Services
TAYA

They Ask, You Answer Mastery

A coaching & training program that drives unmatched sales & marketing results.

Sales

Sales Performance Mastery

Improve the competencies and close rates of your sales organization.

Web design

Website Mastery

Web design, development & training for your team.

HubSpot

HubSpot Mastery

Everything you need to get the most from HubSpot.

AI Mastery

AI Enablement Mastery

Unlock the power of AI in all aspects of your revenue operations.

Discover how IMPACT’s services can help take your business to the next level. Book a free 30-minute coaching session Book a free 30-minute coaching session
Learning Center
Learning Center

Learning Center

Free resources to help you improve the way you market, sell and grow your business.

Discover how IMPACT’s services can help take your business to the next level. Book a free 30-minute coaching session Book a free 30-minute coaching session

Free Assessment: How does your sales & marketing measure up?

Get Started
Close

Free Assessment:

How does your sales & marketing measure up?
Take this free, 5-minute assessment and learn what you can start doing today to boost traffic, leads, and sales.
Get Started
Executives and Leaders  |   Artificial Intelligence

AI Fluency is a Mindset Shift (Not a Tool Tutorial)

Chris Duprey

By Chris Duprey

Oct 18, 2023

When the pandemic shut everything down a few years ago, some businesses flourished and some shuttered. 

While there were a million factors at play, a big one that didn’t get talked about too much was mindset. 

In my opinion, the businesses that thrived were the ones to do what we call at IMPACT “Yes, and…”.

Yes, and is an improv classic in which actors have to adapt and move forward no matter what’s thrown at them. For businesses, we see Yes, and as a mindset that allows you to embrace the messy parts of a situation so you can find your way through it. 

AI-mindset

In the pandemic, this was the case when doctors pivoted to telehealth visits and restaurants to curbside pickup. Businesses that grumbled about having to learn Zoom were the ones who saw only threats, not opportunity.

As we enter the AI revolution, I think we need to again embrace yes, and. We need to again change our mindset to see possibility, not limitation. 

Success with AI is not a skill set to master, it’s a mindset shift that should change our very approach to work. 

4 principles for your AI mindset

I’ve written elsewhere about the guidelines I heard from Professor Ethan Mollick of UPenn, who has shared four principles for using AI. To me, they represent the AI mindset I’m talking about. The ideas below are his, but the words are mine.

  1. Use AI for everything you can. When you have any task in front of you, think about how AI can help you. Doesn’t matter if you’re cooking dinner or planning a vacation. 
  2. Be the human in the loop. AI has astonishing abilities — and plenty of limitations. It is not a human with judgment and character. Be the human that makes up for these shortcomings. 
  3. Treat the AI like a human and tell it who it is. This is big. AI can be whoever you want it to be, but only if you’re clear. So, tell it who you want it to be (savvy marketer, skeptical buyer, nervous invester, etc.). The better the input, the better the output.
  4. Remember, the AI you’re using today will be the most basic AI you ever use. It’s true. Things are advancing so quickly that what’s new today will be outdated in a month or two. Think about early TVs or early digital cameras. They seemed high-tech at the time, but the advancements came swiftly. Same thing here. 

I’ve kept Mollick’s ideas in mind as I’ve done my own exploration. I suggest you do the same.

With that in mind, let’s look at some common business situations and think about how we can use AI to improve the work we do. 

These are just the tip of the iceberg — one idea for each. But they represent the mindset I’m talking about: seeing opportunities to leverage AI to help you do your work better. 

  • Performance reviews: As a manager, I’d keep a doc going all quarter with thoughts and feedback I’d shared during the course of the quarter. Then, I’d use ChatGPT to comb through everything and pull together a coherent evaluation and actionable steps for growth that I could deliver in a performance review.
  • Company communication: When it comes to company communication, if the message isn’t crafted just right, the meaning can get misconstrued. This is where LLMs shine. They’re programmed for clarity and neutrality. 
    So, for any company-wide report or email, I’d use AI to take the raw thoughts and translate them into something cogent and clear. For me, I’m long-winded by nature, so AI could help me pare down and simplify what I’m trying to say.
    But again, be sure to tell it who you want it to be. If you want it to sound encouraging and friendly, say so. If you need to it be austere and formal, say so. 
AI-leadership

  • Competitive analysis: Now that ChatGPT can read websites, you can feed it URLs from your top 10 competitors. Ask it about common themes. Ask it about gaps and opportunities. Tell it to pretend to be a customer (or an industry expert!) and then ask it about the marketplace. 
  • Go-To-Market strategy: A GTM strategy has a lot of moving parts, and AI can help you with many of them. Feed it your homepage copy and have it evaluate your messaging
    Have it describe your target buyer, and explain common problems that person faces. Ask it about a marketing plan. Ask for the steps of a potential sales process.
  • Employee compensation: ChatGPT can find and synthesize data that would take you hours to dig up. Ask it for benchmark data in your industry. You can ask for a chart that organizes the information by years of experience, certifications, degrees, or any other metrics that matter. 
    Remember that some LLMs do not keep your data safe. So, either verify ahead of time that you’re using a secure tool — or just take names and personal details out. 

For any one of these, is AI going to solve the problem on the first try? No way. But it will definitely get you past the staring-at-a-blank-page stage. And it might get you 70% of the way there.

The idea is that AI is an assistant that can help us move faster. 

Remember, what’s listed above just scratches the surface, but when you change your mindset, you start to see opportunities everywhere.

AI-assistant

And that’s what this is about. AI is a multiplier. But only if you start looking for ways to use it. 

Change your mindset, grow your company

I work with a dozen companies, and they’re in a dozen different places when it comes to AI. Some are all-in, embracing this very mindset. Some are way far back, clinging to the way they’ve always done things, unsure how to move forward. (Or, even worse, waiting for the AI fad to pass.)

Here’s the thing, if you’re a company leader, or you’re a Gen X-er or millennial who’s weirded out by all this, that’s okay. You don’t have to be the AI expert for your company. But if you’re in a leadership position, you should give people the green light to explore, to think differently, to change their mindset.

To help you get ready to do this, check out this full list of AI guidelines and best practices my colleague Marcus Sheridan put together. 

If you need more help getting your team on board — or getting yourself on board — talk to us! We can make this overwhelming change feel manageable and, honestly, pretty fun. 

Free Assessment:

How does your sales & marketing measure up?
Take this free, 5-minute assessment and learn what you can start doing today to boost traffic, leads, and sales.

Related Articles

Why the Most Successful Teams Think of Sales as a ‘Team Sport’

December 4, 2023
Chris Duprey Chris Duprey

2023 Retrospective: 10 Industry Insiders Look Back

November 20, 2023
John Becker John Becker

Sales Managers: Here's How to use AI to Help Your Team Win

November 6, 2023
Chris Duprey Chris Duprey

Why Determining 'Culture Fit' Is So Important in the Hiring Process

October 19, 2023
Dia Vavruska Dia Vavruska

AI Fluency is a Mindset Shift (Not a Tool Tutorial)

October 18, 2023
Chris Duprey Chris Duprey

How To Align Your Sales And Marketing Teams In 2024

October 14, 2023
John Becker John Becker

How Should My Marketing Budget Change With AI?

October 9, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

Sales vs Marketing in 2024: What’s The Difference?

October 8, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

Why Trust Is the True Currency for All Business

August 9, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

The Benefits of Hiring a Business Coach (Especially for Reluctant Leaders)

August 2, 2023
Zach Basner Zach Basner

How To Become a Better Business Coach

July 31, 2023
Allison Riggs Allison Riggs

Why Hiring a Coach is the Surest Way to Spur Business Growth

June 28, 2023
Bob Ruffolo Bob Ruffolo

Set the Tone As a Business Coach: Trust and Accountability, Not Friendship

June 14, 2023
John Becker John Becker

I Just Hired a Content Manager: How Can I Tell They're Doing The Right Things?

May 18, 2023
John Becker John Becker

Staffing Up After a Recession: Who to Hire When

May 17, 2023
Bob Ruffolo Bob Ruffolo

Looking for Better Applicants? Focus on Candidate Education

May 15, 2023
John Becker John Becker

CEOs: Your Sales Reps are Damaging Your Brand With Lazy Prospecting Emails

May 11, 2023
Bob Ruffolo Bob Ruffolo

Word-of-Mouth is Fragile; Here's How to Build Market Durability

May 10, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

What You Can Learn From Customers Who Didn’t Buy From You

May 3, 2023
Will Schultz Will Schultz

Your Meeting Superpower: Replacing Good Questions with Great Questions

April 26, 2023
Chris Marr Chris Marr

Top 10 Must-Have Qualities To Look For in a Content Manager

April 20, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

What Small Business Leaders Need To Know to Thrive During a Recession

April 19, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

5 Keys to Marketing Your Business During a Recession

April 17, 2023
Chris Duprey Chris Duprey

Why You Need a Content Manager (and How to Hire the Right One)

April 13, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

Leadership Teams Are Often Blind to Their Own Dysfunction — And The Effects Can Be Devastating

March 8, 2023
Chris Duprey Chris Duprey