Everybody is talking about AI. Every conference, every webinar, every boardroom—the conversation is exactly the same: How much money can it save? How much faster can it make us? How many jobs can it automate?
Those are all fair questions. But I think we’re missing a much bigger one: Who’s taking care of the people?
I’ve spent more than 30 years working with retailers, media companies, startups, and enterprise organizations. Every time a new technology comes along, we get excited. We chase the shiny object. I watched it happen with the internet, I watched it happen with social media, and I watched it happen with streaming video. Now, we’re watching it happen with AI.
The pattern is always the same. Everybody rushes toward the new thing, and in the process, we forget what was making the business work in the first place. The people.
Employees Aren’t Afraid of AI—They’re Afraid of Being Forgotten
Here’s the mistake a lot of organizations make. Leadership announces they’re implementing AI. The executives are excited, the investors are excited, and the vendors are excited. But the employee hears something completely different. They hear: “Am I about to lose my job?”
Maybe that’s not what leadership meant, but that’s what many employees hear. And that’s where communication matters.
There’s a huge difference between saying, “We’re implementing AI,” and saying, “We’re implementing AI because we want to make your life easier. We want to eliminate repetitive work. We want to help you focus on the things that matter most. And we’re going to train you every step of the way.”
Same technology. Completely different message. One creates fear; the other creates opportunity.
The Best Leaders Know Their People
One of the things I always tell leaders is this: I can teach somebody how to use software. I can teach somebody how to sort a spreadsheet. I can teach somebody how to use AI. What I can’t teach is who they are.
- Do they like direct communication?
- Do they need time to process?
- Do they learn by watching, or do they learn by doing?
- How do they handle feedback, and how do they solve problems?
Those things matter, and they’re becoming even more important as AI becomes more powerful. Because the more technology handles routine tasks, the more leadership becomes entirely about understanding human beings.
Talk to Everyone
One of my favorite stories happened when I was leading a marketing team. Somebody joked with me because I spent time talking to the janitor. I said, “Of course I talk to the janitor.”
The janitor knew things I didn’t. He knew when people came in. He knew when they left. He knew who was stressed, and he knew who was thriving.
Every person in an organization sees something different. That’s why I’ve always believed leaders should talk to everybody. Not just managers, not just executives—everybody. Sit down with your team and ask the basic questions: “Show me what you do. What makes your job harder? What can we improve? What am I missing?”
People want to be heard. More importantly, they usually know things leadership doesn’t.
Loyalty Isn’t Built Through Salary
This is the part that doesn’t get talked about enough. I’ve had people work with me across four or five different companies. It wasn’t because of the money, and it wasn’t because of the titles. It was because of the relationships.
One of my first bosses invested time in me when he didn’t have to. Years later, I still call him for advice. I still consider him family. That’s loyalty. You can’t automate that, and you can’t buy it. You earn it by caring about people. You earn it by listening, and by helping someone become better than they were yesterday.
The Future Belongs to Human Leaders
I’m a huge believer in AI. We use it, we teach it, and we talk about it constantly. But AI is just a tool. Leadership is still leadership.
Employees still want to grow. They still want to learn. They still want to feel valued, and they still want to know their work matters.
The companies that win won’t be the ones with the most AI. They’ll be the ones that figure out how to combine great technology with great leadership. Because at the end of the day, whether you’re running a retail chain, a startup, or a global enterprise, the lesson remains the same:
Treat people like human beings. It’s amazing how often that still works.