How can you align your team with the company's AI strategy?

If you hold the position of team manager or technical leader, you probably already have a good grasp of your team members' skills and expertise. It's now crucial to delve into their aspirations and gauge their enthusiasm for acquiring knowledge about AI tools and concepts. It's possible that some of them are already familiar with AI. Consider providing them with opportunities to incorporate AI into their work processes or encourage them to work on AI-driven solutions. If you have team members with AI experience, empower them to assume leadership roles and guide their colleagues, acting as a multiplier of AI skills and knowledge within the team.

AI Readiness isn't just about tech skills. For most teams, it's about psychology. Signs a team isn’t ready for AI: - Low psychological safety - No innovation programs - Minimal digital engagement - No dedicated experimentation time - A culture that doesn't celebrate failure The biggest barriers are often around mindset, culture, and psychology. Especially for senior, experienced professionals (including the in-house legal teams I work with). To assess and lift AI readiness in this context: 1. Understand how people feel about AI, including risks/benefits. 2. Unpack fears and anxieties - including implications of AI for jobs. 3. Build scaffolding to support readiness, enabling learning, experimentation - and most importantly, failure.

For a non-IT enterprise, the AI is a part of a larger IT strategy, and doesn't need to be complex "thing". focus on 20% top rev generating business apps. 1. Whatsoever powerful, Align AI with the right use case in solution. Afterall, not every patient need a chemotherapy. 2. Security & correctness of your data is even more important now. 3. cpu, memory, chips and internet all were at ground 0 level where AI is right now. it will organically evolve. 4. GPU orderbooks are alltime high. just in last 6-months nvidia receievd 0.5 million h100 GPU orders from meta, ms, amazon and google. it's for AI, 3d and spatial computing coming to you! ask team to be ready 5. The jobs will continue growing. keep learning to witness a better future with AI

Getting your team on board with your AI strategy? AI Readiness is best achieved by helping people get comfortable with AI as a daily tool, not just teaching them the tech. Start by tapping into how they feel about AI entering their work life. Some tasks might get automated, but what’s the best part? AI’s there to boost their capabilities, too. Generative AI, for instance, is something everyone can get their arms around, no matter their level of tech skills. Show them how accessible and helpful AI can be. The key? Encourage your team to see AI as a partner in their work, not a replacement. Get them to explore and see its potential for creating value. Help them see how they might have more time to work on high-value aspects of their role.

Inform your team this is day 0. There was internet revolution, there was social media revolution, there was smartphone revolution, there was e-commerce revolution, there was crypto, gaming revolution. Now is AI Revolution, which is powerful enough to make you 0. It's time to lead it. Training is better when there is no need to enforce.

When you communicate your AI vision to the team, it’s crucial to strike a balance. While your team may benefit from rapidly identifying where AI can add strategic value, AI is evolving at lightning speed. So, the approach must be adaptable and agile as the technology advances. Explain why AI matters to your organization: how it aligns with what you stand for and can elevate what you offer to customers and stakeholders. But let’s also be real about it. Address any concerns head-on. Talk about how AI might change roles and tasks, and ensure the team understands that this is a journey of growth, not just change.

Frame AI as an ongoing adventure, shaping the organization's evolution—a journey, not a destination. Craft a concise data story depicting AI unlocking insights—a narrative transforming raw data into innovation. Position AI as human augmentation, freeing up potential for creativity and strategy. Immerse stakeholders in a virtual AI-driven future—an interactive snapshot. Develop a concise vision board—an inspiring snapshot of your AI vision. Testimonials provide real-world credibility and diverse perspectives, reinforcing the positive impact and value of your AI vision. Testimonials add a human touch and authenticity to your communication. This demonstrates a commitment to refinement and adaptability. Most importantly: Listen to your team!

Clearly articulate the company's AI vision: Explain how AI fits into the overall business strategy and what specific problems or opportunities it aims to address. Highlight the value proposition: Explain how AI implementation will benefit the team, department, and the company as a whole. Quantify the potential impact in terms of increased efficiency, cost savings, or improved customer experience. Use relatable examples: Share success stories from other companies or departments using AI to demonstrate its potential and inspire your team.

Don't aim for followers but AI Ambassadors. AI is the chance to get rid of a lot repetitive stupid work nobody wants to do but that needs to be done. If you show people how AI allows them to focus on the parts of their job they love doing you won.

To steer the boat in the right direction, everyone must row in unison. It is necessary to assess the level of knowledge in AI, both narrow and generative. Once this is done, it is crucial to define the minimum level we expect the team to have and to plan training to bring everyone up to at least this 'minimum' level. It is important to have some experts, the number of which depends on the size of the team and the number of projects planned to be carried out in parallel. Selecting these experts should be done with care, paying attention to their willingness to share information and their enjoyment in training other colleagues.

Getting your team involved in AI initiatives can be really effective if the initiatives are driven by your team members. Create a simple, accessible platform for employees to submit ideas, so they feel heard and valued. Create regular idea challenges and hackathons that address specific company challenges, sparking creativity and engagement- These kind of platforms will help build an environment where everyone knows their ideas are welcome and that everyone can come up with great ideas.

Involving the team in AI initiatives is a key step in aligning them with the company's AI strategy. Creating opportunities for team members to take part in AI projects or experiments is crucial. This could include participating in pilot programs or providing input on how AI can be leveraged to improve sales processes. Encouraging the team to contribute ideas and feedback on AI applications not only boosts engagement and ownership but also builds trust in AI technologies. Involving them in this way taps into their diverse experiences and perspectives, which can significantly enhance the outcomes of AI initiatives.

When you roll out AI initiatives, involve your team in a way that puts the human element front and center. Let them get hands-on with AI projects, experiments, or pilots. It’s crucial they’re part of this from the get-go. Encourage them to bring their ideas to the table, share their feedback, and truly open up to how we can use AI to do things better and just do better things. By making these initiatives human-centered, you increase engagement and ownership and build trust in AI. Every team member brings a unique perspective, experience, and talent. Harnessing these in your AI endeavors enhances outcomes and ensures AI solutions are grounded in real, human needs and contexts.

Perhaps the most important team to ensure is involved in AI initiatives is the Executive Team! Even though AI can seem highly technical and an "IT thing", Executives need to get involved. Not just acting as project sponsors, or ensuring they are briefed, but they are actively experimenting themselves and learning through doing.

AI implementation needs to be strategized and frameworked. Right now, we're in the "wild west" - each person has his own attitude and skills, and there's a huge variation between team members. I recommend: - Create a detailed plan. - Appoint AI internal ambassadors, that will help other team members, and can take ownership of internal education. - Create a learning AI framework. - Dissect all processes and understand where AI can help, where are the "low hanging fruit" of tasks that AI can help with. Understand where AI will be harder to implement (especially in tasks that involve human vs human). These are the first tips for doing this methodologically.

Invest in training programs: Offer training workshops, online courses, or mentorship opportunities to equip your team with the necessary skills and knowledge to work with AI effectively. Create a supportive environment: Encourage open communication, knowledge sharing, and experimentation. Make resources and experts readily available to guide your team through challenges. Celebrate milestones and achievements: Recognize and reward individual and team contributions to keep morale high and reinforce the value of AI implementation.

The most significant key ingredient for success? Get your team to explore and play with these tools. The more they experiment, the more intuitive understanding they’ll develop of how these technologies can enhance their work. Generative AI isn’t just another technology tool; it’s a whole new way of collaborating. By fostering Human x AI Partnerships, you’re opening doors to uncharted possibilities. Encourage your team to approach AI with curiosity and creativity. In this exploration, they’ll discover how AI can be a partner, not just a platform. Help your team evolve alongside AI and understand its potential through hands-on experiences.

As an AI trainer, I recommend to my clients: Develop a general AI strategy that also addresses security concerns. Choose an AI trainer who understands your industry well. A good prompt engineer should have the right AI tools and knowledge specific to your field. Create tailored workshops with ready-to-use prompts for participants. Allow time for training, discussion, and questions. Plan advanced workshops for your most skilled staff to leverage AI's power so they can demonstrate real-life opportunities to colleagues. This is the foundation. Pilot projects and implementing specialized AI tools come next.

AI training and support is likely going to be critical in many industries going forward. For example, how to effectively prompt AI to generate appropriate or useful results may soon become an important skill. Employers may want to consider developing training programs on effectively prompts to make sure their employees are up to speed and prompting in a manner that aligns with the company's needs. Equally important will be training on uniquely human skills, including reviewing AI output for errors and using judgment about when AI should be used. The need for technical training should not obscure the need for training on these critical human skills.

A very important aspect of supporting your team is not only training and support in obvious "technical" areas, eg. using new tools and technologies, but also the human areas, such as soft skills, lateral career development opportunities, mental health and wellbeing services, and the like.

In the journey of a team's growth, acknowledging and celebrating the achievements in AI isn't just about ticking off accomplishments. It's like recognizing the unique colors each team member brings to a canvas. By doing this, we don't just appreciate the big wins; we honor the everyday efforts, the learning curves, and the spirit of teamwork. It's more than just saying "good job" – it's building a culture that values progress and introduces a shared passion for exploration. In this way, recognizing and rewarding AI achievements becomes a shared celebration. From individual achievements, it becomes a collective success. And I can assure you, it will last longer and leave a legacy to live for :-D

In our weekly tech meetings we discuss business and personal wins to get the meeting started on a positive note. I'm considering adding a section of the meeting to query "what did you do with AI this week" to encourage talking about AI achievements and even just tools they've played with. AI is blurring the lines of personal and business as people who use AI for business are just as likely to use it for personal (like creating a travel itinerary or meal planning suggestions). Having a dedicated time to talk about AI in our weekly meeting will most likely shine light on tools that can be applied to the company's vision and mission.

Acknowledge and celebrate milestones and successes in AI projects. Recognition fosters a sense of accomplishment and motivates team members to excel further. Implement a rewards system that appreciates individual and collective contributions, reinforcing the importance of AI in the team's overall success.

Let’s push beyond AI literacy. What you should be aiming for is AI Fluency. You can’t stop at just understanding AI; you have to speak its language, think in its patterns, and understand its potential. Build a team that’s as comfortable with AI as they are with their native language. But your real goal? AI Agility – adapting as the technology evolves and fostering a culture where curiosity, openness, and feedback on AI are second nature. And you’re championing a culture of experimentation, where innovation and risk-taking in AI are encouraged and celebrated. Don’t settle for keeping pace; those who successfully set the pace in AI will win. Empower your team to embrace AI and leverage it to drive your company’s success into a new era.

AI (and data) literacy is required also beyond your AI team. That's why collaboration is key - with ALL potential stakeholders of AI applications, which means potentially everyone in your whole organization. You're in bad shape when your stakeholders expect the "AI magic" they have seen elsewhere, and that you're working alone only with AI and data people, disconnected from business stakes. Experimentation will in my opinion bring success - because you'll have stopped the "wrong" trials early (no data available at the right quality level, no really committed business stakeholder, etc). Don't expect success everytime, use impact vs effort assessments to drive what you select to do, balance between 1 or 2 moonshots and many quickwins.

Three quick ways to bring AI culture in the company: 1. Education Initiatives: - Implement training programs to enhance AI literacy across the organization. Do workshops, webinars, or courses that cover basic AI concepts ensuring all team members have a foundational understanding. 2. Collaborative Platforms: - Foster collaboration by creating platforms or forums where employees can share insights, ask questions, and discuss AI-related topics. 3. Shared Opportunities: - Encourage cross-functional interactions to break down silos and promote a culture of shared learning. Encourage teams to explore AI applications providing resources and mentorship. Celebrate both successes and lessons learned.

In my experience, in this phase of AI growth, it is crucial to dedicate team members to continual study. It's a useful and inevitable investment. This study should be followed by experimentation, which should not stop at the MVP (Minimum Viable Product according to Agile philosophy), but must include the important phase of testing.

AI technology is often leveraged by enterprises to solve big challenges and perhaps secure competitive advantage. Building an AI culture should start with community, where employees as explorers are enabled. They are a community of users within the enterprise that is nurtured and allowed to enthusiastically explore the potential of AI solutions. The community, with the blessing of top leadership, can represent a central team whose frequent meetings and collaboration can yield few prototypes and use cases, and create standard platforms that dictate AI momentum around the organization.

One thing I've found helpful is communication and dialogue. A lot of people are excited about new technology, others are fearful, and a lot of people fall in between. Talking openly about use cases, experiences with AI, pitfalls, risks, etc. helps with everyone's comfort level, but also in ensuring that people are taking steps to minimize risks. As powerful as AI is, human-to-human communication and judgment will remain key in ensuring that AI is used safely, efficiently, and accurately.

Every team needs to understand how to use available AI tools to get things done better. But not every team needs to align with a grand company wide genius Ai strategy. Let’s not overhype things.

Trust your team's expertise, delegate tasks effectively, & provide the resources & support they need to thrive. I once witnessed a team stifled by micromanagement, creativity dampened & motivation sapped. By empowering individuals & cultivating a culture of trust, we unleashed creativity, improved morale, & witnessed unexpected innovations. Encourage questions, concerns, & diverse perspectives, ensuring everyone feels heard & valued. I once witnessed a team paralyzed by unspoken concerns & hierarchical barriers. By actively soliciting feedback & fostering open communication, we addressed bottlenecks, identified blind spots, & built a culture of continuous improvement

Be ready to fail - A LOT - I'd say 90% of "AI projects" I see don't end up in a product or production... and that's OK in these early days of AI mass-adoption. Be willing to try some things and fail, but be ADAMENT about having post-mortems on those projects, there's always a few positive take aways, if not in the implementation itself than in the internal company policies it took to make the project move. Go forward with a sense of curiosity and exploration and understand where your competitive advantage is bolstered by experimenting and where you should just buy something off the shelf because building it doesn't differentiate you in your market.

Align your team with the company's AI strategy by: 1. Clear Communication: Communicate AI goals & expectations transparently. 2. Training Programs: Provide training to enhance AI skills within the team. 3. Collaboration: Foster cross-functional collaboration to integrate AI seamlessly. 4. Define Roles: Clarify each team member's role in executing the AI strategy. 5. Feedback Mechanism: Establish a feedback loop for continuous improvement. 6. Empowerment: Encourage autonomy & decision-making within AI projects. 7. Reward System: Implement incentives tied to successful AI strategy implementation. This approach ensures a cohesive team effort towards successful AI strategy implementation.