As AI crashes like a tsunami through industries and creates anxiety about job displacement, how can your career surf the wave instead of drowning?
Lately, at least once a week, professionals (especially those from non-technical backgrounds) ask me how to position their careers to benefit from AI instead of falling behind. If 80% of their peers are washed away by AI, they want to be in the 20% of humans with their heads above water. Here are two tips for managers concerned about the impact of AI on their careers and who are determined to stay afloat.
TIP 1
Ask Better Questions: AI Questions are Different than "Normal" Questions
In the AI era, the true differentiator isn't having all the answers—it's knowing how to ask the right questions.
Historically, finding answers to even basic questions could be really hard, if not impossible. Around 300 years ago most people couldn't read, so they relied on asking whoever was in earshot. As a Gen-X kid, we went to the library or our rich friend's encyclopedias to find answers. Then came the Internet.
As finding answers becomes quicker and easier, the value of those answers diminishes. People still place a premium on high-value answers that are hard to access, but wherever technology democratizes access to information, the real value shifts to our skill in asking the right questions in the first place.
Make no mistake, the ability to ask AI good questions is one of those professional skills that will determine who surfs or drowns in the world of AI, and it's a differentiator that both technical and non-technical people can learn to excel at.
There's a world of difference between the everyday questions you ask humans, or even a search engine, and the ways you interact with AI - and it's a gap many fail to recognize.
Prompting AI isn't some innate talent or a skill that naturally transfers from your normal life. It's a specialized capability that demands deliberate practice and refinement. Think of it as learning a new language, but one where creativity and innovative thinking can dramatically alter how impactful the results are.
For example:
Someone might ask AI to write a marketing plan for a business, to pitch an executive.
Someone more creative might ask the AI to instead write three marketing plans, each emphasizing different value propositions of the business. The person could then see which of the three plans they found the most compelling, bringing the best one to the executive.
An even better question-asker might ask the AI to do five different marketing plans, each emphasizing different value propositions, and to have the AI rank-order them with respect to which is the most likely to appeal to the executive (naming the executive and providing the AI with more information about that person). It may also help to have the AI fine-tune the most relevant marketing plan so that it incorporates the executive's personal nuances, as relevant.
An even better question-asker might ask...
You get the picture. Not all AI questions are created equal, and this is one of the battlegrounds that will separate professionals who thrive from those who get left behind. The good news is that your ability to leverage AI in these ways isn't about whether or not you can write code. Rather, it's about how willing you are to be creative and innovative when putting AI to use, and asking questions in ways that give you a performance edge.
TIP 2
Build Your Own… Yes, You!
It may be obvious that businesses can benefit from building their own proprietary AI systems and models, giving them an edge over rivals who rely solely on what's publicly available.
What may be less obvious, however, is that people working in marketing, innovation, creative, strategy, business development, or other roles being redefined by AI should also consider investing in and building up their own models, capabilities and personal AI toolkits.
No matter how big or small (or tiny) your budget may be, if you're not thinking about how to leverage AI to boost your personal productivity and insights, you're already falling behind. This isn't just about staying current—it's about future-proofing your career.
Imagine having a suite of AI tools of your own, that travel with you job to job, enhancing your performance wherever you go. You don't need to be a coding wizard to make this happen (though it certainly doesn't hurt). What you really need is a strategic mindset and the willingness to invest in yourself, just as you would with your education, personal networks, home office equipment, or any other career investments you make today.
This could mean curating a collection of specialized AI prompts that consistently yield gold-standard results in your field. Or it might involve self-funding subscriptions to cutting-edge AI SaaS solutions that supercharge your workflow. Maybe you're even collaborating with developers to create bespoke AI tools tailored to your specific needs.
The point is, you're not just waiting for your employer to equip you with the latest tools. You're taking the initiative, building your own personal AI entourage that follows you throughout your career. It's an investment in your own competitiveness, a way to ensure you're always bringing something extra to the table. Of course, this comes with a caveat: always play by the rules. Don't breach any confidentiality agreements or use proprietary data you shouldn't. But within ethical boundaries, there's a world of possibility for personal AI that can make all the difference between at-risk and elite performers.
Do you have your own AI toolkit? Are you actively working on building one? In this brave new world of AI-augmented work, those who do will be lifted by the wave, while others risk being swept away by it. Don't wait for permission or for someone else to hand you the tools. Start building your AI arsenal today. Your future self will thank you.
The AI revolution isn't coming—it's here, and it can be scary for management professionals. While some are paralyzed by fear, in denial, or clinging to outdated skills, the future will be led by those who position their skills and careers (technical or not) to ride the wave of AI instead of being washed out. Surf's up.