrails.

Lastly, your organization's team members are exposed to the same AI headlines that you are, fueling fear of their own job being disrupted by AI. Here, the principles of change management come into play, as the power of a change-resistant organization can easily thwart well-intentioned plans.

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(1)???? Where Should Your Company Start with GenAI. Baier, Hexter, Sviokla, 2023. Harvard Business Review