Sol Rashidi

Geared for Non-Technologists who want to make sense of the AI world and what it entails, this conversation gets past the ‘Art of the Possible’ and into the ‘World of the Practical’. A majority of us aren’t technologist, so its important to understand what all this means today, for the future, and how to best be prepare for it personally and professionally. It also discusses the hype, the marketing, whats fact vs. fiction, and how to tell the difference.

While many companies strive to be innovative, nearly 76% of all innovation projects fail and nearly 92% fall short of expected results. This conversation focuses on how to avoid the pitfalls and quicksand of innovation and why BUSINESS VALUE is not the metric of choice when choosing your innovation projects. It also discusses, how to make sense of the new world of CXO’s where the boundaries of technology have expanded past the CIO.  How should one think through the division of labor, motivating a work force that can be apprehensive or resistant towards the latest advents of today, and how to forecast innovation projects.

Many organizations are focused on being ‘Data Centric’, ‘Data Driven’, and monetizing on data because its the new enterprise oil. However, most organizations fail to make the pivot, with nearly 73% of organizations fall short of what they set out to accomplish with their data strategy.  This discussion will go into all the reasons ‘Why’, and what we can do to course correct, evangelize, and create a movement that will build a last legacy with data. Everyone can be data-centric without removing the creativity, critical thinking, and experience we bring to the table.

With the advent of AI and with nearly 86% of organizations investing in AI-based capabilities, its been proven that AI is not a fad or a trend that will go away. However, what we can’t measure are the economical and moral impacts AI will have on our society. Like parents, who are the caretakers of children, their responsibilities are to teach children right from wrong and to embed a moral compass in each of us. Similarly, WE as humans are the caretakers of AI, also teaching it right from wrong, yet we’re at a cross roads with moral compass because of the biases, poor practices, falsification, and misinformation we’re helping it propogate. I will share a personal story of how ‘fake news’ almost ruined my 20+ career and how I caught it, and how to embed safer and responsible practices for AI.

Change is hard. Disruption is hard. With the pace of change being the fastest its ever been, leaders have an unfair advantage in todays world. Constantly distracted by messages and emails, combined with the pressures of motivating teams, aligning strategic priorities, balancing workloads, and all while innovating, leaders are not set up to succeed, UNLESS THEY GO ROGUE. This discussion is all about finding the rogue in us. The leader who focuses on not being busy, but being productive. The leader who lets go of the need to respond in exchange for the need to reflect. Leaders who in spite of resistance can see beyond the trees and around the corner, and put forth passion and relentless pursuit to achieve what needs to be accomplished, and all while staying sane. This discussion is about managing our energy so we can show up in the right way, in the right time, and for the right people to drive change and create outcomes.