AI: Think Better. Do Better. Lead Better.
This one goes out to all the firm partners who are either still resisting AI or are paused at the prompt. I’ll dive right in: AI is the way forward to thinking better, doing better and leading your firm with confidence and precision. So helpful, in fact, it serves more as a partner than a platform — one dedicated to helping you consistently up your leadership game.
Let’s not resist partners, leaders and firm influencers. Because AI will persist as the power source required to run a better, more profitable and scale-ready business. There’s a major market shift barreling toward the profession and the firms that prepare now are those that will survive and thrive in the age of AI-X (Artificial Intelligence Xcellence).
AI to Elevate, Not Eliminate
AI does not replace leadership — it amplifies it. Integrating AI into your decision-making helps leaders move faster, gain greater clarity and execute at a level that traditional leadership approaches cannot begin to match. AI should be viewed as a leadership accelerator when it’s set within a structured, thoughtful framework. This is where the profession has work to do.
Lagging in the area of AI, I want to help firms get up to speed. That’s why I’ve been hard at work creating a pressure-tested AI framework. I intend to prop up the profession and ensure that leaders transition into the age of AI-X equipped with some serious AI game. At a high level, this is what AI (done right) can do for you:
Process complex decisions in real time
Eliminate hesitation and gain greater clarity
Structure high-trust leadership communications
Build long-term leadership influence
The value of AI should not be underestimated. There’s a real urgency around AI strategy adoption because this major market industry shift is not just on the way, it’s here. Now is the time to get it RIGHT … before you get LEFT.
Make AI Your Thinking Partner
AI has predominately been thought of as a “nice to have.” It can write a template email; it can spew out a high-level blog; it can outline an employee manual. This is kids’ stuff in relation to interacting with AI as your thinking partner.
It’s time to ditch the notion of a nice-to-have because AI offers so much more. It helps sharpen your instincts (not replace them), diagnose hesitation and power shifts to lead with clarity, and quickly cut through uncertainty to make sound leadership decisions without wasting time on all that overthinking.
Let’s break each of these core principles down and get you on a path to AI-powered leadership:
Sharpen instincts and decision making. AI-X firms are leaning on artificial intelligence as a prime thinking partner — helping them make more informed decisions faster. AI can take mountains of data (meeting notes, client notes, emails, financial information, regulatory changes) and quickly analyze and provide insights on market trends, client needs, financial predictions — while removing emotional bias. AI is an instinct sharpener, not a replacement for years of expertise.
Diagnose hesitation and power shifts fast. AI helps diagnose hesitation in decision making and identify power shifts in real time so you can act proactively instead of always putting out fires. Clarity supports confident leadership and all but eliminates a need for external validation. Just consider how quickly you could resolve conflict by using AI to walk you through how to conduct difficult conversations.
Here’s a great example of how to use AI to navigate conflict, just a snippet taken directly from my new AI Leadership Playbook:
There’s more to it than what’s shown here, but you get the jist.
Cut through uncertainty and ditch wasted motion: AI-assisted decision-making mitigates uncertainty, helping you navigate complex dynamics without unnecessary delays. Take communications as an example. AI assists you in creating critical, data-driven communications that resonate with clients and your team because they’re built on tangible, reliable information.
AI Supports Quantifiable Outcomes
AI-X firms are using data to support quantitative decisions and results. This isn’t pie-in-the-sky stuff. AI is providing impactful data-driven results and insights that improve leadership at many levels. And we all know how much accounting professionals love their measurable outcomes. You get this with AI.
Think about it. What if you could go into a client meeting with a structured outline of talking points based on past conversations and client needs? You could pitch new services (because the data shows they need them), which adds up to quantifiable new revenue. Or what if you could offer financial predictions with confidence (because AI provided the insights), which equates to improved financial health for clients — also quantifiable.
AI helps with all this because it identifies patterns in real time, stress tests the truth, aids in creating effective communications, supports leadership influence, and processes emotional and strategic layers separately.
AI is More Than the Prompt
AI is not just a tool but a transformative force that can revolutionize leadership in firms. By embracing AI as a thinking partner, leaders can sharpen their instincts, make faster and more informed decisions, and navigate complex challenges with greater clarity and confidence.
The power of AI lies in its ability to process vast amounts of data, provide real-time insights and support quantifiable outcomes. The more you embrace AI the more you’ll view it as your ally. And that means you can make the transition to an AI-X firm faster.