An Invitation: Leading with Purpose in AI's Presence

When NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang declares "IT Departments to Become HR for AI Agents," when Salesforce's Marc Benioff announces they "Will Hire No More Software Engineers in 2025," and when Microsoft's Satya Nadella envisions "Humans and swarms of AI agents will be the next frontier," they're not predicting the future—they're describing transformations happening now in organizations around the world.

These aren't gentle shifts; they're fundamental restructurings of how work gets done, how value is created, and how organizations serve their stakeholders.

Cisco's latest AI Readiness Index exposes a critical gap: Only 13% of enterprises feel ready for AI—a number that's declining even as these transformations reshape organizations worldwide. AI isn't waiting for readiness.

This gap—between transformation happening and readiness—offers us an invitation. It's where purpose lives, challenging us to be our best for all stakeholders, not just a few. AI brings tremendous opportunities for positive change. Purpose is what helps us embrace this evolution while staying true to who we are and whom we serve. It guides us to harness AI's full potential while hedging against unintended consequences.

This is about managing change and it's about embracing disruption responsibly. Purpose serves as both compass and challenge, pushing us to make decisions that serve all stakeholders as we implement and execute with AI. It demands we answer not just "can we?" but "should we?" and "for whom?" It's what keeps us honest when pressure builds to move fast at any cost.

Three scenarios, three imperatives:

If your purpose isn't clear: Define it now, before AI decisions are made without it.

If your purpose exists but isn't operational: Embed it immediately in how you evaluate and implement AI.

If your purpose is operational: Put it into overdrive—make it your primary filter for every AI decision.

As Huang, Benioff, and Nadella make clear, AI isn't a future disruption—it's actively reshaping organizations, value creation, and societal impact. The choice is whether to guide this transformation with purpose or let it unfold without it.

The invitation is clear. The moment is now. What's your answer?

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