The rise of AI is giving businesses a proper headache. Companies are now wrestling with how to stay relevant when artificial intelligence can nick their expertise quicker than you can say “Jack Robinson”.
This is the gist of my recent reading from an article on Harvard Business Review; How to thrive when AI makes knowledge and know-how cheaper and easier to access
The fundamental question reverberates like a philosophical koan: In a world where knowledge becomes increasingly democratised and instantaneous, what remains uniquely, ineffably human? How do organisations navigate this liminal space between what can be algorithmically generated and what requires the mysterious alchemy of human insight?
The key strategic questions boil down to three rather crucial points:
What bits of our current work will customers simply do themselves with AI?
First, we must courageously examine the landscape of our current problem-solving approaches. Consider the metamorphosis of travel agents—once gatekeepers of journeys, now witnessing how artificial intelligence can instantaneously weave personalised narratives. Where once they curated information, they must now curate experiences, transforming from information brokers to dream weavers and memory architects.
Which of our skills need a good upgrade to stay ahead of AI?
The evolution of expertise demands a radical reimagining of our capabilities. In medicine, for instance, where diagnostic algorithms can now detect subtle patterns invisible to the human eye, physicians must rediscover their most fundamentally human attributes. Empathy becomes not just a soft skill, but a profound differentiator—the ability to hold space, to listen deeply, to understand the intricate emotional topography underlying clinical data.
What distinctive assets can we develop to remain competitive?
We are called to build assets that resist easy algorithmic replication. Brands, relationships, rare physical infrastructures, and complex network dynamics emerge as sanctuaries of differentiation. A product designer no longer competes on the ability to generate designs, but on the depth of customer understanding, on the nuanced research that transforms specifications from mere technical parameters into resonant human stories.
This is not a narrative of replacement, but of profound transformation. AI does not erase human value; it illuminates the contours of our most distinctive capabilities. Organisations that will flourish are not those that resist technological change, but those that approach it with philosophical curiosity, seeing in each algorithmic advance an invitation to deeper, more meaningful engagement.
We are witnessing the emergence of a new organisational poetry—where strategy is not a fixed map, but a living, breathing dialogue between human imagination and technological possibility.
In Module 1 of Help to Grow Management, our expert speakers explore Strategy and Innovation. Join our next cohort, staring on 9th January 2025: Help to Grow: Management Course | Kingston University
