Fit For the Future

If you’re serious about staying relevant and building future-ready skills, start sharing what you learn. You don’t need to become a professional podcaster or YouTube influencer, but having a platform – even a simple one – gives you the discipline to take in information, make sense of it, and communicate it clearly. That habit (which is the skill of sense-making) sharpens your thinking beyond just...

It’s easy to keep doing what worked in the past, but that comfort can quickly become irrelevance. Look at libraries — which where once silent spaces for reading, but are now vibrant community hubs full of energy, events, and connection. They didn’t change just for the sake of it; they changed because the world changed around them. And, to their credit, they reinvented themselves to stay relevant a...

When uncertainty rises, performance often drops – but it’s not just about risky, it’s about whether you feel in control. A surprising psychology study using electric shocks and virtual snakes shows that people are more stressed when they can’t predict outcomes, even if the danger doesn’t increase. That means building mental agility and a sense of agency are key to staying resilient in unpredictabl...

As a leader, you must ensure you provide – and continue to provide – AI education and literacy in your workplace. The real risk is not in the technology, but in the lack of education about using it. When you introduce AI into your workplace, you must also include professional development for your team to build the right mindset, skills, and practical knowledge about using it. https://swiy.co/go-ed...

In a world full of data, noise, and information overload, a key skill for the future – for yourself, your team, and others in your community – is you ability to make sense of it all. This is the skill of sense-making, and it helps you absorb, filter, and share what matters now and for the future. https://swiy.co/go-make-it-make-sense How good are you at making sense of the world for yourself and o...

Your customers know what they need next – but maybe you’re not paying attention. Shifting expectations, subtle frustrations, and new aspirations are all signals that can shape how you evolve your products, services, and experiences. To stay competitive, meaningful, and relevant in the future, focus on solving your customers’ problems and helping them achieve their goals. https://swiy.co/go-future-...

You might think it’s OK to be cautious with AI, but there’s a risk of being TOO cautious – waiting for the perfect tools, the perfect policies, the perfect rollout. But whle you’re waiting, smaller, more agile organisations are experimenting, learning, and sprinting past you. You don’t have to be reckless, but you do need to make space for trying, failing, growing, and trying again. https://swiy.c...

The biggest risk with using AI in your team is not the technology, but how you use it. Deloitte discovered recently how badly things can spiral out of control when they use AI-generated content without doing even basic checks. This should be a lesson for all leaders: Embracing AI is important, but you also need the right education, oversight, and mindset to avoid getting it wrong. https://swiy.co/...

You and your team are probably already talking about AI – with each other, customers, and friends and family. What really shapes these conversations is not the technology, but the stories. Whether it’s robotic dogs helping residents in aged care, AI stopping bank scams, or AI contributing to climate change, the stories you share influence how your team feels about AI and how ready they are to embr...

You’ve probably heard the hype about AI taking everybody’s jobs – but the reality is more nuanced. AI will affect almost every job, but it won’t replace most of them. About one in ten roles might disappear, but the rest will evolve, and that evolution depends on how well you support your people. As a leader, it’s part of YOUR job to make sure your team keeps up with using AI effectively – so you c...

As a leader, you’re probably hearing a lot about where you could be using AI - but you should also be asking if you SHOULD use it everywhere. Not every bright shiny object belongs in every part of your organisation – and you need to make strategic choices about where you use AI. https://swiy.co/go-should-you-be-using-ai-for-this As a leader, where could you use AI more in your organisation? More i...

As a leader, you probably have a lot on your plate already, but if you’re not carving out time to look ahead, you’re missing a key part of your role. Your job isn’t only to manage the present, but to help your team navigate what’s in the future. That means intentionally looking up from the day-to-day and scanning the horizon. Leverage AI to build a habit and culture of future thinking so you can t...

https://swiy.co/go-most-ai-projects-fail Coincidentally, just in the last week, three seemingly unrelated things happened, but they are all connected. First, according to some research published by MIT Media Lab, where they surveyed leaders across many organisations and industries, a staggering 95% of AI projects failed. They didn’t meet their goals – whether they were for productivity gains, bott...

Whether you’re excited or anxious about AI, there’s a more useful way to look at it: as your intelligent assistant. You’re still in the driving seat and choosing the destination – and AI helps you get there faster, safer, and more efficiently. With this mindset, you use AI to unlock better outcomes without losing control. https://swiy.co/go-intelligent-assistants How do you think about AI in your...

You’re probably hearing a lot of news about AI, from many people with many perspectives. For example, with its environmental impact, some people say it’s saving the world, others claim it’s ruining it. Obviously (or maybe not?) the truth is somewhere in between. And that applies to everything else AI-related, too. As a leader, you’re not expected to know everything, but you do have to manage how y...

As a leader, you might think AI job losses are only a future problem, but your team might be already thinking about them now. With real headline news of organisations replacing people with AI – even those known for valuing their employees – your team might be quietly worried, wondering if they are next. That’s why you must acknowledge those concerns, start open conversations, and help your people...

AI agents have arrived, and they can do far more than just answer questions – they can act on your behalf. That opens up incredible opportunities, but also brings new risks for yourself, your team and your organisation. Even if you already have AI policies and guidelines in place, you need to update them now for agentic AI. https://swiy.co/go-ai-agents-are-here Are you ready for AI agents? This is...

https://swiy.co/go-from-chatbots-to-chaos Are your AI guardrails, policies, and guidelines up to date or out of date? In 2022, Jake Moffatt needed to fly to Toronto for the funeral of a family member. Before booking a flight with Air Canada, he checked their rules to qualify for a bereavement fare. The helpful Air Canada chatbot assured him he could buy a ticket, fly, then request a partial refund...

How are you using AI to enhance your customer experience? Broadly, AI can help in three areas: Interface, insights, and infrastructure. And all of them are to do with enhancing – not eliminating – the human touch. Let’s look at that with an analogy of the old-style deli owner, who knew everybody who came into their shop. I knew somebody like that, way back when I was a kid. 1. Interface I would so...

You might be doing future planning to understand how the world is changing – that’s good. You might even be adjusting your plans based on what you learn – even better! But are you also changing HOW you plan? Many leaders miss this change, and it can make a huge difference to the quality of your plans. Things like AI, hybrid work, and generational diversity in your teams all bring new tools and ins...

If you want to know where to look to understand the future, don’t forget the people already in your team. Everybody brings unique perspectives and lived experiences that could shape smarter decisions and sharper strategies. The best leaders listen to external voices, but also actively include their team in learning about, shaping, and creating the future. https://swiy.co/go-yes-theres-an-i-in-team...

When you’re facing an uncertain future, it helps to know what’s around the corner and over the horizon. That’s the skill of foresight, where you spot the trends, signals, and shifts that could reshape your world. Before asking “Is this an opportunity or a threat?”, first figure out what’s actually changing - and then evalute that to make strategic choices. https://swiy.co/go-foresight-first When y...

If you're a leader, you should be thinking about what's next in your industry, but are you also scanning the horizon to see what’s happening outside it? The best leaders think deep, wide, and far to understand what will affect them now and in the future. https://swiy.co/go-deep-wide-and-far In October, I’m speaking at the Bus Industry Confederation’s annual conference, and a few weeks ago I had th...

About sixty years ago, MIT Professor Joseph Weizenbaum built a chatbot, named ELIZA, that could act like a psychotherapist. It was programmed to look for key words and phrases typed by a person and reflect their words back to them in its responses. Despite its simplicity, many people were so taken by it they started treating it like a real doctor. On one occasion, Weizenbaum’s secretary asked him...

You want to do the best for our customers, but sometimes you’re restricted by internal factors, like time, budget, geographical location, IR rules, staff availability, scheduling rosters, and floor space. You can’t fix all of these problems, but you might be surprised just how much you can address using AI. Done right, AI can shift customer experience from system-driven to truly customer-centered,...