1: The year was 2007. Nokia controlled an astonishing 49% share of the mobile phone market.

Wowza.

What else happened that year? The iPhone was introduced.

Nokia’s “inability to adapt to swift technological changes ultimately led to their downfall, serving as a cautionary tale for leaders in the AI era,” Geoff Woods writes in The AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions.

Nokia was unable to adapt … continue reading

1: “Crafting effective prompts is like writing a recipe,”  Geoff Woods writes in The AI-Driven Leader.

“The ingredients we include and the way we combine them directly impact the taste of the dish,” Geoff notes. “With training and lots of practice, I identified several key ingredients that consistently lead to high-quality results with AI.”

Ingredient one: “Describe the Task,” he writes. “Just like when delegating to our team, … continue reading

Many leaders and organizations find themselves at a crossroads with artificial intelligence (AI): intrigued by its potential, wary of its risks, and uncertain about how to move from curiosity to confident adoption.

These mixed feelings-curiosity, skepticism, fear for jobs, and concern about privacy and security-are not only common but valid.

As  Geoff Woods, author of The AI-Driven Leader, emphasizes, AI is not here to replace us, but to … continue reading

1: Billionaire Charlie Munger, the longtime vice chairman and “right-hand man” to Warren Buffett at  Berkshire Hathaway, was well known for his fiercely independent thinking.

He took pleasure in rejecting the “wisdom of the herd” and going his own way. Regardless of what others thought or what they might be doing.

Yet, equally important, although perhaps not as well known, was Charlie’s willingness to change his mind when … continue reading

1: Back in 2014, business was booming at Google and Apple.

Not so much at Microsoft. The one-time tech leader was stumbling.  

“As the world shifted to mobile and cloud computing,”  Geoff Woods writes in The AI-Driven Leader, “Microsoft was falling behind, gasping for breath. It was out of touch and slow to adapt.”

In February of that year, Satya Nadella became just the third CEO in … continue reading

1: Author and entrepreneur Geoff Woods was a senior in college.

“I was interning at a startup technology company, and I asked the CEO what job I should get after graduation,” Geoff Woods writes in The AI-Driven Leader.

The CEO paused for a moment and looked at him.  

“Geoff, you’re asking the wrong question! You should be asking, ‘What are the skills I can master that are so valuable … continue reading

1: If we “see AI as just another Google or a tool for writing better emails, we’re selling ourselves short,” Geoff Woods writes in The AI-Driven Leader: Harnessing AI to Make Faster, Smarter Decisions.

Instead, AI is “a strategic Thought Partner,” Geoff notes, “ready 24/7 to help us make faster, smarter decisions.

“When we recognize AI’s potential this way we gain an edge in a fast-changing world.”

Geoff defines … continue reading

1: In the year 2000, Blockbuster was sitting pretty.

The company was “the undisputed leader in movie rentals,” Geoff Woods writes in The AI-Driven Leader. “Millions of customers flocked to their local stores every weekend, driving annual revenues to a staggering $8.7 billion, with $1.4 billion in profits.”

Then, a startup called Netflix pioneered a new concept: DVD rentals by mail, with no late fees.

“The idea quickly caught … continue reading

1:  The good news?

“Every person is going to have a circle of competence,” Charlie Munger writes in Poor Charlie’s Almanack, the Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger.

The bad news?  “It’s going to be very hard to enlarge that circle,” Charlie observes.

Until his passing in 2023 at the age of 99, Charlie served as Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, founded by Warren Buffett.  Berkshire is … continue reading

1: “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters – one represents danger and one represents opportunity,” John F. Kennedy once said.

Yesterday, we explored how the best CEOs create a small team of senior leaders to deal directly with the crisis.  This prevents the CEO from becoming all-consumed by the situation and enables the rest of the organization to continue to get work done.   … continue reading