Here’s a story about two very different emails.
Last month, Fiverr’s CEO Micha Kaufman sent his 700+ employees an email that said: “AI is coming for your jobs.” His message was brutal but honest – master AI tools or face career extinction. Now, to be fair, he said it was coming for his job, too, so credit to him for being part of the team. 🙄
Meanwhile, last week I’m working with this 100-year-old manufacturing company. They make bathroom fixtures and plumbing parts – not exactly the tech world. Their message to employees? “AI is coming to help you do your jobs better.”
Same reality. Completely different leadership.
If you’re a leader, which one sounds like you?
What's REALLY Happening in Business Right Now
Here’s what McKinsey’s latest research shows: 92% of companies plan to increase their AI investments over the next three years. Yet only 1% call themselves “mature” with AI – meaning they’re actually integrating it into daily work and seeing real results.
Translation: We’re throwing money at AI like it’s going to solve everything, then using it like we’re terrified it might actually work.
But if you’re a leader, you should know: Your employees are already ahead of you. McKinsey found that company leaders think only 4% of employees use AI for a big chunk of their daily work. The real number? Three times higher.
Employees are using AI with or without your approval.
Our AI Readiness Assessment results agree and shows something even more telling: 79% of leaders either know or suspect that their employees are using AI tools for work that they don't know anything about.
I see this every single month in my workshops. More people experimenting with AI. Getting mediocre results because nobody’s showing them how to do it right.
Your team isn’t waiting for a memo. They’re already figuring it out. Question is – are you leading or just catching up?
Why the Fear Thing Doesn't Work
Look, I get why some leaders go the Fiverr route. Change is scary. But when you lead with fear, you get the opposite of what you want:
- People freeze instead of innovate
- They hide what they’re learning instead of sharing it
- They think “how do I protect myself?” instead of “how do we win together?”
Here’s what’s wild: employees trust their own companies to be ethical with AI more than anyone else – more than Google, more than universities.
Your people trust YOU.
They want to figure this out together. That trust is your secret weapon so don't blow it with apocalypse emails.
What Actually Works: The Empowerment Play
The best AI leaders aren’t pretending change won’t be hard. They’re honest about what’s coming while helping their teams win. They get what we call “going AI first” in our UPGRADE Framework – not just using AI tools, but rethinking how work gets done.
The best leaders I work with aren’t pretending AI won’t change things. They’re just reframing the conversation. Instead of “AI vs. humans,” they’re thinking “AI + humans.”
Think about it this way: If you hired the perfect assistant (although I prefer to think of AI as an intern!) – one who was never late because of traffic, never needed coffee breaks, and actually enjoyed doing the stuff you hate (yes, even expense reports) – would you fire yourself?
Of course not. You’d hand off the boring work and focus on the stuff that actually matters.
That manufacturing company I mentioned? This was my second time working with them, and I’m going back again next month and probably again after that (total bonus that they’re relatively local!). For the most part, these aren’t “tech people”. Some probably still think “the cloud” means weather. But the response has been incredible.
We’ve had equipment maintenance folks, inventory managers, marketing people – all wanting to learn. And their CEO? He attended our first all-day workshop and stayed the entire time. No phone checking. No “urgent” meetings. Just genuinely engaged and reinforcing the message that if they didn’t lead with AI, their competitors would.
That’s what commitment looks like.
They’re not saying “AI will do your job.” They’re saying:
- “AI handles the routine stuff so you can focus on solving real problems”
- “Let’s figure out what 30% of our work AI can take off our plates”
- “We’re not just adapting to change – we’re driving it”
I imagine they’re also saying, “buckle up, Buttercup!” because this change can be scary for people who have spent 20+ years in a manufacturing plant.
Here is another lesson from them that really impressed me:
They brought me in AFTER their CIO gave a talk about AI that terrified their leadership team. That takes real courage, in my opinion, to push forward through fear-based messages. And, it’s one of the reasons I work so hard to ensure all my programs make AI accessible, understandable and (hopefully) fun.
The Global Reality Check
While we’re debating whether AI will replace jobs, China just rolled out AI education in all their schools. Elementary through high school. They’re building AI thinking into their kids from day one.
They’re not asking IF AI will change work. They’re making sure their people are ready to excel WITH AI.
Meanwhile, most of our current workforce is learning AI through YouTube videos and trial-and-error. (Not exactly a strategic plan.)
You can’t wait for the next generation. You need to upskill the people you have. And you need to do it now.
This is why I built the UPGRADE Framework – not just random AI tips, but a systematic way to transform how your team works. The companies winning with AI aren’t just using tools. They’re rebuilding their approach to work itself.
Your Playbook: What to Actually Do
If you’re leading people:
- Change your language. Stop saying “AI will replace jobs.” Start saying “AI will handle tasks so we can focus on what humans do best.”
- Create learning time. Half your employees want more AI training. Build experimenting into the workday. Make it a team sport, not homework.
- Ask better questions. You don’t need to be the AI expert. You need to ask: “What work are we doing that doesn’t deserve human talent?”, “How could AI help us serve customers better?”
If you’re working on your own stuff:
- Start where you are. Sales, marketing, operations, finance – doesn’t matter. Pick one annoying task and see if AI can help. Start small, learn fast.
- Share what you find. When you discover something that works, tell your team. Be the person who says “I just cut my report time in half.”
- Lead from wherever you are. If leadership is moving slowly, that’s fine. Build your skills, document wins, show results. Sometimes individual success creates the momentum leaders need. (And yes, you get to say “I told you so” later – but maybe wait until after your promotion.)
For everyone:
- Celebrate both sides. When someone uses AI to solve something faster, celebrate the tool AND the human insight that made it work.
- Make it safe to experiment. When AI experiments fail, ask “What did we learn?” not “Who screwed up?”
The Bottom Line
You’ve got a choice. Lead through fear or lead through empowerment.
The companies that will win...
won't necessarily be the ones with the biggest AI budgets or the fanciest tools. They'll be the ones with leaders who help their teams see AI as their upgrade, not their replacement.
Your people are ready. The technology is here. The question isn’t whether change is coming – it’s whether you’re going to lead it or just react to it.
Start simple: Ask your team how they’re already using AI. Then build from there.
Because here’s the truth – this revolution is already happening. The only question is whether you’re driving it or just along for the ride.
Time to decide which leader you want to be.
Want to See What's Possible?
I’ve been lucky to work with teams that went from being nervous about AI to genuinely excited about what they could accomplish. It’s pretty amazing watching leaders and their teams discover how AI can actually make their work more human, not less.
The organizations that get this right? Their people look forward to Mondays because they’re spending time on the stuff that actually matters. Leaders feel confident guiding the change instead of scrambling to catch up.
If you’re curious about how this could work for your team, let’s chat. I’d love to share what I’m seeing out there and explore what might be possible for your organization.
