The Worst Advice You Can Ever Hear About AI
and how to set an innovation mindset instead.
‘ . . . chance favors only the prepared mind.’
— Louis Pasteur
Have you ever had the lousy sensation that you were spinning around with nonsense? Moving like a crazy ball you are taking out nothing valuable.
Don’t worry. That happens any time to everybody. Take a look at entrepreneurship, leadership and psychology bookshelf in any bookshop. You will have that clear.
Books and gurus usually suggest “one fits all” solutions. They often state “strategy” as the best solution.
You can learn about the strategy. Once again, tons of literature will give you bits of advice.
Where is the problem about that?
Why doesn’t it work?
If everybody can be a strategic leader, why this continues to be a pain?
The same is happening with Artificial Intelligence.
The truth is that “one fits all” solution NEVER work. The unique way to take a definite advantage from AI is acting with a method.
The Unbearable Lightness of the Time
Innovation is a mindset.
Henry Ford said:
“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”
You don’t know what you need since you have never even imagined that it can be possible. You can’t think about to find a recipe. The unique formula is experimenting with tests that leverage a data-driven strategy. Never stop testing.
Test, analyze, repeat.
You need setting clear goals and planning the roadmap to achieve it. Then you need the most critical money than ever: you need TIME.
Nobody tells you nothing about this small detail.
Artificial Intelligence involves automation and fast execution of repetitive actions. That is true. You can go so far thanks to Artificial Intelligence.
But, what is unknown is the amount of time you need to have this actions done.
Ticktack ⏰
Without time you can’t cut out time waste.
Ticktack ⏰
Without time you can’t teach the AI what needs to having been done.
Ticktack ⏰
You need to invest time to create your business shaped AI. Without the right amount of time to spend, you can only continue to work in the old manner.
Slowly. Manually. Inaccurate. You are missing new opportunities.
Data are value, and AI is the key to use this value to grow your company. Data-driven KPIs are your polar star to improve processes through automation.
By the way, you need two essential things: one, as said, is TIME, the other, you may guess, is PEOPLE.
Artificial Intelligence needs Smart People
Jeanne Ross, a principal research scientist for MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research, says:
“Many executives are enthusiastic about the business potential of machine learning applications. But business leaders often overlook a key issue: To unlock the benefits of artificial intelligence, you’ll need to upgrade your people’s skills — and build an empowered, AI-savvy workforce.”
- Jeanne Ross in The Fundamental Flaw in AI Implementation
People need to teach and train AI to do the job. As a newborn, AI doesn’t know ANYTHING. You need to educate the system about your business and KPIs to get results.
The time invested in training the AI will be back as time saved by automating repetitive tasks.
But, you cannot remove the time saved from workers’ activities.
Working hours of employees are not reduced but valued. The time, before spent in repetitive things, can now be invested in increasing the total value.
Three different approaches to the innovation mindset
In my recent experience with small-to-medium enterprise, I can recognize three patterns:
- Companies AI excited and innovation oriented. They feel the significant change in the business way of growing. They want to be ready to be on board.
- Companies which resonate like a sloth. They “need to be interested” because of the hype but are not sure about the right direction to take.
- Companies that still live in the past. They are too worried about maintaining the current status quo. They wait for competitors defeat instead of looking for an innovative way to win.
McKinsey suggests three tips to stay more strategic in your business running.
For example, you need understand more in-depth your industry. “Strategy” is an overused word that doesn’t have a meaning outside of its context.
First understand your industry, challenges, obstacles, victories, competitors action. Then shape your unique strategy.
Another effective way to stay up to date is listening and feeling innovators. Hear as much as you can, understand what is coming in the future to be ready to change your strategy.
Let’s apply the same savvy suggestions to integrate Artificial Intelligence into our business.
Invest in people. Your employees remain your closest friends, those that are in with you.
Discover your weakness and turn it in a profound change of communicating.
Start to look for new ideas. Instead of closing yourself in your comfort zone take a step-by-step breath outside.
You may discover that the new fresh air is good also for you.
Now breathe.
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