Clarity
Conversations with buyers and providers keep bringing me back to a practical question: which part of the AI plan are we ready to carry out?
When I fill every available hour, the work and people already depending on me receive less attention. N minus 1 is my reminder to question the next commitment.
A useful question makes the subject easier to examine. It gives people a clear way to describe an example, a disagreement or a decision.
A short comment can bring a discussion to the problem people have been avoiding. I have learned to stay with it long enough to understand what the person means.
CIO Talk Network conversations have taught me to ask who will use a technology, what they will have to do differently and who will answer for the result.
I kept sounding confident after the facts had begun to change. The business needed me to admit what I did not know.
After the startup failed, I could explain the timing, the market and the lack of funds. It was harder to ask how well I had understood the customer.