Fit For the Future

The Australian Government has dropped the ball on AI regulation. So, as a leader, it’s your responsibility to create appropriate rules and guidelines for safe, ethical, and responsible AI use in your team and organisation. That includes privacy, confidentiality, bias, governance, and how people use AI in everyday work.https://swiy.co/go-the-ai-governance-gapAs a leader, are you doing enough to look at the ethical, safe and responsible use of AI in your team and your organisation?This is a hot topic right now because the Australian Government has dropped the ball on AI.Anthony Albanese recently announced a new strategy for regulating AI. And we DO need to regulate it – including things like (to name just a few):- Privacy- Confidentiality- Discrimination in the workplace- Surveillance- Gender bias- Transparency- Accountability in decision-making- Risk management- Safety-critical decisions- Testing obligations- First Nations rights- Data governance- Data sovereignty- Human oversight- Contestability- Frontier-model riskBut are we going to do any of that? Nope. Our national AI strategy is all about ... data centres.Don’t get me wrong – this IS an important topic, and one that directly affects our communities. But even in this area, the government is doing the wrong thing. Albanese SAYS it’s “in Australia’s interests”, but his explicitly stated goal is to “enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals”. I’m not making this up – that’s an exact quote from the Prime Minister’s website.Whatever you think about data centres (and there’s both valid information and misinformation out there), many local communities in Australia, in cities and regional areas, are concerned about data centres popping up in their communities. And it’s happening without their consent, sometimes without their knowledge until it’s too late, and probably without any positive economic impact in return.What does all this mean for you as a leader in your team, organisation, or community?First, of course, as a local resident yourself, this affects YOU. So learn more about what that means for you and your community.For your team, business, or organisation, the big problem is this policy neglects the real issues with AI regulation – things like privacy, confidentiality, data sovereignty, and the other things I mentioned earlier.We should be regulating the tech bros, big AI companies, and AI startups selling their systems in Australia. If we’re forced to trust AI, at least we need strong rules protecting our rights.That’s what the government SHOULD be doing.But it isn’t.That means the responsibility falls on you.When you’re using AI in your organisation, it’s up to you to consider, discuss, and ask the tough questions – especially when you’re talking to AI vendors and suppliers.Make sure you protect your customers, your employees, your brand, and yourself.Our government has abdicated that responsibility. So it’s up to us.If you’d like to know more about this, come along to my free public online presentation, where we’ll explore how to take AI to the next level. Register here, and feel free to invite others from your team and your network as well.Oh, and also learn a bit more about what our government is doing – or isn’t doing – about AI.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-the-ai-governance-gap

Most teams are already using AI to save time and boost productivity – and that’s a good place to start. The bigger opportunity now is to step back and ask whether to do the work itself differently. Don’t just use AI to improve an old way of working; use this opportunity to ask what you could eliminate, redesign, or replace altogether.https://swiy.co/go-reimagine-work-with-aiAs a leader, are you just using AI for efficiency and productivity gains, or are you taking it to the next level?My local library has just reopened after a few weeks closed for major refurbishments. We now have new carpets, new furniture, new bookshelves, and everything looks nice and new.While they were closed, they also took the opportunity to reorganise the fiction books on the shelves. Instead of the traditional system, where fiction books are grouped alphabetically by author, they are now grouped by genre: mystery books one one shelf, thrillers on another, historical romance on another, and so on.That’s a great idea. For example, If I’m looking for a new mystery author, I can browse the books in that section.When I speaking to the librarian about this before it happened, she said most people were looking forward to it, but a few people grumbled. She pointed out to them that bookshops already organise their fiction that way, and libraries do it already for non-fiction books.She also said:‘In five years’ time, we’ll look back and say, “Why did it take us so long?”’I reckon the same applies to AI.Many organisations, leaders, and teams are using AI now to make their processes more efficient and more productive. That’s good, but don’t stop at that point.To take it to the next level, ask if you could redesign, change, or eliminate the process altogether.Don’t just mindlessly apply AI to your current processes without also asking whether those processes should exist in their current form at all.So many things we do aren’t relevant anymore. We hang on to them because we’ve always done them that way. But, like keeping books in alphabetical order when there’s a better alternative, we should re-evaluate them. In fact, we could have done this a long time ago. Use the AI opportunity as the trigger to think again.What could YOU do now that would let you say:‘In five years’ time, we’ll look back and say, “Why did it take us so long?”’For more about taking AI to the next level, join my next free public online presentation, which is for leaders and teams everywhere. It’s free, and you’re welcome to invite others from your team and network as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-reimagine-work-with-ai

Most organisations now allow people to use AI to boost productivity, and that’s a good first step. The bigger opportunity comes from using AI to rethink the way work gets done, not just making it more efficient. But are you recognising and encouraging that – or penalising it?https://swiy.co/go-the-ai-innovation-gapAs a leader, are you and your team applying AI the right way in your workplace?This year’s Work Trend Index report from Microsoft focused on the way people use AI in their workplace. And there’s some good news and some bad news!The good news is that most knowledge workers are using AI now, and it’s now with the blessing and support of their leaders and organisations. Those leaders encourage their people to use AI, especially for boosting productivity.That’s a really good use of AI – to be more efficient and more productive.The bad news is that most people who used AI in more innovative ways to change their workflows – not just improve them – weren’t rewarded for it.Only one in seven were rewarded for using AI. The other six out of seven were either ignored or criticised.They were criticised for rocking the boat because, “This is the way we’ve always done it” Their boss didn’t mind them using Copilot to be more efficient, but didn’t like people going further and ”messing with” the workflow itself.In other words, they were happy with people bring compliant, but didn’t want them to be innovative.That’s a mistake, because you only get surface-level gains from being more efficient. For next-level gains, you change your processes and systems, and maybe even consider whether what you’re doing is even needed at all.For example, if you use Google Maps to shave five minutes from your daily commute, that’s good. But what if you rearranged your work so you worked from home and didn’t have to commute at all? That saves 100% of your commute time!Obviously, changing or eliminating workflows and processes can take a lot more work. But that’s exactly what you should consider, not just the small efficiency boost from asking Copilot to draft a better email.If you’d like to know more about this, I’ll be talking about it in my next free public online presentation, “Next Level AI”, for all leaders and managers. Register here, and please invite others in your team and your network as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-the-ai-innovation-gap

You might want to try new AI tools, but the IT team keeps getting in the way – because they (rightly) don’t want unauthorised tech in your system. But there’s a simple way you can keep experimenting and evolving with AI, while still keeping your IT team happy. It’s a practical way to keep innovation moving while still staying on the right side of the IT team.https://swiy.co/go-ai-and-itAs a leader, where are you getting stuck with using AI in your team?I was running a presentation recently about AI at work, and a participant raised a challenge she’s facing (and it’s not uncommon).She and her team are already using AI, and are keen to keep trying new AI software and platforms. But whenever they want to sample some products or trial some new AI software, the IT team puts their foot down and stops them.That’s for a good reason. IT professionals have the unenviable task of supporting increasing demands for enabling digital infrastructure while also protecting the organisation from AI-powered cybersecurity attacks, AI-powered rogue agents, and naïve staff using powerful technology without knowing the risks. So, of course, that’s why they might instinctively block your AI plans.The IT department often gets a bad rap for being overly cautious, but most IT professionals love new technology and are keen to use it. But you need to do it on their terms, after they carefully assess, test, and integrate it with their existing systems.On the other hand, you and your team might be keen to try out some new software.The best way to manage this conflict is with AI projects.Start with a small pilot project or prototype (with the approval of the IT team), keeping it separate from your main tech setup and with dummy data (so you don’t accidentally leak private or confidential information). Use this to test the concept and figure out if it’s worth pursuing.Then, if it works, take it to the IT team and build the full working version – with their help.You will probably have to discard everything from the prototype and build it again from scratch using approved software and infrastructure. But that’s exactly what you want. Treat the prototype as a clunky, messy, scrappy experiment designed to prove the value of your idea, and fully expect to throw it away.In my next public online presentation, I’ll be talking about how to take AI to the next level – from individual use to team use. I’ll share a five-step process for running AI projects this way. Please join me, and invite others in your team and network as well.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-ai-and-it

When you're weighing up an investment, it's easy to focus only on the ROI - your return on investment. But that's only half the picture. You also need to consider COI - the cost of inaction (doing nothing). Calculate both ROI and COI to make more balanced decisions, spot hidden risks, and avoid the cost of standing still.https://swiy.co/go-more-than-roiAre you doing enough to calculate the value of an investment?A client recently told me she’s been nominated the “AI champion” for her organisation – medium-sized company in the construction industry. Her general manager has asked her to write a report – which is broadly her AI strategy plan for the business. He specifically said, “Make sure your report includes our potential return on investment (ROI) from using AI.”All of this is good – she’s been seen as an enthusiastic AI user, been asked to contribute to the AI strategy, and will presumably be involved in further discussion.But I also said to her, “When you write your report, include ROI, but also include the other half of the value calculation: COI.”COI is the cost of inaction – in other words, the cost of doing nothing.We often talk about ROI: If we invest X, what sort of return Y can we expect?But, to make a well-informed decision, we must also consider COI: If we DON’T invest in this, what will it cost us?In this example, we’re talking about AI – but it applies everywhere, and for every decision.For example, if you’re driving on a highway and see traffic banking up ahead, you might quickly assess whether it’s worth taking a side road, which is usually longer and slower, but might be less congested right now. And if you can see billowing clouds ahead and you guess the highway is taking you directly into the path of a bushfire, you will definitely switch to the side road because the COI is so high the ROI becomes irrelevant.In many decisions – both in business and in life – we have to think about both ROI and COI.ROI answers the question, “What are the benefits of this change?”, and COI answers the question, “What is the cost of not changing?” You must ask both; otherwise you make the decision with only half the information.We tend to give too much value to ROI, and not enough to COI. That was OK when the world wasn’t changing so quickly, because we didn’t need to change that much. But in a world that’s changing faster and faster, the cost of doing nothing is often much higher than the cost of change.Make sure you include both ROI and COI whenever you’re assessing the value of an investment.So, yes, my client will include both ROI and COI in her AI strategy report.If you’d like some help with this process, download my worksheet to identify six different areas that could affect COI, and use this when making your next important decision.Download the worksheet:https://swiy.co/go-more-than-roi

AI is about much more than ChatGPT or Copilot. As a leader, think about AI at three levels: professional, projects, and platforms. And all of this still needs human judgement, so building AI literacy across your team is just as important as the technology itself.https://swiy.co/go-ai-platforms-are-hereAre you sick of hearing negative stories about AI? Some of them are negative for good reasons, but also be aware of the good that AI is doing in the world.I'll share a few examples here - not only to make you feel good (but maybe that's good enough reason by itself!), but also because it will help you plan how to bring AI into your team and organisation. Here are four Australian AI examples from the last year:1. Researchers at Queensland University of Technology found that smarter farming and synthetic biology could transform croplands into tools for climate action by capturing and storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the air.2. Researchers at the University of Melbourne developed AI that uses weather data and fire records to predict land-cover change with over 90% accuracy, helping land managers and policymakers with erosion control, fire risk management, and biodiversity conservation.3. Researchers at Edith Cowan University in Perth have created an AI system that helps clinicians in detecting and staging serious conditions using ordinary scans like bone density images and ultrasounds.4. Australia’s beloved science communicator, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, has launched Digital Dr Karl - an AI chatbot trained on 40,000 of his scientific papers, articles, and media to help address climate scepticism at scale.OK, so let's talk about what this means for YOU ...These are all examples of AI platforms.They're very different from you sitting in front of your laptop, typing a query into ChatGPT, Copilot, or Claude, and getting a response. That's generative AI, and that's what made mainstream in 2022. But these AI platforms have been working quietly behind the scenes in every industry and every sector for years (sometimes decades).When you think about adopting AI, think about three levels: professional, projects, and platforms.The professional level is using AI - ChatGPT, Copilot, etc. - to improve everyday work so you can focus on higher-value work. You know what I mean: draft an email reply, create an outline for a report, analyse a spreadsheet, or design a workshop.The project level is where a small team works together to create something using AI that delivers value. You may already be running small AI projects.The third level is the platform level, where you buy (or build, if you have that in-house expertise) an AI-powered platform to help you with your core work. That could be:* GPs using AI to record patient appointments and draft follow-up notes* banks using AI to assess mortgage applications* businesses using AI to help their call centre staff serve customers better* retail stores using AI for managing inventory* insurers using AI to assess premiums and manage risk* ... and so onThe same is true for your industry and sector. It might already be true in your organisation.That makes it even more important to lift the AI literacy and education of everybody in your team.But it needs a different kind of AI literacy.AI platforms work behind the scenes. So you don’t need to learn how to write Copilot prompts or run Claude projects.But as we rely more on AI platforms, we need to apply our human intelligence to interpret, question, their outcomes.It’s always about people first, technology second – especially with something as complex as an AI platform.If you’d like to know more about this, come along to my free online presentation “AI At Work” this week. It’s open to everybody, and we’ll look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of AI at all three levels.Register for the virtual masterclass:https://swiy.co/go-ai-platforms-are-here

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