Most CEOs I speak to are thinking about AI in one narrow way: productivity. Nancy Duarte sees it differently. Nancy is a communication legend, with 30+ years working with 80%+ of top global brands, author of multiple bestsellers and a very popular TED talk. On the podcast, she told me AI isn’t a feature upgrade. It’s an era shift. As Nancy put it: AI isn’t just this thing… [it’s] throwing us into a whole new era. And the way you respond now will separate winners from losers. Nancy’s response was radical: she stepped back from daily operations so she could go deep herself. I feel like a storm chaser. I had my exec team run the business… so I could jump in. That’s the CEO move. Because if you delegate AI understanding, you’re gambling with your future. Here’s what stood out most.1. AI needs a system — not random experiments. It’s structured deployment. She wants teams mapping their workflows and tagging every step with one of two labels:
And she’s clear on measurement: You could measure it by how many hours did it take you to get to the same report? 2. The new standard is: be smarter than your clients. We need to be the smartest AI person on the phone with our clients. Not because clients expect you to be technical. But because they expect you to guide them through complexity with confidence. That’s what trust looks like now. 3. Avoid the robotic keynote trap. She told me: ChatGPT itself has a voice. And if you don’t actively protect your voice as a leader, you will start sounding like everyone else. Her solution is simple and powerful: train AI on your thinking. Nancy’s challenge to CEOs was direct: There is really no reason now to not have a thought leadership platform. 4. Resistance is rising — and great CEOs will anticipate it. So leaders must get better at surfacing objections before they explode in Slack. She uses a classic rhetorical move: Hey, I understand you might be thinking this… and I think about that too. When you name the resistance first, you earn credibility — and you keep the conversation in the room. 5. Your edge over AI is humanity. When I wake up every day, my little prayer I whisper is I wanna be empathetic. Because speed is not the advantage anymore. Humanity is. Empathy. Presence. The ability to speak to what people are truly feeling. That’s what world-class leadership looks like in the AI era. 👉 Watch the full episode here Get the next issue on ThursdayOne idea a week on how top CEOs lead when the stakes are high, from inside rooms most people never enter. Free, and you can leave any time. Latest issuesYour company will only change as much as you do 26806160-38596 Your company will only change as much as you do 26806160-82af7 Your company will only change as much as you do 26806160-310e6 |