Prepare Your Organization for Generative AI in 3 Steps

Does AI constrain the imagination?

It’s a good question, and one I was asked recently in my livestream.

The truth, though, is that it’s just the opposite. We’re not constrained by AI—we’re constrained by the limits of our imagination.?

The best way to spark our imagination is by experiencing AI firsthand. So how can organizations get started? I’ve heard a consistent refrain in my conversations this month: Leaders feel unsure about the first few steps they need to take.

If you’re looking to get up to speed, you’re in the right place.?

Start With A Paradigm Shift

One of the biggest issues I’m seeing is that leaders are thinking about AI the wrong way. They’re approaching it like it’s technology, and they’re treating it as such. But the key to unlocking the power of AI comes from thinking about it as a paradigm shift:

1. The power of AI now is in the hands of anyone with a browser. It’s simple to use, and it’s free!?

1. It’s not about the technology—it’s about how we interact with it that matters. AI can sit there and do absolutely nothing. How we decide to use it—how we approach it— unleashes its power.?

1. It democratizes our ability to create. AI enables us to do more with less effort. I can’t draw worth beans, but I can create amazing illustrations with AI.?

1. AI requires we rethink ethical guidelines, legal frameworks, and societal norms. We need to reconsider things we’ve long held true. What’s ethical? What’s right and wrong? AI also requires us to rethink legal frameworks, like copyright laws and cyber norms.

1. It automates tasks, redesigns jobs, and transforms career paths.? AI is changing the way we work. It's automating tasks as it redescribes jobs and redefines career paths.?

How Do You Prepare??

“How many of you think AI is going to be transformative?” This is a question I’ve been asking a lot lately in my discussions with organizations. As you might imagine, the vast majority of the audience puts their hands up.?

But then, I ask a follow up: “How many of you are using it every day?”?

Nearly all of those hands go down.?

It's one thing to know AI is going to be transformative, but it’s another thing to actually lead with it. If AI is going to be paradigm shifting, then we need to start acting as if it’s going to be that way.

The problem is that most organizations are woefully unprepared. Most leaders:?

• Lack direct, hands-on experience with generative AI. Typically less than 15% of the audiences I speak with use it regularly to get work done (and these are AI focused events!).?

• Treat it like enterprise technology. It’s IT-led, with minimum business input. Leaders believe it can be centrally controlled and deployed (which is not the case—again, anyone with a browser can use it). They are focused on ROI and total cost of ownership.?

• Limit organizational testing to small, safe use cases. The technology is changing, though, and teams are unsure about how to go about using it.??

The combination of these issues triggers a vicious cycle that stymies progress. So how do you detangle the knot? Start here.

The Three-Step Start

1. Secure a generative AI playground and develop guidelines.?

This enables your teams to get their hands dirty. They need exposure to AI (and guidelines for staying out of trouble!).?

Set up an LLM. A generic one is fine for now. There are lots of options—Claude, Gemini Pro, Perplexity AI—but I’d recommend ChatGPT for Teams. It puts everything that you do behind a firewall. And while it’s not completely secure, it does keep your queries confidential: Anything you put into the model will not be used to train it.?

Don’t put any personally identifiable information or any customer data into the model until you can truly secure it with your data, compliance, and security teams. But for general purposes, this is a very good solution.?

Then, get some guidelines in place. I’ve created a generative AI policy resource page to support you as you develop responsible AI guidelines. For now, though, know that your own critical thinking is your ace in the hole. Keep these broad critical thinking guidelines front and center:??

• Pause and reflect. Does it sound right? Does it look right? Does it match your expectations? Use your gut.?

• Fact check like a pro. Do quick checks to verify information.?

• Explore and choose. Don’t accept the very first thing generative AI gives you. Ask it to justify how it came up with that answer, or have it offer you other options.?

2. Train your top two executive levels on how to use generative AI.?

If you want to treat AI as a transformative force, you need your most strategic thinkers on board. The best way to do this is by getting them hands-on.?

Ask your top executives to do tasks they already do, but use generative AI instead. Have them:

• Write emails
• Create images/logos
• Analyze data/sales
• Use it as a thought partner
• Complete additional exercises?

Let them experience first hand how transformative generative AI can be.?

3. Share learnings and treat prompts as IP.?

Create a place where people can collaborate: A channel on Slack or Teams, or another collaboration tool—and use that place for people to ask questions, to share things they're learning, or concerns they might have.?

Create a “best practices” page and ensure everyone has access to it. Have your team share the prompts they’re successfully using in the context of your company. Prompts are incredibly valuable intellectual property. Capture, store, use, and refine them.?

The worst thing you can do as a company is have everyone develop their AI skills in their own little silos. Instead, create a collective intelligence—a collective imagination—for how to use generative AI.?

Your Turn

How are you preparing for generative AI, and especially for the kind of paradigm shift it’s going to have??