In life and in leadership there are things we know or we don’t know that bear on our ability to be a successful leader.
We know what we know.
We sometimes know what we don’t know.
We always don’t know what we don’t know.
The limitations of this last one — not knowing what we don’t know — can be fatal.
If one approaches the issue of running/leading a business with a framework of Vision, Mission, Strategy, Tactics, Objectives, Values, and Culture (which is a very good way to run a business) then what we know becomes very important.
One of the most basic challenges of any leader is to be grounded in reality. This is true whether you are a combat engineer company commander or a real estate developer or a tech startup or a venture capitalist.
Reality becomes important, critically important, in developing a go-to-market strategy, in pricing your product, in researching the competition, and in developing compensation programs for key hires.
Artificial intelligence — a stupendous research and reasoning capability — provides a deeper understanding of the reality underpinning all these critical parts of leading a business.
Whilst the world powers ahead with artificial intelligence becoming more intelligent than humans — believe me I know plenty of humans for whom crossing this threshold is already a reality — there are substantial opportunities to use this new technology on things we have done for a long time.
We are putting new wine in old bottles.
I believe this fixation on knowing the reality of any situation in greater depth and detail is one of the most important currently actionable uses for artificial intelligence. This can be done today.
Don’t overlook the opportunity to use AI to understand with greater clarity the reality of the environment in which you operate. Get a bloody grip on reality, mate. Don’t fall victim to not knowing what you don’t know.
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car.
