Unleashing the Potential of Generative AI: A Paradigm Shift for CEOs and Businesses

First thing to note, if you have landed on this article, is that I reassure you that this is 100% being written by me ( Joe ) not one of the many blog writing tools that now exist. Real time insights, generated by 1st party conversations & data gathering.

If you've not heard about, trialled, had your mind blown ?? etc by the power of generative AI over the course of the past few months ( probably by having a play around with the current incumbent for the top spot, OpenAi/ChatGPT), you've likely either been on a desert island, living under a rock or (probably blissfully) spending a solid amount of time away from your phone, the news, social media & the internet generally - fair play to you.

On the flip side, I spend the majority of my entire day, 5 days per week, speaking with C-suite leaders of scale-ups, corporates, consulting firms & PE houses - most of whom are ex consulting - or independent strategy & management consultants who are speaking to a similar audience & sharpening their consulting toolkit constantly in order to stay relevant and in demand.

Over the past few months, I have asked every person I have spoken to their approach to generative AI - both 'clients' and 'candidates'. I've put together some insights below that might provide some useful for context for those considering how to approach generative AI as it relates to their business objectives or consulting proposition:

1) FOMO is real

The pace of change at the moment on the topic is frightening - social media is awash with 'experts' on the topic & there are legitimately some outrageously smart ways to leverage generative AI to complete a plethora of tasks (administrative to strategic). As such, there is a fairly large amount of 'fear of missing out' amongst business leaders & consultants alike that their competition.

2) CEOs are putting this on their agenda (not just dept leads or CTOs)

Gen AI was solely the domain of department leads historically, if on the agenda at all. CEOs have recognised it's immense potential and are actively integrating it into their strategic agendas. They understand that harnessing generative AI is a game-changer, enabling their organisations to achieve unprecedented levels of operational efficiency - with one CEO referring to it as like 'the second coming of the internet'.

3) Proceed with caution in communications

Understandably, during a time of stubborn inflation, a poor job market & challenges as it relates to the cost of living, overhype in regards to the capabilities of GenAI is causing many concerns amongst the workforce as to the extent to which AI could be leant on increasingly for a range of tasks, thus rendering many people's roles in jeopardy.

Finding a way to harness the power of generative AI by augmenting & supplementing the workforce - but not widespread replacement - is a critical weapon in the CSuite's communication toolkit.

4) The main GenAI pillars of interest

• Operational efficiency

Naturally, this is the number one topic that comes up - get manual/administrative tasks done quickly, reliably & predictably.

• Highly personalised go-to-market efforts at scale

Generative AI has the potential to fuel growth strategy and marketing efforts on a large scale. By analysing customer data, predicting market trends, and generating personalised marketing campaigns, it enables businesses to connect with their target audience in more meaningful and effective ways

• Technical build & development

Generative AI revolutionises collaboration and iteration in tech and product development. It enables seamless communication and idea generation among teams, accelerating innovation. With AI-powered tools, teams collaborate in real-time, iterate designs, and get instant feedback, leading to faster prototyping and better product outcomes.

5) Businesses are building GenAI strike teams

In order to build a cohesive & aligned approach to generative AI, many businesses are now beginning to build a group task force to understand the technology, address it's capabilities & risks, ascertain & identify key areas for deployment within their firm & align it's capabilities to the company corporate strategy.

6) The Carrefour case study

贝恩公司 - in collaboration with OpenAI - have recently deployed a three point strategic implementation for 家乐福 to enable them to:

• Provide a website shopping assistant for customers
• Enhanced descriptions for online products at scale
• Drive operational efficiencies within the supply chain

You can read more about that here.

7) Now is the time to up-skill & guide the workforce

Challenger brands & direct competitors who provide training & group wide guidance on the power of generative AI will rapidly find a competitive advantage and businesses who do not get on board will find themselves quickly left behind.

Moreover, allowing some of your staff to use GenAi in whatever way they see fit will potentially damage brand & leave companies susceptible to confidentially & data challenges.

Conclusion

Now is the time to lean into this in order to build a competitive advantage - businesses who do not prioritise this will inevitably be playing catch up.

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