Excavation.

Unearthing the truth is the base condition to progress.

Fear of losing power, fear of losing control, fear of a competitor’s talents and innovations, fear of risk. In these and all its forms, fear can pull us down the slippery slope of empty rationalizing and justifying, distortions that can lead to misinformed decisions, inappropriate actions, and lost opportunity. Confronting fear is liberating, if for no other reason than the process moves us closer to truth. As it loosens the grip of less productive tendencies, for individuals and enterprises, comfort with the truth acts as a tool for progress, bringing us closer to a catalyzing purpose.

Blue Morning. George Bellows. 1909. Oil on canvas. Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art.

Most CEOs think their boards are rushing AI, and BCG’s survey shows why

Alina Maria Stan. The findings land at a moment when AI FOMO has become a dominant force in corporate strategy. More than half of the CEOs surveyed said that hype around artificial intelligence is distorting their boards’ judgment, and nearly 40 per cent said their boards lack an informed view of how AI is reshaping growth strategy. One in three said their board overestimates the human capabilities that AI can replace. … The deeper issue the survey raises is whether traditional board governance is suited to decisions about AI at all. Boards typically meet a handful of times per year, rely on management presentations for information, and are composed of members whose primary expertise may lie in finance, regulation, or sector-specific operations rather than technology. That structure worked well when the pace of technological change allowed for quarterly deliberation. It is less clear that it works when the questions that matter most about AI require technical fluency that most board members do not have.

Turn uncertainty into purpose

Arun Gupta in conversation with Raju Narisetti. … crisis moments don’t break systems, but they do reset expectations. Historically, crisis moments produce generations defined not by what went wrong, but by how people respond to it. That’s what we’re calling the “mission generation”— how we respond to this new changing environment where we see technological, geopolitical, and environmental uncertainty, great power competition, and now AI, leading to some level of individual and societal crisis. But with that, we pose the counterintuitive idea that our systems have been built for stability, and that in this era, stability itself may be the new risk. … In moments like this, the only thing that will be constant in a changing world will be mission and purpose. In a world that feels unstable, mission becomes your form of stability.

The two-part search for work you actually want to show up for

Danny Kenny. I’ve had jobs I’ve loved. I’ve had jobs I’ve hated. The difference between the two mirrors something that Sir Ken Robinson articulates: Finding your place in the world requires a two-way journey. You have to explore the outer world of opportunities. These are the jobs we aspire to hold, the salaries we desire to reach, the places we want to live, etc. The second part, which I’ve found is often missing, is that we have to simultaneously excavate our inner world of aptitudes, values, and what actually energizes us. Most people exhaust themselves with the first journey chasing and chasing endlessly, and skip the second entirely.

Ten ways to cultivate everyday awe

National Gallery of Art. Rather than waiting to be awestruck, seek out that feeling. Practice slowing down, looking closely, wondering, making connections, expressing gratitude and appreciation, and finding awe in your everyday life.