Our friend, Morra Aarons-Mele, HBR author and consultant, called out CEOs last month for “deliberately anxiety provoking” their teams about AI job losses. She’s right, dangling the threat of obsolescence isn’t leadership, it’s counter-productive.
To make matters worse, some leaders spreading AI panic don’t actually know if their teams are ready for transformation or not. How can they say “AI is coming for your jobs!” without credible visibility into what skills their people actually have?
As Aarons-Mele points out, it doesn’t have to be this way. If we’re going to write a different story, we need to stop managing through fear and start managing through facts.
The 78 Million Jobs Question Nobody’s Answering
The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs Report dropped this exciting truth bomb: AI creates 170 million jobs while displacing 92 million. Net gain: 78 million opportunities.
But McKinsey’s new research with Reid Hoffman reveals the kicker: only 1% of companies describe themselves as “mature” in AI deployment.
ONE percent?
Throwing AI at teams without knowing their actual capabilities is like buying your kid a bike without checking if they can ride. Some are doing wheelies. Others are still looking for training wheels. How do you know where your teams stand? We have some ideas…
Is Your Team the 1%?
The industry keeps pushing general “AI literacy” and “prompt engineering” training. To extend the metaphor, that approach is like describing how a bike works to your child. Helpful?
It’s a start, but it doesn’t get them cycling down the street anytime soon.. Can your people ride that bike? And once they ride it well, where are they going?
As PwC’s 2025 predictions warn, companies need to “prepare to manage digital workers.”
But how can you manage what you aren’t yet measuring?
We practice what we believe, which means asking the same hard questions we help our clients explore. That’s why we brought Jacob Emery on board as our Director of Talent Transformation and AI Enablement.
Four years ago, Jacob’s team got some of the first AI tools. Half of his team panicked. Half tried to automate their coffee orders. Both failed.
What worked? Actually mapping what skills people HAD before deciding what they NEEDED.
“We went from ‘AI will replace us’ to ‘AI means I get to do more work that matters,’” Jacob told us. “But only after we stopped guessing and started measuring.”
The Visibility Crisis That’s Slowing Your AI Strategy
Below is what Jacob has seen many companies struggling with in the AI transformation; where do you see your organization in the mix? (Not quite sure? We can help you with that…)
- The Assessment Gap: Are you spending millions on AI tools but have little visibility into whether your teams can actually use them? It’s the bike problem at scale! You’ve invested in top-of-the-line equipment and training on “how bikes work,” but no one’s checking who can actually ride.Google’s 2025 AI trends report found 70%+ of organizations see ROI from AI. The other 30%? They’re still in the garage, wondering why their expensive bikes aren’t moving.
The Skills Shift: Many companies’ job architectures are still reflecting a pre-AI era. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum says 70% of job skills will change by 2030. How do we build a plan to bridge the gap?
What We’re Learning (Together)
We’ve been road-testing new approaches, and for those who are energized by building-while-flying (to switch up the metaphor), this “in-flight build” seems to be the new norm with innovation.
Not naming names yet, but we’re partnering with a cutting-edge talent intelligence platform that actually shows you:
- Current AI readiness across your entire org (spoiler: there are quite a number of yellow and red flags)
- Skills gaps compared to your competitors
- Which roles need to evolve NOW vs. next year (priorities continue to matter)
Stay tuned for more…we’re excited to share!
Your Move: Three Things to Do This Week
- The Truth Audit: Rather than asking “Are we AI-ready?”, ask “How would we even know?” If you can’t answer in specifics, with data, you’ve found your first problem.
- The Skills Visibility Test: Pick 10 random employees. Can you list their skill capabilities beyond their job title? If not, multiply that blindness by your headcount. That’s your risk.
- The Competition Scanner: Your competitors are hiring. Check their job posts. Are they asking for skills you’ve never heard of? That’s your future, arriving today.
Bottom Line: It’s Time to Stop Guessing
The companies that win won’t be the ones with the best AI tools. They’ll be the ones who know exactly what their people can do, what they need to learn about and with AI, and how to get there.
Ready to see what you’ve been missing?
Jacob would love to have a coffee chat (virtual or IRL) about your AI readiness. Skip the buzzwords and have a real conversation about where you are, where you want to be, and what’s keeping you up at 3 am. You can reach him at jacob@forshay.com.
P.S. – Yes, we originally wrote this with AI assistance. It suggested we “leverage synergies for optimal outcomes.” We realized we still have a job.
