How to Future-Proof Your Business With Generative AI

Generative AI Guidance for the Forward-Thinking CEO Here’s a leadership-first framework, no hype, for navigating GenAI responsibly and strategically. GenAI is more than a consulting engagement, a pilot, and an AI-First press release. 1. This is a CEO-level responsibility, not a tech deployment. GenAI is not a tool. It’s a new layer of organizational infrastructure, reshaping how your company thinks and builds trust. In a recent PwC survey, 73% of CEOs said they expect AI to significantly change how they create value in the next 3 years⁽¹⁾. This cannot be delegated. 2. Refine your company’s soul. This is an extraordinary opportunity to exert leadership and examine the essential purpose of the company you lead. What do you do better than anyone else? Why should employees, customers, or society care? Why should stakeholders believe in you? 3. Define Three First Principles. Too many goals kills clarity. Research shows execution improves 2x with 3 or fewer⁽²⁾. If GenAI doesn’t serve all three, it’s not strategy.  It's performance art and a slide show. 4. Build your stakeholder-wide coalition, then lead like a candidate. Find people you trust who aren’t afraid to speak truth to power. You don’t need cheerleaders. You need grounded, future-focused judgment. And you don't need a high-paying, sycophantic consultants sharing templates they've used since they shared them with Henry Ford back in the industrial revolution. Then communicate like it’s a campaign, like you are running for office and need everyone's vote. Edelman data shows CEOs with a visible AI vision earn 16% higher stakeholder trust⁽³⁾. Start with your board. Then your employees. Then your customers. 5. Put effort into a strategic thought leadership campaign. This is often overlooked. You must get out in front of this. Lots of communications. 6. Design the platform last. Flexible. Cross-functional.  Avoid vendor lock-in. Build around open-source adaptability, modularity, and secure data stewardship. 80% of early GenAI pilots fail due to poor integration and data issues⁽⁴⁾. Build a team that spans IT, legal, HR, compliance, and ops from day one. 6. Understand GenAI’s limits, and lead accordingly. Generative AI does not think. It predicts⁽⁵⁾. It’s prone to error, hallucination, and false confidence⁽⁶⁾. Use it to augment, not replace, your people. Generative AI is the defining moment of your career. Lead with grace. Lead with courage. Win the day. ******************************************************************************** The trick with technology is to avoid spreading darkness at the speed of light. Stephen Klein is Founder & CEO of Curiouser.AI, the only values-based Generative AI platform, strategic coach, and organization-first advisory designed to augment individual and corporate human intelligence. He also teaches AI Ethics, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship at UC Berkeley. To sign up, visit curiouser.ai or connect on Hubble: https://lnkd.in/gphSPv_e

McKinsey & Company: "𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗜𝗢𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗧𝗢𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁" This McKinsey & Co report highlights how #GenAI, when deeply integrated, can revolutionize business operations. I took a stab at CPG eCommerce use case below, and thriving with generative #AI isn’t about just deploying a model; it demands a deep integration into your enterprise stack. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗔𝗜 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗣𝗚⬇️ 𝟭. 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿: → The user logs in, browses personalized product recommendations, and either finalizes a purchase or escalates to a support agent—all seamlessly without grasping the backend processes. This layer prioritizes trust, rapid responses, and tailored suggestions like skincare routines based on user preferences. 📍Business Impact: Boosts customer satisfaction and loyalty, increasing conversion rates by up to 40% through hyper-personalized interactions that drive repeat purchases. 𝟮. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 → Oversees user engagement: - Chatbot launches and steers the dialogue, suggesting complementary products - Escalation to a human agent activates if AI can't fully address complex queries, like ingredient allergies 📍Business Impact: Enhances efficiency in consumer support, reducing resolution times and operational costs while minimizing cart abandonment in #eCommerce flows. 𝟯. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿: → Performs smart actions using context: - Retrieves user profile data - Validates promotions and inventory - Creates customized options, such as virtual try-ons - Advances the process, like adding to the cart 📍Business Impact: Accelerates innovation in product discovery, lifting marketing productivity by 10-40% and enabling dynamic pricing that optimizes revenue in competitive #FMCG markets. 𝟰. 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 → Links AI to essential enterprise platforms: - User verification and access management - Promotion rules and order processing - Support agent routing algorithms 📍Business Impact: Streamlines supply chain and sales workflows, cutting technical debt by 20-40% and improving inventory accuracy to reduce stockouts and overstock costs. 𝟱. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 → Delivers instant contextual details: - Consumer profiles - Purchase records - Promotion guidelines - Support team directories 📍Business Impact: Powers precise AI insights, enhancing demand forecasting and personalization to minimize waste in perishable goods while boosting overall data-driven decision-making. 𝟲. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 → Supports scalability, efficiency, and oversight: - Cloud or hybrid setups - AI model coordination - High-speed response handling - Privacy and compliance controls 📍Business Impact: Ensures robust, secure operations at scale, unlocking value by optimizing resource use, slashing IT ops costs.

This week I got to share my views on building a future-proof GenAI startup at the "One Year of ChatGPT" event hosted at the Microsoft SF office with Latent Space and Decibel Partners. Shawn W shared an amazing summary of updates since the launch of ChatGPT. After the OpenAI DevDay event, I saw a lot of blogs/ threads speaking about some startups going irrelevant. In the light of it, I wanted to share some tips that will make your startup resilient. Here are the things I shared at the event: 1️⃣ Problem First: Align your AI product to solve a real business challenge, not just to showcase technology. 2️⃣ Find Your Niche: Carve out a vertical niche where you can become the go-to solution. 3️⃣ Data is King for GenAI: A unique dataset can be your startup’s strongest unique selling point (USP). 4️⃣ User-Friendly: Ensure your product is intuitive - ease of use can drive adoption rates sky-high. 5️⃣ Regulatory Alignment: Keep abreast of regulations and shape your product to comply seamlessly. (Read EU AI Bill and US Executive AI Order) 6️⃣ Partnerships: Forge win-win partnerships with companies that can amplify the value of your product. Being in collaboration with tech-giants will give you competitive advantage. 7️⃣ Extended Toolkit: In enterprise products, integrate model monitoring features, model evaluation metrics (prescriptive), RLHF capabilities etc. to make your product more of an ecosystem. Did I miss something that you would like to add? #StartupLife #AI #GrowthHacking #TechTips