Getting a business from where it is today to where it needs to be is no simple feat under ordinary circumstances, and these are not ordinary circumstances. The rapid acceleration of cutting-edge technologies makes this work especially challenging for the C-suite who want to maximize lasting opportunities now and not be left behind while avoiding passing fads. In these times, it is not easy to tell the difference.
Pressures to remain competitive can override the need to be strategic about the use of these new technologies. Discerning what is hype, and what is real gets harder when every day brings new claims about AI’s capabilities (and risks), and everyone from cruise-ship operators to fast food chains is studying how to harness its power to transform their business. This work calls for a strategy about the medium-to-long-term impact and opportunities, all while managing a rapidly changing policy and security environment, demanding investors and most importantly, an anxious workforce.
So as a CEO, how do you lead and provide oversight in this environment and lead with a strategy to realize the opportunities but also minimize the risks to your business?
10 things you can do right now
- Have a plan and commitment to separate hype from strategically significant developments, now and over time. Develop trusted resources for information and a framework for taking in information.
- Empower a small advisory team dedicated to providing unvarnished, diverse perspectives on external and internal developments and possible impacts; a small advisory squad of internal and external voices for whom no question is off the table and difficult discussions are encouraged in order to advise the CEO and other senior executives and the Board.
- Consider the immediate and medium-to-long-term impacts of these developments separately and with clear eyes about your strategies and resources. For example, are the AI tools today suitable for the nature and quality of the data you can access currently? Is your organization mature on technology training and security? What is likely to impact your workforce this year? And in two years? How will these technologies help you provide greater value to the customer/client or solve a particular business problem?
- Develop a technology governance roadmap that sets a journey-not-a-destination mindset and allows your organization to start the work in steps and build competency. It is a visual plan that will help you consider your current capabilities and resources and likely regulatory environments, and plan a way forward that is consistent with internal standards and improves the odds the business generates value from investing in these new cutting-edge technologies.
- Build a diverse and effective (for you) Digital Governance council for the company or similar group. They can be tasked as a resource and/or as arbiters who reflect your organization’s needs and operational priorities while ensuring the boardroom also has the skills and knowledge to provide oversight
- Understand and govern your
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- Data needs and capabilities
- AI needs and capabilities
- Cybersecurity needs and capabilities
7. Integrate cybersecurity, privacy, and, as needed, national security considerations into everything from corporate governance to operations to technology development and procurement.
8. Account for the people in your organization, by way of workflows and training, but also their resilience and how they are interacting with and being affected by advanced technologies. Consider the opportunities to build confidence in your people by informing and leading, as well as change management approaches and resources that support successful transformations.
9. Incentivize and accommodate good question-asking and critical thinking behaviors in addition to good and fast answers. This will help with engagement and encourage innovation across your organization.
10. Stay agile and curious and develop methods of leadership and strategic planning that expect the unexpected, change, and opacity.
CEOs are not alone in their excitement but also their concern about how advanced technologies will impact their businesses (and their lives). Creating the right environment now will help maximize down the road, so that your journey is towards a destination with purpose, success, and longevity.
Claudia Salomon, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and Karen Silverman, CEO and Founder of The Cantellus Group
