Recap: AI in the C-Suite
Highlights from our recent Nova Chat panel with AI experts.
AI is revolutionizing the way the world works. But how do CEOs, Chiefs of Staff, and Executive Assistants (EAs) leverage AI tools and resources in the C-Suite?
Nova Chief of Staff recently hosted a panel to dive into the subject with an expert lineup:
Tech Savvy Assistant founder Jessica McBride, Carve founder Fiona Young, and Lawrence Coburn, Co-Founder/CEO of Ambient AI. The discussion, moderated by Maggie Olson, Nova Founder, covered the basics of AI, the relevance and future of AI tools, and tips and resources for how to integrate them into your work as a founder, EA, or Chief of Staff. Over 150 people attended this event and left with some practical knowledge in how to leverage AI on the job.
If you missed this great event, don’t worry: you can check out the video here. In the meantime, here’s a recap of some of the key highlights from our informative session using some snippets from the transcript.
Editorial note: Selections from the transcript have been edited for concision and clarity.
What is AI and “generative” AI?
Jessica McBride: So the way that I think about it [is] we've interacted with AI. It's been around for 50, 60 years. There's been several different versions of it that have slowly integrated more and more into our day to day life. Like, all of us have interacted with Google or Siri or Alexa. And that's a very basic version of AI. You're giving it a command. It's processing that data. And then it's just it's giving you a response.
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Lawrence Coburn: The easiest way my co-founder likes to describe [the difference between AI and generative AI], which I think is smart, is [that] previous flavors of AI have been about analysis. Think about an analyst. Generative AI is about creating, creating new stuff. And that’s human-grade content.
Why is it important you start learning about AI now (and not later?)
Fiona Young: This space is moving so quickly […] So I think what I would just advise everyone here today is–even the pace of development in this space–you need to start [using AI] now, because every day that you wait it just gets harder and harder.
I get it for those of you out there who are EAs. I have literally been in your role, and I know it's really tough to prioritize your own learning. But I think if you take on these AI tools, you'll actually create capacity for yourself.
I think it's also worth mentioning, too, that if you have extra capacity from using these fabulous tools, it's great to be able to use that to take on the more strategic work and the more human work. But it's also great to use that spare capacity to just give yourself some work-life balance back. Most of the folks I'm working with C-suite assistance out there are working 60-hour-plus week[s] every week, week on week, and that's obviously not sustainable. So you know, another way to look at these tools is like what a great opportunity for me to get a bit more balanced in my life.
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Lawrence Coburn: There's an opportunity to learn a skill set that's gonna stamp your ticket for the next 20 years of your career, because I believe that Chiefs of Staff that are fluent in AI are going to outcompete the ones that are not. And it's just an education process. And the tools are out there.
What are some resources for becoming more acquainted with AI?
Fiona Young: I would say, commit to subscribing to, say, one daily AI Newsletter. If you just commit to reading that every day, and also commit to [it] as you're listening to news, as you're reading news. However you consume it, just try to find articles about AI and lean into both. Try to understand the bigger picture issues around regulation, for instance, around copyright and intellectual property. There's a whole lot of issues in this space that are still being worked through. And so I would say, don't shy away from really leaning into those and consuming whatever media works for you.
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Lawrence Coburn: I'm a Twitter guy. So it's an incredible resource for following the people that are at the front line. So choose your favorite AI company–OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face, MidJourney, and follow the executives. Then follow the engineers there. And some of them share a lot.
The one account I really like is Ethan Mollick. He's a professor of Wharton, and he just basically plays around with all these tools and analyzes what happens. And so I've discovered a bunch of new tools from him. So yeah, if you're a Twitter person just, like, follow Sarah Guo [from Conviction.] Follow Clara, she from Salesforce; there’s a whole list of folks who you need to be following.
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Jessica McBride: I'm really good at using Chat GPT, because I have read a lot and I have a lot of media literacy. And I've consumed a lot of information. So the more information that I'm able to give [the AI] to work with and organize, the better it's gonna be able to be used.
It really helps you to learn to think through things even better. And I think that's a difference between a human and a computer is that I'm continuously learning. I'm continuously finding different ways that I can utilize tools. And you know, a tool is only a tool. It's just going to sit there until you actually use it. So I don't ever worry about it replacing our skill set for that aspect.
What are common barriers that prevent the use or adaption of AI for C-Suite users?
Fiona Young: So many people are really underestimating the mindset shift that's required for this. [...] There will be a lot of your colleagues who are super negative, super cynical about this stuff, and I think we can't underestimate the amount of effort it's gonna take to move those people along.
But you have to identify who those people are, and you have to start to move them along a continuum and [...] there's gonna be other folks nudging them along. It's just getting them open minded about their colleagues using this stuff right and getting them to think, yeah, AI is not gonna take your job in the next 6 [years], so don't fear it so much. And oftentimes it's fear that sits behind the cynicism, and so digging a little bit deeper, understanding that, acknowledging that working through that using logic, you know as well as using emotion, I think, is always a good way to connect with folks. We're a bit behind the curve.
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Jessica McBride: Unfortunately, I don't believe that the admin field has been super empowered in the learning aspect. I don't think that we, a lot of us, have been given L&D development budgets so that we can go out and learn [AI technologies.]
How should assistants and Chiefs of Staff be using AI now?
Jessica McBride: There were a lot of ways that wouldn't be as obvious to start using ChatGPT, but since it's really become my go-to, I don't use Google that much anymore, because Google wasn't helpful for me. When my CEO came to me and asked me to create an engaging presentation with, you know, very, very little guidance on actually what to put in. Like I can't go to Google and be like, “Tell me what I need to put in for a pitch deck.”
But I can go to Chat GPT and say, “This is my company. This is what I do. You know, this is the outcome that I want. Help me create a pitch deck outline,” and it's gonna create this like step by step outline for me.
And this is why I talk about using it as a thought partner because I'm not going to Chat GPT asking it to procure that data for me. I'm asking it to put my thoughts in an organized way. How can I take the knowledge that I have and transmute it and use Chat GPT to put it into a much more organized fashion? And thinking about using it that way versus “I'm going to chat to get an answer.”
So I do think that the more and more we invest in learning and understanding AI, the more room there is to grow within your role and your space.
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Lawrence Coburn: Chiefs of Staff have a lot on their plate. There [are] things coming at them from all sides. So I'll start with sort of like a high-level metaphor of what AI can be for you: I think it can be a backstop. It can be an assistant that is helping you capture the notes while you run the meeting. It can be an assistant that makes sure that after you get done with 10 calls, that there's a nice tight list of the action items that you have to follow up on, so that you're not dropping any balls, and that you're making sure that you're keeping the trains running on time. So I think you can go right down the workflow of the Chief of Staff around the calendar, around meeting notes, around action items, around projects, creating decks, writing memos and writing summaries.
All of this stuff is right in the wheelhouse of AI today, and there are startups working on every part of that flow. [...] I think the way to think about it is like, “How can I save time? How can I take the stuff at the bottom of my list that's important but repetitive and automate that with generative AI?”
What can AI not replace?
Fiona Young: Really, the human stuff of the [EA] role. It's really sensing. It's anticipating, nudging, giving feedback. That kind of upward feedback that executives so rarely get, you know. You're really able to give that feedback in a way that no one else can.
And I think what's interesting when you're an EA and also achieve is that you are really the only person in this executive's life who sees the whole picture, right? You see the company strategy. You see the big challenges that are cropping up behind closed doors. You also see their personal life. You understand what's really going on. And oftentimes these folks are grappling with some really complex stuff outside of work, too.
Where will AI be in the next five years?
Fiona Young: I think, as we become more comfortable with AI with the idea of it, and with the tools themselves, and using them, we will allow it to take over more and more over the next 5 years, and [...] free up ourselves and our capacity to do more of the really powerful, strategic, and value-adding work and the stuff that only humans can do and humans can do best.
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Jessica McBride: I think we're gonna see a really dynamic shift in the admin field. I think this is going to be the opportunity to branch out from being just support to strategic on a regular basis. And it's really going to empower a lot of people to take their careers places where they didn't think they could go. Maybe they're feeling burned out at the current situation. Their board and you can use AI to be your thought partner, and really just expand what you're doing and change your career path.