PeopleFirst in the Age of AI: Why Human Readiness Will Decide Who Wins
“Getting your workforce “AI-ready” isn’t optional and it must not be viewed as a box-ticking exercise. It’s the ultimate example of survival of the fittest.”
Matt Manners is CEO & Founder of Inspiring Workplaces
Whether you like it or not, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here and it’s reshaping the way businesses operate, compete, and survive.
In the past year alone, AI has gone from being the stuff of Silicon Valley slide decks to the thing that can influence so many business touchpoints. It quietly powers your customer service chat, writes your junior staff’s first drafts, analyses data your managers can’t be bothered with and even gives your solicitors and accountants a run for their money. This can’t be mistaken for a technological sideshow, it’s a seismic revolution that will not turn back.
But here’s the ugly truth: most companies are catastrophically underprepared for what’s happening. Not because they don’t have the software or they can’t afford the investment but because their people, the very employees who will have to live with, work with and adapt to this technology, aren’t being made ready for it. And that, bluntly, is a scandal of leadership.
We’ve been here before with every big technological leap in history such as: the printing press, the steam engine, the computer and the internet which each left a trail of winners and losers. The winners were never just the ones who had the shiny tools. They were the ones who had a workforce and a culture ready to embrace the change. They communicated, experimented, trained, learned and adapted, all while they kept their nerve. Meanwhile the losers? They clung to the old ways and resisted innovation and change until the world passed them by.
Right now, AI is exposing exactly the same fault line.
Business leaders should ask themselves this, how many of your people genuinely believe AI is an opportunity rather than a threat? How many are confident they can learn new skills, adapt to new workflows and rethink how they do their jobs? And perhaps most damning of all, how many feel you, their leaders, are actually preparing them for the tidal wave that’s crashing through the workplace?
That might feel like a strong statement, but in my opinion it is a tidal wave. Every credible forecast shows that AI will automate millions of tasks we’ve traditionally relied on humans for, a serious problem that yet again no one wants to discuss, as task is just another word for a job, someone’s livelihood or career. However, at the same time, it will create vast new opportunities, new roles, new ways of working and new industries we can’t even imagine yet. They’re seized by organisations that are agile, adaptable and above all, led by people with the guts to not just bring their teams along for the ride but unlock their innovative potential as a fundamental resource to drive the adaptation needed.
The problem as I see it, is that too many leaders are asleep at the wheel. They’re dazzled by headlines, distracted by gimmicks, or paralysed by fear of change. Meanwhile, employees are left guessing with some excited, others terrified but most are confused. That uncertainty festers, it destroys confidence, kills innovation and ultimately, it limits performance and competitiveness.
Getting your workforce “AI-ready” isn’t optional and it must not be viewed as a box-ticking exercise. It’s the ultimate example of survival of the fittest. Survival in the AI era depends on leveraging these technologies for strategic advantage, enabling resilience against challenges like labour shortages and complex supply chains and embracing a culture of innovation and adaptability. Companies that invest in helping their people adapt, experiment and grow with AI will dominate their industries while the rest will be swept away in a storm of irrelevance.
Matt Manners is CEO & Founder of Inspiring Workplaces
