Inc.
Stop obsessing over what AI might become and start using what it can already do well.
New Harvard Research Says Leaders Are Asking the Wrong Questions About AI. It’s Costing Them a Competitive Advantage
Author: Carmine Gallo
Americans once worried AI would take their jobs. Now, they’re worrying it might take them out altogether. The Wall Street Journal has dubbed it “America’s Great AI Freakout.”
Debating existential questions is perfectly fine over drinks or around the dinner table. But founders should spend less time worrying about things they can’t control and more energy on what they can.
Stop waiting for AI. Start using it.
That’s the premise behind a research study that won the Harvard Business Review’s prize for the year’s best article. I’ve found the research to be especially useful for entrepreneurs and leaders who want to turn AI into a competitive advantage.
In The GenAI Playbook for Organizations, business professors Andy Wu and Bharat Anand worked with hundreds of managers to learn how organizations were using AI. They kept hearing versions of the same questions: When will AI match human intelligence? What are my rivals doing with AI? Is AI accurate enough to deliver real value?
The researchers concluded that those questions are “misdirected,” causing leaders to take a wait-and-see approach instead of creating a clear plan to leverage AI’s capabilities.
The authors suggest a more valuable, actionable question: How can my organization use gen AI effectively today, regardless of its limitations, to create a competitive advantage
The “AI playbook” they offer is a useful way for founders to take advantage of what AI does best while preserving the human advantage that can ultimately set them apart.
For a founder preparing for a high-stakes pitch, the playbook makes a lot of sense. It encourages you to divide the tasks into buckets such as no-regret, creative catalyst, and human-first categories.
No regrets. Let AI do the grunt work.
AI tools are meant to do some tasks a lot faster than you. Let them.
For pitch and presentation prep, generative AI tools can scan and summarize research, organize random notes and documents, surface patterns and themes, and create outlines. If the results have some mistakes, the cost of those errors is low as long as you don’t simply copy and paste what you get.
In other words, let AI handle the time-consuming stuff that can drain the mental energy you’ll need to be creative.
Creative catalyst. Let AI generate ideas.
Next comes the creative work, the intimidating challenge writers call the “blank page” problem: staring at an empty page — or slide — and not knowing where to begin.
The key is not to ask AI to build the entire presentation. Instead, ask it to offer ideas that jump-start your creativity.
For example:
- Prompt: I’m pitching seed investors who are interested in my company. Based on the materials I’ve attached, give me five completely different ways to open the presentation and grab their attention.
- Prompt: I’ve attached my company’s sales chart. Give me three ways to visualize our sales growth more clearly and memorably.
Notice what these prompts don’t ask. They don’t ask AI to do all the work. You make the final decisions based on your unique insights and experiences.
Human first. Let your judgment take over.
This is where the stakes are highest and where decisions should remain under your complete control. Investors don’t put money behind a pitch deck. They put their money and support behind people who they trust. Trust is built through real human connection, intuition, reputation, and emotional intelligence.
The AI tools gave you ideas, but you must make the final choice based on your instincts. You might choose a particular opening because you know it’ll resonate with a particular investor. You’ll know which stories only you can tell. For example, why you started the company or what gaps you’re seeing in the market based on your experience.
Then you must walk into the room. You’re the one who must deliver the pitch confidently, look investors in the eye, listen carefully to their concerns, pause when you’re talking too much, and cut it short when you need to.
That’s human intuition. AI tools can do a lot. They can’t, however, earn a person’s trust.
The AI models will only get better, but founders who keep returning to this question will always find a way to stand out: What can AI do best right now and what can I do that AI can’t?
Credits: TCA, LLC.