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790. Thinking Is Becoming Leadership's Greatest Competitive Advantage · Daily Influence

• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to Daily Influence, your daily dose of positive influence.
• 0:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Brian Smith founder of IA Business Advisors and co-author of the Iain team series.
• 0:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Each day we share stories and insights to help you find be and build your influence in a positive and responsible way.
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm Greg Clino, partner at IA Business Advisors, and co-host of Daily Influence.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Be sure to follow, subscribe, and share Daily Influence with someone who could use a little extra positivity today.
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: And make us part of your Daily routine, whether it's during your commute, on a walk, or an quiet moment just for you, because you're influenced matters.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey everybody, Brian Smith here with the I'm team series and your daily influence and in my last episode we talked about artificial intelligence and why just because AI can do something doesn't always mean it should.
• 1:03
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today I want to take that discussion one step further.
• 1:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: As artificial intelligence becomes more capable, something interesting is happening.
• 1:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Information is becoming abundant.
• 1:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Answers are becoming instantaneous, but thoughtful leadership is becoming increasingly rare.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: The organizations that thrive over the next decade won't necessarily be those with the best AI.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: They'll be the ones with leaders who think better.
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's talk about why thinking itself is becoming one of the greatest competitive advantages in business.
• 1:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: Information has become a commodity.
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: There was a time when having more information gave you a competitive advantage.
• 1:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Today, almost everyone has access to the same information.
• 1:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: Need a marketing plan?
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: AI can generate one.
• 1:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Need a job description?
• 1:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: AI can generate one.
• 1:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Need financial ratios or operational benchmarks?
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're available in seconds.
• 1:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: The advantages no longer access to that information.
• 2:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: The advantages knowing which information matters, which information applies to your organization, and which information should be ignored along with what do you do with that
• 2:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: to exercising judgment.
• 2:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: And that means contextual judgment.
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: Better questions will produce better organizations.
• 2:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, at IA, we ask a lot of questions.
• 2:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is believing their job is to have all the answers.
• 2:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: But it isn't.
• 2:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Their responsibility is to ask better questions.
• 2:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: Questions like, what problem are we actually trying to solve?
• 2:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Are we treating the symptom or the cause?
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: What assumptions are we making?
• 2:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: what unintended consequences could this decision create?
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Technology can provide thousands of answers.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: It cannot determine whether you're asking the right questions.
• 2:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: Thinking begins long before the answer.
• 2:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: It begins with curiosity and disciplined inquiry.
• 3:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, slow thinking often produces really fast results.
• 3:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Business today rewards speed.
• 3:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've heard me harp on, slow down.
• 3:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: As we always say, it's the biggest chapter in our first book, individual influence.
• 3:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, an AI produces work in seconds, but leaders should be careful not to confuse speed with wisdom.
• 3:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Some decisions deserve a pause, not because leaders are indecisive, but because consequences often outlast convenience.
• 3:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: A thoughtful 10-minute conversation today may prevent six months of operational frustration tomorrow.
• 3:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes the fastest path forward begins by slowing down long enough to think clearly.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Leadership is still a human responsibility.
• 3:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: Technology will continue to evolve and it should.
• 3:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: We should embrace it.
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Good leaders will embrace it, but leadership has never been about producing information.
• 4:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: Leadership is about helping people make better decisions, build stronger relationships, create healthier cultures and accomplish meaningful objectives together.
• 4:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Those responsibilities remain deeply human.
• 4:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Technology is strengthen our thinking, not replace it.
• 4:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: The organizations that succeed won't simply adopt AI.
• 4:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: They'll combine technology with discipline-thinking, sound judgment, and responsible leadership.
• 4:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Look, the future won't belong to leaders with the most information.
• 4:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: It will belong to leaders who develop the wisdom to use that information responsibly, because while technology may accelerate business, leadership still determines its direction.
• 4:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: Remember, you are always influencing.
• 4:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: The question is whether you're helping those around you think more clearly, decide more wisely, and lead more responsibly.
• 4:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: because in the end, you are the influence.
• 5:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Brian Smith, and this has been your daily influence.
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Join us every day, have a great one.