AI will change everything. I’m not saying this to be provocative, or to do the opposite in claiming that it’s all hype. There is nothing in that statement about AI but pure fact. AI will change things in the same way that electricity did and continues to do: It creates the conditions through which people can do old things better while also envisioning completely new things to do.

Read that last sentence carefully, though, and you’ll see that AI is not the actual change agent. Yes, everything will change, but it is the people who use that AI who will do what I promised: Do old things better and envision completely new things to do. Your success with AI will similarly depend on how effectively you lead your people to do the old and new with the help of powerful AI tools.

That’s why, in early September, I’ll be in Austin at our Technology & Innovation Summit North America to lead a track on leadership and talent. In that track, you’ll hear from me and half a dozen outstanding colleagues, along with some guests we’ll have on stage with us, to talk about how your leadership can make the difference in inviting your people to make magic happen using AI. You’ll need to know a few things to succeed, and we’ll cover them with you in this track, including how to:

  • Level up the total package of your people’s capabilities, not just their AI skills — a panel featuring my colleagues Betsy Summers, Jonathan Roberts, and Fiona Mark.
  • Lead the change you need to happen and know how to do it better than a bot can — led by Katy Tynan.
  • Invite your people to participate in a culture that will support high performance, demonstrating the ROI of culture — led by Angelina Gennis.
  • Encourage collaboration by attending to the emotions that unlock or inhibit it — led by David Brodeur-Johnson.
  • Build trust with and between your team members — led by Jonathan Roberts.

Also, come prepared to roll up your sleeves with me in a session where I’ll be inviting you to estimate your AI readiness using our AIQ framework. You’ll leave that session with a score for your own AI readiness as well as a plan for how you can assess and then improve your team’s AIQ as well.

AI will change everything. With the help of your leadership, your people will use AI to do old things in new, better ways while envisioning and building entirely new things worth doing. We’re here to help; see you in Austin!