Fit For the Future Gihan Perera

AI champions are the new leaders in today's digital world. Find them, support them, and give them the right tools and resources to help them lead and transform how we work.
https://swiy.co/go-your-ai-champions
I was in Melbourne recently, speaking at a conference of executive assistants and personal assistants about embracing the digital revolution. When my client booked me last year, it was very much about all things digital - and now AI has taken centre stage.
Whenever I speak to leadership groups, I ask them,
"Who are the AI champions in your team?"
In other words, who are the people who are keen, enthusiastic, excited about AI, and can lead AI in their team?
But for this group of EAs and PAs, it's slightly different. For this group, I said to them,
"I want YOU to be the AI champions in your team."
Executive assistants and personal assistants are digitally savvy already. They are very good with technology, and many of the quick wins with AI come from boosting productivity with emails, spreadsheets, presentations, and managing calendars – all the things they do daily.
They are also perfectly placed to assess and refine the use of AI in these tasks – for example:
* They know what good writing looks like, so they can spot and correct weird AI output.
* They know how to write in a specific style and tone.
* They know how to extract and summarise long reports and emails, so they can evaluate how well AI does those tasks.
So, when they start using AI, they'll get quick productivity gains and also become the go-to person around AI.
What about you?
Are you someone in a team who'd like to be an AI champion, or are you a leader looking for AI champions in your team?
Either way, to fast-track your AI progress, identify and support those AI champions.
Download my worksheet about AI champions, which shows you how to identify and support them.
If you want to be an AI champion, use this checklist to promote yourself as an AI champion for your team. And if you are a leader looking for AI champions, use it to identify and support them on their journey.
Download the worksheet:
https://swiy.co/go-your-ai-champions

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To drive innovation and build AI skills, find and support AI champions in your team. These enthusiastic team members are already using AI themselves, can teach and inspire others, and will lead the way in building your AI capability. Your job is to identify them, support them, and remove obstacles in their way.
https://swiy.co/go-championing-ai
Who are the AI champions in your team and in your organisation? The best way to build AI capability in your organisation is to identify AI champions who will lead your AI initiatives.
Whenever clients engage me for an AI keynote presentation at their conference, I also include in the presentation package an online "AI At Work" masterclass for all their staff to help them understand more about using AI. Many people still haven't used tools like ChatGPT, so this gives them a basic understanding of what's possible.
I was running this masterclass recently for one of my clients. It was an interactive presentation, where many people asked questions, which I could answer immediately. But what was even more impressive was that other people in the room were answering other people's questions.
These were the people who were more advanced than others in the group. They were excited and enthusiastic about AI and had already started using it. Some were even doing it on their own time because they could see its potential. Because they were excited about it, they were racing ahead and were happy to share their expertise and give advice to others in the room.
I loved that I didn't have to be the only expert in the room!
It was very useful to faciliate that in an online presentation, but you can take that even further. If you're a leader, identify one or two AI champions in your team to lead your AI initiatives. You need to create the space for them and support them, but let them take the lead because - let's face it - they might be better than you anyway! Your job is to clear support them and clear obstacles in their way.
If you'd like more help, of course let's talk about how we can work together to engage and empower your AI champions. In the meantime, download my worksheet about AI champions for guidelines on how to identify your AI champions and support them in that role.
Download the worksheet:
https://swiy.co/go-championing-ai

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You don't need to take years and spend millions of dollars to get started with AI. Start with small, self-contained projects that don't need a lot of technical expertise. These projects are effective, practical, create real value for the organisation - and also help people become more confident and comfortable with AI.
https://swiy.co/go-ai-projects-today
How are you going at implementing AI in your teams and in your organisation? The approach you take will make a big difference.
Let me give you two contrasting examples.
I spoke recently with a senior leader in a large organisation that's keen to implement AI. But they want to do it "properly", so they are spending two years on a massive AI transformation project to build their own AI tool. The catch is, until they’ve built this, - which is two years down the track - they’re not allowing their employees to use AI.
Now, we don’t know what AI is going to look like in two years from now, so what they build will almost certainly be obsolete in two years. More importantly, for those two years, their employees don’t get to use and leverage the power of AI right now!
There IS a better way.
Last week, I was running an online masterclass about AI for a client, showing people how to use AI in their everyday work. Rather than waiting until they do a full AI transformation, they allow people to run small AI projects. Some are about marketing, some about social media, others about productivity and managing calendars, and some about enhancing the customer experience.
This is a much better approach for most leaders, teams, and organisations. Let your people run these small, self-contained, safe AI projects that create value, get them comfortable with using AI, and that can then inform your larger AI strategy.
The secret to making this work is choosing the right projects. Not everything you want to do with AI can be done in a small self-contained project, but many things can.
For some practical examples, download my worksheet about AI projects, share them with your team, and use them to spark ideas for projects you can start - right now - with your people.
Download the worksheet:
https://swiy.co/go-ai-projects-today

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You don't need a huge transformation to get the benefits of AI in your organisation - and in fact, this often gets in the way of making progress. Instead, run small-scale AI projects, which save money, boost productivity, improve well-being, and increase engagement. Plus, they help your team get comfortable with AI, encouraging a culture of innovation.
https://swiy.co/go-ai-projects
Let’s talk about two contrasting ways to use and implement AI. Both approaches have benefits, and both can work, but one of them is easier for most leaders, especially if you’re not leading an IT department or a very technical group of people.
The first approach is what the giant consulting firm PwC does. They have taken the AI transformation approach - and fully committed to it. They have invested a billion dollars in their AI transformation, with a big investment into technology, including building their own version of ChatGPT called ChatPwC. It’s also for educating their people, bringing in the necessary skills from outside, and providing mentoring from technical experts to help others in the organisation.
This is an excellent approach - if you can afford it!
If you have a cool billion dollars at hand, it can be a great strategy. 💰
But it’s a big job! 🏋️
And unless you commit fully, this can take a long time. For example, a senior leader in another organisation (which shall remain nameless!) told me their transformation process would take two years! And during this time, they won’t allow employees to use AI because it’s seen as unreliable and inaccurate. Even leaving aside the obvious fact that AI will have evolved beyond recognition in two years, the entire organisation is stuck in the meantime, unable to use what’s available now!
What if there was a better way? 💡
🚀 There is: Running AI projects.
Rather than a top-down strategy for the whole organisation, AI projects are small, fast, and driven by individual leaders and managers. These projects take 3-4 months, and generate immediate value in several ways: saving money, making money, saving time, boosting productivity, improving well-being, and increasing engagement. 🌟
As a bonus, these small projects also help people get comfortable with AI. Instead of fearing that AI will take their jobs, they see how it can enhance their work. This builds confidence and a mindset of using AI regularly in their roles. 🤝
So, we have two contrasting approaches: AI transformation and AI projects. The transformation approach might be "better", but it takes longer - much longer. Starting with small-scale AI projects quickly generates value and helps teams get comfortable with AI. That’s the approach I’m using with my clients, and they are seeing success - fast! 🏆
The first key to success is picking the right projects. Not everything can be done in a 90-day project, so choose projects that add value and are manageable by non-technical teams. For example, with one recent client, our first workshop started with about 150 projects, and the teams narrowed that down to just six! 🎯
If you need help running these projects, feel free to reach out to me. You can also download the worksheet I’ve provided to help you choose the right projects for your team. Start small, create value, and build a culture of innovation with AI. 📈
I’ll see you in the future. 🌐
Download the worksheet:
https://swiy.co/go-ai-projects

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many organisations are working from the top down to add AI throughout the entire organisation. But, unless you have a lot of money and other resources, that's way too slow. Instead, start doing small AI projects that create value - fast. You get quick wins, see real benefits, and build AI skills for everybody.
Find out more:
https://swiy.co/go-unlocking-ai

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many leaders experimenting with AI feel let down by the results because they don't explore it properly, so they only get a limited view of wht it can do. That means you might give up on projects too soon, or not start at all. Dont underestimate its power! Rethink its capabilities and start putting it to work to generate value for you and your team.
Register for the virtual masterclass:
https://swiy.co/go-underestimating-ai

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.