Leader.co.za

The University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) is proud to announce the second cohort of its Executive Programme in Media Leadership (EPML), an intensive four-month initiative that equips African media professionals with the strategic and practical tools to lead through disruption.

Today’s approach to workplace learning was designed for a different era. The traditional model for learning (even e-learning) reflects the constraints of the age it was built in. At the time, developing learning programmes required costly and time-intensive content curation, fixed delivery channels, and no way to know exactly what an individual needed to learn at any given moment for next-level growth. But now, AI is in the picture.

Business leaders face increasing uncertainty as they consider their next moves. They are diligent in classifying risks by impact, control, and affected stakeholders. However, uncertainty, which presupposes undefined outcomes, is much more difficult to navigate. Too often, leaders treat uncertainty as a risk to mitigate. This results in overly stringent strategies and plans, which lead to underperformance. Leaders often think of strategy and decision-making as a game of chess.

Entrepreneurs must move beyond hustle mode, using reflection, systems and self-awareness to build sustainable businesses. She’s replying to customers between school runs, chasing a late payment while negotiating with a supplier who has just increased prices again. Another order comes in. A staff member calls in sick. Somewhere in between, there are invoices to send, messages to reply to and customers expect everything to run smoothly.

AI has introduced new sources of disruption along with new opportunities for advantage in the consumer industry. Both consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs) and retailers are feeling the effects of this ongoing transformation as shoppers use new tools to search, compare, plan, and decide on purchases.

Today’s approach to workplace learning was designed for a different era. The traditional model for learning (even e-learning) reflects the constraints of the age it was built in. At the time, developing learning programmes required costly and time-intensive content curation, fixed delivery channels, and no way to know exactly what an individual needed to learn at any given moment for next-level growth. But now, AI is in the picture.

Entrepreneurs must move beyond hustle mode, using reflection, systems and self-awareness to build sustainable businesses. She’s replying to customers between school runs, chasing a late payment while negotiating with a supplier who has just increased prices again. Another order comes in. A staff member calls in sick. Somewhere in between, there are invoices to send, messages to reply to and customers expect everything to run smoothly.

Automation is often seen as destroying jobs, but new Wharton research shows it also can quietly block workers from moving into better-paid roles. Industrial robots do not just shape pay today. Research from Pinar Yildirim, a Wharton professor of economics and marketing, shows they also make workers less likely to move into higher-paying occupations, cutting expected lifetime earnings. “Workers aren’t necessarily losing their jobs, and it doesn’t feel like a sudden shock,” Yildirim said.

Business leaders face increasing uncertainty as they consider their next moves. They are diligent in classifying risks by impact, control, and affected stakeholders. However, uncertainty, which presupposes undefined outcomes, is much more difficult to navigate. Too often, leaders treat uncertainty as a risk to mitigate. This results in overly stringent strategies and plans, which lead to underperformance. Leaders often think of strategy and decision-making as a game of chess.

AI is transforming organisations in theory, but the real battle is making it work in practice. We often think of AI as a technological revolution that will transform industries, disrupt jobs and change the nature of competitive advantage. Inside organisations, though, it is unfolding in a much more complex and less predictable way. In many firms, AI is still more narrative than operational reality, making it hard to move from discussion to meaningful action.