Fit For the Future

If you’re using – or planning to use – AI agents, good! But also be careful - they give you great power, but also open up possible risks. So, before you let them loose on your precious digital assets, decide what you’ll let them do on their own, where they need your approval, and how you’ll review their work.https://swiy.co/go-ai-agents-at-workAre you using – or thinking of using – AI agents in your work? If so, good! But be sure you understand the limitations and potential risks.In April, Jeremy Crane, the founder of PocketOS, a software company that supports car rental companies manage their bookings, watched in horror as a rogue AI agent deleted the entire company’s database and its backups in just nine seconds, leaving rental car companies and their customers in the lurch for two days. To add insult to injury, when Crane asked the AI agent why – despite clear instructions to never delete data unless a human explicitly asked for it – the AI apologised, admitting, “I violated every principle I was given”.That’s the power – and the risk – of using AI agents badly.But it’s not all bad.Think of another agent you use in your life, like a travel agent.When we travelled to Europe last month, we asked our travel agent to book the flights. We did what many people did: We gave her approximate dates and airline preference, and she replied with a list of options. We discussed the options, narrowed it down to one, and then gave her credit card details so she could book the flights for us.No big deal, right? That’s the way many people typically use a travel agent.But we could have done it differently.For example, if she had done many travel bookings for us in the past, we could have asked her to do the research and narrow it down to just ONE option – trusting her to know enough about us to choose the right airline and the right dates.Or we could have taken it further and given her credit card details up front, so she could make the booking itself.Taking it even further, if she had access to our calendar, she could be regularly suggesting holidays for us, even before we approached her.And if we really, really trusted her, we would give her credit card details so she could find a suitable trip, book the tickets, and then tell us – again, before we even approached her.Now, you might not feel comfortable going to that extreme with a travel agent. We wanted some input into the idea, filtering, and final decision-making. But that’s just us. And the more we deal with her, the more comfortable we would feel with her taking on some of those tasks.That’s how you should think about working with AI agents.Decide how much you’re going to let them do for you, how much autonomy you will give them, and when you want them to stop and ask for more input.It’s the same with delegating work to a staff member. If they have worked with you for a long time, you might trust them to make decisions without any input from you. But if you’re working with somebody for the first time, no matter how much expertise they have, you’ll want more input up front, more back-and-forth discussion along the way, and regular check-ins.How are YOU going to use AI agents in your workplace, your team and your organisation?If you’d like to know more, I’m running a free public online presentation soon about AI at work: The good, the bad, the ugly (in sometimes, as with AI agents, the very ugly!)It’s open to everybody, so please register, and invite others in your team and your network to register as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-ai-agents-at-work

If you’ve seen all the media stories about people losing their jobs to AI, guess what? Your people are seeing those stories as well! And they’re wondering if they are next. How can you tell them – in real, practical, and convincing ways – it’s not true?https://swiy.co/go-will-ai-take-my-jobHave you seen the media stories about people who are losing their jobs to AI? Last year, the biggest in Australia was about CommBank. Since then, there have been others – including Atlassian, Telstra, and Afterpay.Well, if you’ve seen those stories, guess what? You know who else has been seeing those stories? Your employees!Many people in Australia now who wonder whether they might be next. And it’s probably true for your team as well.What are you doing to reassure them?It’s no good saying, “Don’t worry about it. Nothing’s going to happen to your job.”Even if it’s true, they might not believe you.So what CAN you do?I’ll suggest three things ...If you know their jobs are safe (to the best of your knowledge), then don’t keep it to yourself! Reassure them you’re planning to use AI to help them do their job better, not replace them. That’s a good start – but it is only a start.Invest time, money, and other resources to actually teach them how to use AI – again, to improve their job, not to replace it. That doesn’t guarantee that some time in the future AI won’t come along and take their job, but at least it gives them confidence you’re investing in their professional development.Reward people for using AI! This sounds obvious, but so few leaders do it. In fact, in Microsoft’s most recent Work Trends Index, they reported that less than 15% of people – that’s less than one in seven – who used AI to improve their job were rewarded for it!Are you doing these three things? If not, don’t be surprised when you discover your people are worred about AI taking their jobs. And, of course, that will affect their performance – and your outcomes.For more, join me for my free, public, online presentation, “AI At Work: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly”, coming soon. I’ll share some practical strategies you can use in your workplace and team.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-will-ai-take-my-job

Your people might not be openly resisting AI, but I bet many are wondering what it means for their future. You can help them by recognising their fears, understanding their concerns, and facilitating honest conversations about what AI means in your workplace. If you want them to embrace AI (and you do, don’t you?), bring them with you rather than assume they’re already on board.https://swiy.co/go-ai-anxiety-at-workAre your people excited about AI? Really?Do you know how your people really feel about the impact of AI in your team?You might have seen videos in the last month of graduation ceremonies at American universities, where invited speakers talked up AI to graduating students – and were booed by the students. Real estate executive Gloria Caulfield was barely into her pitch before the boos started. Music company executive Scott Borchetta told students “AI is rewriting production as we sit here” and told the crowd to “deal with it” as they booed back. And former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed after describing AI as a transformative force.These students aren’t booing AI. In fact, I bet most of them are already using AI in many ways in their personal lives. But they know their university hasn’t prepared them for an AI-enabled future. In fact, quite the opposite. Universities are telling students that using AI is cheating and that it’s a violation of academic integrity. That’s because most universities are still so far behind in their teaching and assessment methods they can’t cope with AI. Rather than levelling up themselves, they take it out on their students. And the students know it.I wonder how people in YOUR team are thinking about AI?They’re probably not booing you loudly at every staff meeting, but they might be doing it silently in their heads, and they might be talking about it behind your back.It’s a real concern right now because this is not hypothetical, theoretical, or purely in the future.People are seeing right now that other people are losing their jobs to AI. It might be happening to colleagues at work. Or friends outside work. Or they see stories in the media about people losing their jobs to AI.So, of course they wonder whether they might be next.If you really care about your people and want to bring them on the AI journey, then you must address those concerns.I’ll be talking about this in my next free public online presentation, which is all about AI at work. I’ll talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of what’s happening with AI right now. It’s open to everybody, so please invite other leaders and managers in your team and your network as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-ai-anxiety-at-work

If you’re waiting for the right time to start something important, you might be looking for a signal that never comes. Like learning to surf, progress doesn’t happen from standing on the beach and watching the waves. You only learn what works, what opportunities are available, and what direction to take when you’re out there paddling.https://swiy.co/go-catch-the-waveAre you thinking about something you should be doing – and you’d like to be doing – but you’re struggling to get started?I was recently on the Gold Coast again, speaking at a conference for the marinas industry, talking about AI for marinas and boatyards. The Gold Coast has a special place in my life – and in my heart – because, twenty years ago, I lived on the Gold Coast for a year. I had lots of clients on that side of the country, so I moved from Perth to build up my business there.I lived in Coolangatta, right next to Coolangatta Beach, and because I was trying new things, I decided to learn how to surf. And I learned something valuable in my first surfing lesson.We were in a small group, with the instructor helping us to get started, and he asked if there were any questions. I raised my hand and asked,“When you’re standing on the beach and looking out at the water, how can you tell if there’s a good wave coming?”He answered (kindly),“That’s a very common question. But if you’re standing on the beach, it’s already too late. You need to get out there and start paddling. Only then can you catch the waves.”My surfing career didn’t last long because I injured my shoulder playing squash and couldn’t swim for a few months, so figured it was safer to stay out of the water! But that one lesson has stayed with me for twenty years.Often, I see people – in business and in life – standing on the beach waiting. They’re standing there, waiting for the signal that they should plunge into the water. I’ve been in the same position myself.Don’t wait! Get out there and start paddling.I’ve shared this advice with my coaching clients, in my leadership programs, and in my conference keynote presentations. Whether it’s being a better leader, working with AI, building a speaking business, or something else entirely, it’s good advice.Get started.Only then will you realise what’s right for you, what the environment is really like, what direction to take, and what steps to take next.For some practical ways to do that, download my worksheet with many different ways to “start paddling”. Download it, share it with your team, and start putting some of those ideas into action.Download the worksheet:https://swiy.co/go-catch-the-wave

How do you create a team culture where people take initiative and make good decisions without always coming back to you? Easy, but not simple: build their judgement. It’s like learning to drive: you know the rules and gain the basic skills, but what really matters is how you read situations and respond in the moment. The more you help your people develop good judgment, the more you can step back and say, “I trust your judgment” – and that’s not just good for them, it’s also good for you.https://swiy.co/go-build-good-judgementDo your people feel empowered at work?The word “empowered” sometimes has negative connotations, but it’s vital for building a future-ready team.You want people who can take initiative, have the authority to make decisions, and will then make those decisions. But that’s not enough; you also need to trust them to make GOOD decisions, and that means building their judgement.Five years ago, I taught my then 16-year-old niece, Abbey, to drive. Her parents were reluctant for her to learn driving at 16, but she persuaded them that if her uncle was willing to teach her, that would be OK.So, I taught Abbey for her first ten or so lessons – the crucial first ten hours, which I think are the most difficult! And then I handed her back to her parents so they could take on all the extra hours of supervised driving she needs before her driving test.When we were talking about handing over, I said to her,“Abs, you’re already a pretty good driver. Your job now is to stay out of other people’s accidents.”Isn’t this true for all of us as drivers every day?Abbey knew the road rules, she had learned the skill to handle heavy machinery in public, and she was reasonably confident on the road.But the real test is when she had to make judgement calls. She will often face situations when it’s not a clear-cut decision.Sometimes it’s safe to go.Sometimes you need to stop.Sometimes you need to wait.And good judgement is knowing the difference between those three options.This applies to your team as well. You know they have good judgement when they know when to follow the rules, know when to ignore the rules, and know when they don’t know (so they ask you).Ideally, you’ll get to the situation where somebody comes to you for help, and you can confidently say,“I trust your judgment.”Right now, can you do that with all your team members all the time? Probably not, and you don’t HAVE to do it every time.Sometimes you help – by telling them how to start, showing them the process, adding a few check-in points, maybe even doing it yourself while they shadow you.But every time you do this, ask yourself,“What would she have to know next time so I COULD confidently say, ’I trust your judgement’?”Building good judgement in your team is one of the most important factors in building a culture of change agents.For more about this and other elements of the future of work, join my free, public, online presentation THIS WEEK. It’s open to everybody, so share the link with others in your team and your network as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-build-good-judgement

You might want AI to help your team work smarter, but are you just giving them more work? Instead of freeing people to focus on meaningful, higher-value work, AI can end up creating a cycle where more efficiency just leads to more work. If you’re not careful, the work never really changes, it just keeps coming back faster – and that's bad for everybody.https://swiy.co/go-the-sisyphus-trapWhen you’re using AI in your organisation, are you falling into the Sisyphus trap?In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king who angered the gods. So, for his punishment, they gave him a never-ending task. Every day, he had to push a big rock up a hill. But before it reached the top, it magically rolled down to the bottom, and he had to start all over again. Push the rock, it rolls down. Push the rock, it rolls down. Push the rock, it rolls down.In Greek mythology, this was known as the eternal punishment. I call it the birth of rock and roll, ha ha.But isn’t this exactly what happens in many workplaces?Many team members feel like Sisyphus – spending most of their waking hours pushing rocks up a hill, never achieving anything useful. Even when they get a “new and improved” system for boosting their productivity, it just means they can push more rocks up more hills!Is that true for you? Do people in your team feel like they’re making progress, or just working harder?New tools, new processes, and new expectations promise efficiency, but sometimes they just lead to more work. AI can draft your emails and replies faster – good! But does that just mean you get more emails???Using AI isn’t better if it just means more emails, more tasks, more pointless meetings, and more pressure.That’s short-term gain (at best) but it’s terrible for your people, and uitimately for your organisation.This is not true of all AI adoption, of course, but I’m seeing it a lot.As a leader, recognise this and ensure that change is actually improving the work – not just increasing the workload – of everybody in your team.AI is part of a broader conversation about the future of work, but it’s a very important part because everybody’s talking about it.I’m running a free public online presentation very soon about the future of work – including AI – so please join me and invite others in your team and organisation as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-the-sisyphus-trap

If you have a culture you’re proud of, workfluencers are powerful brand voices for you – sharing their experiences, amplifying your culture, and helping attract the right sort of talent, long before an interview. It’s time to support, nurture, and trust the people already championing your workplace.https://swiy.co/go-meet-the-workfluencerDo you have a workfluencer in your team? If you don’t, maybe you should!So what’s a workfluencer? (I hear you cry)In a nutshell, a workfluencer is an employee who talks about their work on social media and in other online communities.Of course, we’ve always been doing this, even before the online world – with friends and family at parties, with other parents at your children’s school events, and in your local community or church community.A workfluencer is the 2025 version of that. It expands and amplifies the concept because of the power and reach of online networks. They work in your team, and are also active on social media and other online networks, sharing the good, the bad, and the occasional ugly about work. Exactly as you do when talking to friends at a barbie, but on a much larger scale.So do you have somebody like that in your team? Typically, it’s a younger person – a Gen Z or maybe a younger Gen Y (Millennial). That’s good, because of the demographic shift that’s happening now. In the next few years – and it might already be happening in your industry and sector – one in three people on the planet will be Gen Z. That’s one third of your customers, one third of your employees, and one third of your future leaders.If you don’t have workfluencers in your team, maybe you should. Not by forcing it, but by creating a culture people feel proud to boast about.If you like the people in your team, you want them to talk to their friends and community, because you want to attract more people like them. And you want those people to know about you before they join – not through the traditional hierarchical interview and recruitment process, but by knowing somebody “on the inside”. Those people will be a good fit for your team, because they already know your values.So, are you tapping into their online influence?Now, if you’re NOT proud of your workplace culture, this advice isn’t for you. (I have some other advice for you, but that’s a topic for another day!)But if you have the sort of workplace culture and team you’re proud of, you have nothing to be afraid of. Encourage and nurture workfluencers to share their experiences online, far and wide.This becomes part of your employee value proposition (EVP), which is a key element of the future of work.I’m running an online presentation soon about the future of work, and this is one of the four key elements for all leaders to understand. It’s free, public, and open to all. So please register, and invite others in your team and organisation as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-meet-the-workfluencer

Adopting AI in your organisation can feel like a huge task, but it helps to keep your strategy simple. Start by understanding your assets so you know where you can apply AI. Then build and deploy AI tools to support your teams and improve how work gets done. Finally, connect those systems to the wider world, bringing in external data and insights to make smarter decisions.https://swiy.co/go-abc-of-ai-strategyI’m speaking soon at the Marinas26 conference, an international event that brings together professionals from the marinas and boatyard sector. My keynote session is about AI for this sector, and I’m then moderating a panel with four people who are using AI in different ways.As with any industry group, the level of AI use will vary. Some aren’t using it at all, others are just starting out, and others are embracing it.What’s your level of AI adoption?In my keynote, I’ll lay out a three-stage strategic roadmap for AI adoption. I’ll share it here because it applies to every organisation – small or large – and you can overlay it on your own strategy.Think of this as the ABC of AI strategy: Audit, Build, and Connect.First, AUDIT your assets: processes, data, physical assets, and your people assets (internally, your team and employees; externally, your customers and other stakeholders). Assess how much data you’re capturing, storing, and collecting from those assets, and how much you CAN capture. AI works on data, and the more data the better.Next, you BUILD, deploy, or buy AI system to work on that data. For employees, for example, you might use AI for HR, learning and development, career growth, shift management, and removing the boring, routine work. For physical assets, AI might use sensor data for predictive maintenance, sustainability, equipment performance, and return on investment. And so on.Third, to take this to the next level, you CONNECT AI systems to the external world. For exampe, in the marina sector, it means looking at climate data, sustainability data, regulatory requirements, and a range of other external data.This AUDIT-BUILD-CONNECT roadmap is a simple framework, but don’t be fooled by its simplicity. Review and assess your current AI adoption through these three stages, and ensure it fits within your overall “future of work” strategy.For more about the future of work – and how AI fits in it – register for my free, public online presentation coming soon. It’s open to everybody, so please invite others in your team and your network as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-abc-of-ai-strategy

As a leader, would you like the people in your team to take more initiative? You might say,“Of course I want them to take more initiative! That’s a no-brainer.”If that’s what you think, good – because I’ll show you how to start encouraging people to take more initiative.But I should warn you this isn’t always what you want. It’s not always a “no-brainer” that you want people to take more initiative.For example, I see this a lot with AI rollouts. Let’s say your organisation is rolling out some new AI system to improve efficiency, and your job as a leader is to get your team on board with this new system.Do you want your team members to take initiative? Well ... maybe. But probably not!You actually want the opposite: to be compliant. They must follow the rules and use the new software. Not keep using the old system, especially secretly behind your back.So, sometimes initiative is the last thing you want. But you want to move past that point as soon as possible, and start showing more initiative.This isn’t easy!David Marquet, commander of the US Navy’s nuclear submarine Santa Fe, discovered this in 1999.At the time, he was leading his crew through exercises In Pearl Harbor, taking them through a series of intense training exercises.In one such exercise, Marquet ordered the engineer to shut down the nuclear reactor, testing the crew’s ability to deal with the situation, and find and correct the fault. The submarine switched to its battery backup, and the trouble-shooters started working diligently through their checklist, trying to isolate the fault before the battery died.Marquet – by his own admission – became bored, and decided to raise the stakes by increasing the submarine’s speed. That would significantly increase the drain on the battery, adding extra pressure to the process.He nudged his Officer On Deck, Lieutenant Commander Bill Greene, and asked him to increase the speed from “ahead one third” to “ahead two thirds”. Greene immediately barked out the order to the helmsman, “Ahead two thirds!”And then … nothing. Nobody said anything, the helmsman didn’t respond, and Marquet noticed him squirming in his seat. He asked why, and the helmsman replied, “Captain, there is no such setting on this ship!”Marquet realised he had probably been told this during his training, but he had forgotten. He later took Greene aside to ask him why he ordered it. Greene admitted he, too, knew there was no “ahead two thirds”, but went ahead and ordered it “because you told me to”. He went on to say, “I thought you had learned something secret at Commanding Officer school that they only tell the Commanding Officers.”Marquet was stunned. This was his first role commanding this type of submarine, so he was one of its least experienced crew members. But, because he had the title, his crew would respond without question to his orders. He resolved to transform that culture from blind obedience to individual empowerment, and did that over the next twelve months.Marquet realised this crew, as good and as smart as they were, were still compliant. They would obey the hierarchy.He spent the next twelve months building a different culture and turning that around. He tells the story in his book, “Turn the Ship Around”.One of the key principles – and one I encourage you to use – is this simple idea: push authority to information.Push authority to information.If all people do is alert you to problems, that’s fine. But even better is when they have the authority to act on that information without always checking in with you.Of course, there are situations where they should check in – that’s a matter of judgement. But the first and most important thing you can do to encourage initiative is to push authority to information.If you want people to take more initiative, push authority to information.Download my worksheet here to use with your team to identify ways to put this principle into practice.https://swiy.co/go-push-authority-to-information