Rolling out an AI model might turn into much more of an Information Governance exercise than you’ve bargained for. Maybe that’s a good thing, though. Maybe it’s time to get rid of all that junk, not just because of the junk itself but because it’ll make your AI rollout more successful.
Every person you lay off from your business is ten times more likely to try and take their own life.
I don’t think senior executives think in those terms. I suspect many are thinking about juicing the bottom line, getting a little stock price bump, maybe making things more efficient, etc. I think large investors think about what is best for their stock values. That’s why CEOs announce layoffs of 10% of the workforce and are rewarded with $100 million bonuses.
I’m not exaggerating. The distaste users had for the software they were forced to use because the organization purchased it was only equaled by how little they knew about how to use it. This is not a coincidence. Poor training or lack of training leaves users figuring out what to do on their own, and they usually miss out on many of the features that could make their jobs easier. Most of them figure out enough to get by.
Many people who make hiring and firing decisions don’t think about AI as a tool for better work-life balance or increased productivity in their workforce. They are planning on replacing their workforce. These are likely the same ones who view layoffs as a strategy to tweak stock prices and see employees as numbers on a financial statement instead of human beings. Increasingly, they are being put in charge by shareholders who see employees similarly – a bothersome cost.
We should not be surprised that younger generations want to blow it all up.
Of all the skills that Liz writes about to help us all communicate better, this is the key. If the leaders in your workplace are not communicating, and we see how important listening is to that communication as well, the rest of the team is unlikely to be doing it well either. It’s a modeled behavior. When leaders are open to connection, listen carefully to their reports, and work toward clarity and agreement, that flows down into how the team interacts with each other. When leaders only ever issue directives with no consideration for the humans who report to them, you’ll see that same behavior across the team.
AI might eventually change the world. However, the technology that exists can be disappointing. Microsoft and other AI champions need to accept that and work to improve it. Telling people they aren’t prompting correctly isn’t how to get buy-in. It’s elitest for no reason.