The Algorithmic Leader: How to Stay Competitive When AI Outperforms Humans | Leadership Strategies for the Digital Age | Business & Technology Management

We've been hearing for a while now that AI is coming fast and thick to enterprises of all kinds, and that it will change them beyond recognition.One thing that AI particularly changes is the way business decisions are made and executed—they're basically orders of magnitude more automated and data-driven than they were in the past. In many cases they will be *totally* automated and data-driven—untouched by human hands or brains.Without people in the way, tactical and even strategic decisions can be made and executed—by today's standards—at lightning speed, in real time, and with ultra precision.As a result, the way products and services are conceived, designed, built, and delivered—and the way end-customers experience them—also massively change. Hyper-personalization and fluidity become the order of the day, and in the coming years we can expect to be flooded with a host of new, previously unimagined offerings. The integration of AI into mainstream business will make the changes wrought by other recent technology waves (e.g. the Internet, mobility, cloud computing and the IoT) look primitive in comparison.That's great news for future global economic growth, but of course there's a nontrivial downside as well. Without people in the way, decisions and actions created by algorithms (the instruction sets on which AI software runs) are literally without humanity, which is arguably the single most important component of good business. When the human-only qualities of wisdom, empathy and trustworthiness are absent from business conduct, the chances of things turning out badly become very high. Anyone who has experienced typical bank or airline customer service will know just what I'm talking about.Walsh actually starts the book with an airline story—retelling that excruciating incident on an overbooked United Airlines flight in 2017 where a passenger was dragged kicking and screaming off the plane (at least it was on the ground at the time) because there weren't enough seats for everyone with a ticket—highlighting that a seat allocation algorithm was largely behind what happened. But crucially, the algo was only half of that story. The other half was the failure of airline staff to step in and preempt the horrific situation that ended up unfolding by overriding the system and making sure that the customer was treated with dignity. That's something the algo missed because it wasn't designed with that in mind, and the staff missed it too because they were trained not to question the authority of the algo, even when this is what very obviously needed to happen.The book's main takeaway is embedded in the United Airlines story (but don't stop reading the book there). Successful algorithmic business demands a new kind of leadership: one that emphasizes positive human qualities like wisdom, empathy and trustworthiness over chiefly managing to the numbers.* These qualities need to become part of the organization's cultural DNA. Ensuring that humanity is infused into algorithmic design—and once the algos are deployed ensuring that their inherent lack of humanity doesn't take precedence as business proceeds—is the new name of the game.If you're a leader schooled and practiced in more traditional management techniques, adopting this new approach might involve a bit of pain. It might require some personal transformation in addition to (and before) the organizational one. But not adopting it will likely result in a lot more pain in the form of lost business, so there's your tradeoff. And for anyone willing to do what it takes to step up to algorithmic leadership, I would say the future is definitely bright.I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it to anyone in a current or foreseen organizational leadership role. It's not really a book about technology (there are plenty of good ones out there already). This one uniquely and importantly digs into the cultural and personal dimensions of algorithmic business and what's needed to lead it. To get the book's maximum benefit, read it with an open mind and don't neglect to act on the author's recommendations.----*Note there's no suggestion that business metrics be eliminated—only that they take a back seat.