?? Weekly Dose of GenAI #7 ??

Welcome to the seventh edition of Weekly Dose of GenAI Adoption newsletter! This newsletter delves into the rapid integration of generative AI within the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Discover real-world insights that will empower you and your team to accelerate adoption of these transformative technologies in your organization. The newsletter is a cumulation of daily posts from this week, packaged for easy weekend read.

This week we dove into some interesting topics such as Dealing with Resistance to Generative AI in Your Organization, Breaking Down Barriers in Generative AI Discussions, Fostering GenAI Champions Within Your Organization, Future-proofing your Workforce with GenAI Skills, and Essential Leadership Traits to Lead GenAI Adoption.

?? The Essential Leadership Traits to Lead GenAI Adoption

As we witness the transformative power of Generative AI, I've been thinking about the essential traits leaders need to guide their teams through this journey. Lessons from cloud adoption and best practices from Stephen Orban book 'Ahead in the Cloud' still resonate with me as I witness my customers go through GenAI adoption journey. In my experience, these leadership qualities still stand out:

1?? Courage and Resilience: Leaders must be willing to challenge the status quo and tackle resistance while remaining steady under pressure. CxOs must become the Chief Change Management Officer.

2?? Vision and Future-oriented Thinking: Having a clear vision helps leaders navigate the complex AI landscape, foresee opportunities, and inspire their teams to embrace change. Be ready to articulate why GenAI adoption must happen. For example: One of my customer's wants to quadruple their revenue but does not want to increase their head count by the same proportion. They want to remove undifferentiated manual effort from their internal processes.

3?? Clear and Effective Communication: Being able to articulate the benefits, risks, and potential of GenAI is crucial for building trust and fostering engagement.

4?? Embracing Innovation: Leaders should demonstrate an early adopter mindset, staying ahead of the curve to capitalize on the latest advancements and create a competitive edge. If you don't want to be an early adopter, be a fast follower.

5?? Influence and Partnership Building: GenAI adoption warrants cross-functional collaboration and strategic partnerships. Leaders should focus on fostering connections within and outside their organizations.

6?? Technical Competence: You don't need to be data scientist but should have a good understanding of GenAI. This will enable leaders to make informed decisions, evaluate potential solutions, and communicate effectively with technical teams. Leaders will also benefit from understanding if the business problem resolution warrants RPA, AI, ML or GenAI.

7?? Ethical and Responsible Decision-Making: Ensuring fairness, transparency, and privacy in AI adoption is paramount. Leaders must prioritize ethical decision-making and create a culture of trust and accountability. Influential leaders should stand up an AI Council, with cross LOB representation, to govern and accelerate adoption.

8?? Bias for Action: Driving progress demands leaders who foster a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement. Be stubborn on the vision but flexible on the details. Be strategically patient and tactically impatient. Prioritize high impact workstreams. Dive Deep. Deliver Results.

?? Future-proofing your Workforce with GenAI Skills

Last week, I had the opportunity to hear from one of our Life Sciences customers on their Generative AI (GenAI) adoption journey. The session got me thinking about the incredible impact GenAI is going to have on the healthcare and life sciences ecosystem, and how it will directly influence patient’s lives and the care they receive!

Amongst other things, I started wondering how should we go about helping our teams thrive in this exciting new era. Here are a few practical strategies to identify skill gaps, provide training, track progress, and keep everyone motivated:

1?? Start with identifying skill gaps: Survey your teams about their current skills and what they need to learn to make the most of GenAI. Partner with your technology & GSO partners on survey tools that they can lend to help speed up this exercise. Keep an open dialogue with your colleagues to understand their aspirations and needs. Learn from industry experts, attend webinars, and check out case studies for inspiration and insights. Here are a few that I gravitate towards for inspiration - Matt Wood Eduardo Ordax Allie K. Miller Jan Beger Taha Kass-Hout, MD, MS

2?? Next, determine how trainings will be delivered: You can offer tailored training programs, workshops, and online courses that cater to your team's unique needs. At AWS, we offer immersion days, workshops, and other self-service trainings for our customers to up-skill themselves. Other technology partners offer similar capabilities. Encourage your colleagues to learn from each other and share their experiences i.e. find those early adopters (GenAI Champions). Provide hands-on opportunities, like pilot projects and hackathons, to help them flex their GenAI acumen. My favorite learning approach is 'learn by building' a MVP (minimum viable product).

3?? Super important to keeping track of progress, make adjustments and get everyone to the finish line: Measure the impact of newly acquired skills on project success and process improvements – capture business KPIs both before and after to quantify and report the impact. Measure & report employee productivity KPIs. Launch surveys to gather anonymous feedback from your teams, managers, and business stakeholders to ensure your training initiatives are hitting the mark.

4?? Pause to celebrate success, motivate, and align your teams: Pause often to share your vision for how GenAI is revolutionizing patient care and research, and explain why it's essential for your organization's growth. Recognize early adopters (GenAI Champions) to create a culture that values continuous learning and innovation.

?? Fostering GenAI Champions Within Your Organization

Having gone through a few transformation journeys, I've come to realize that every transformational change attracts a few passionate people at the organization - those who become early adopters and power users. These folks are naturally curious and have a high propensity to adopt new technology, start POCs, are eager to demonstrate their work, and openly share their learnings within the organization. These folks emerge across Lines of Businesses, and across the various levels of the organization. Having such folks within your organization make a huge difference in adopting change.

The same is true with Generative AI (GenAI) adoption. We call these folks GenAI Champions.

So, who are these folks? GenAI Champions are colleagues who truly believe in the power of AI and love sharing their knowledge with others. No one asks them to take on this role. They don't drop their day job to focus on this new transformation. Instead, they do so without permission and often learn on their own time. They're experts in their respective fields, great communicators, and have the uncanny ability to connect the dots between their work and the promise of the new technology.

How can you empower your GenAI Champions? Give them the resources and support they need to spread the word! Here are a few ways, I have observed my customers foster GenAI Champions:

1?? Host fun workshops or webinars for these champions to share their expertise - they have a way to infuse enthusiasm that cannot be done in structured trainings. Their energy motives the fast follower employees to ask questions in safe 1on1 environments and start experimenting.

2?? Invite them to help shape your company's GenAI strategy. Allow them to form 2-pizza teams (Amazon lingo for small, purpose driven teams) within Lines of Businesses (LoBs) - this allows cross-functional teams to come together and start working backwards from business needs to explore the technology.

3?? Recognize their effort and celebrate those early wins - nothing motivates human beings more than being recognized for their efforts.

Look, I'm not suggesting that GenAI Champions alone will single-handedly transform your business. But, by nurturing a community of GenAI Champions, and encouraging formation of diversified 2-pizza teams, across LoBs, you'll not only make it easier for your company to embrace GenAI but also create a culture of innovation and continuous learning. ??Breaking Down Barriers in Generative AI Discussions

As Generative AI continues to reshape various industries, the topic has sparked a range of opinions and perspectives. Unfortunately, some individuals have attempted to gatekeep these conversations, asserting that only a select few are qualified to participate.

I believe that everyone has the right to engage in these important discussions, regardless of their background or expertise. Diversity of thought and experience is essential for driving innovation and progress. Excluding voices from the conversation not only limits our collective understanding of GenAI's potential but also stifles growth.

Inclusivity and respect are fundamental in fostering a vibrant and dynamic discourse. So, whether you're a seasoned AI expert or just starting to learn about Generative AI, your thoughts and opinions matter. Let's continue to promote an open and welcoming environment where everyone feels encouraged to share their insights and ideas.

?? Create a safe place where people can truly talk about what is working and what is not. Intellectual curiosity and honesty must be promoted in new technology adoption journeys.

??Dealing with Resistance to Generative AI in Your Organization

One of my newsletter subscribers yesterday asked this question and I thought it was worth it's own post.

As generative AI (GenAI) technology continues to advance, it's understandable that some members of your team may be skeptical or resistant to adopting it. This is normal and expected! With the right approach, you can help your colleagues understand the value of GenAI and get them onboard. Here are a few things to keep in mind -

1?? First, education is key. Provide training opportunities like workshops, webinars, and learning resources to help employees understand what GenAI is and how it can benefit the organization. Seeing real-life examples and success stories can also help demonstrate the tangible value of GenAI. Collaborate with your technology and GSI (Global System Integrator) partners for ideas/thoughts. These partners have existing programs, demos, training material, etc. that they can lend to help accelerate a learning plan for your organization.

2?? Second, open, honest and transparent communication is crucial. Foster an environment where people feel comfortable voicing their concerns and asking questions. Address any misconceptions head-on and keep everyone updated on your GenAI initiatives. For example - one of my customers acknowledged early on that they did not have GenAI ready builders, so they worked with a GSI to secure a pod (a small 2-pizza team in Amazon lingo) that works to deliver priorities identified during Pi planning to deliver a few GenAI use cases.

3?? Third, Collaborate with stakeholders to develop a solid business case for GenAI adoption. Quantify the potential impact on efficiency, growth, and competitiveness. Having a well-researched plan can help convince skeptics of the strategic value. If needed, consider engaging external consultants or experts to provide guidance and support in developing your GenAI strategy. Their experience can be invaluable in overcoming hurdles and ensuring a smooth implementation. This also allows for a top-down support and helps accelerate adoption of the change. Here is a post that dives deeper into the topic - https://shorturl.at/chtY1

Remember, people are not afraid of change. They are afraid of what the change will expose. Engaging everyone early in the process and keeping it real, helps build trust and collaboration. By focusing on education, transparency, and collaboration, you can help your organization overcome resistance and fully embrace the potential of generative AI.

?? Share your thoughts on GenAI Adoption for HCLS below!

?? Subscribe to this newsletter on GenAI adoption - Don't miss this essential update on the transformative impact of generative AI in the healthcare and life sciences industry. Each week, we dive into various adoption strategies and use cases, from AI-powered marketing to accelerating drug discovery. Learn about cutting-edge GenAI technology trends, including Amazon Bedrock solutions and novel design patterns. Discover how leading healthcare organizations are harnessing the power of large language models to unlock insights from contract data and enhance customer service.

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