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Today’s Thoughts ☠️

Hey there 👋,

I gotta say, I procrastinated hard about today’s topic.

Maybe this is my brains way of telling me it’s time to hibernate or that I need to take my tea addiction to another level. Either way, I hope you’re getting a bit of a chance to find some end of year calm.

Today, we’ll explore The Costly AI Skills Mistake I See Companies Keep Making.

Get your tea or beverage of choice ready, 🍵.

We've got lots to discuss!

👀 In today’s chat:

• Building capability with AI for the long term
  

• Converse with AI hosts on your own podcast with NotebookLM

• Escaping the circus of workplace rituals that harm L&D’s brand

(P.S. What do you think workplace L&D teams need to do to drive meaningful value for their business in 2025? Answer this one question survey to share your thoughts, and get exclusive access to the findings in January).

 THE BIG THOUGHT 👀

The Costly AI Skills Mistake I See Companies Keep Making

It’s been hard not to talk about AI this year.

If we’re being honest, it’s been hard not to for the last few years. One day, we were fighting off a super virus, and now we’re gushing over generative AI tools.

Crazy how fast things change.

The past 12 months have given me plenty of time to work with various teams and companies on AI skills programmes. It’s taught me a very important lesson: despite the current pace of AI tool adoption, there is a lack of investment in the mindsets, behaviours, and meaningful skills needed to leverage them effectively.

It’s generic to say that AI, particularly generative AI (which are not the same, FYI), has opened up a transformational shift in how we work, learn, and interact with the world.

Yes, I’m playing Captain Obvious, but stay with me…

With any major technological shift, achieving a successful ROI doesn’t happen overnight.

The journey from what I class as a curious “hobbyist” to a confident “adopter” is a gradual one, and I cannot overstate how much patience you need to develop here.

Social media doom-scrolling makes it easy to feel pressured to learn everything about AI instantly.

Everyone and their dog is an AI expert today, and apparently, they can make you master AI in 7 days. Be wary of these people. They will stunt your chances of long-term success.

Building a deep understanding of such a transformative technology requires time and effort.

You already know my views on this.

Meaningful AI adoption is about more than just knowing how the tools work. It’s about cultivating a mindset and building behaviours that allow us to integrate AI meaningfully and responsibly into what we do.

→ And that takes time and effort.

📌 Key insights

• You can go slow and go far

• Explore, experiment, repeat

• Play the long game

The 3 Stages of AI Literacy: Hobbyists, Experimenters, and Adopters

There are so many bloody maturity models out there right now.

While mine is not as fancy as a consulting firm, I believe it’s simple to use.

My work these last few years has shown most people are navigating through three broad stages of AI skills maturity: hobbyists, experimenters, and adopters.

Let's unpack these ↓

Hobbyists

Hobbyists are those who dabble in AI, experimenting with tools like ChatGPT in their personal time but haven't yet applied it systematically in their work.

They're curious, but they haven't reached a level of skill where AI significantly impacts their productivity. Mostly they create cat pictures and get AI to write crap social media posts stuffed full of emojis.

Experimenters

Experimenters have begun incorporating AI into their daily tasks, testing out its capabilities, and exploring use cases in real-world contexts. They're still in the learning phase, figuring out what works, what doesn’t, and how AI fits into their broader workflow.

I like this level the most. To experiment, fail and learn is a beautiful thing. The majority of people who play here will do very well.

Adopters

Adopters have fully embraced AI, using it effectively and strategically in their context to enhance work.

They’ve developed a level of comfort and expertise that allows them to apply AI in ways that generate meaningful, long-term value. A caution here: I’ve found some who’ve gone too far down the rabbit hole have become blinded to AI’s limits. Try to avoid that.

Be balanced, in all things.

Moving from one stage to the next is a slow process. Often frustratingly slow in a world where we expect immediate results.

That’s totally fine. It’s a necessary progression.

Without taking the time to fully understand the nuances of AI and how it can be harnessed, you risk missing out on the true potential of the technology.

A thread that weaves through each of these stages is experimentation and exploration. You will bounce between each stage as new advancements emerge. Right now, that’s like every other week.

It is entirely possible to be an adopter at the start of the month and find yourself back to a hobbyist without keeping up a practice of experimentation and exploration.

Always get clear on the ‘what, why and how’.

Classic advice for a reason.

Be intentional with AI skill building

This will sound counterintuitive, and yes CEO of x company, I know you want the ‘AI Effect’ today.

But with AI literacy, being more intentional can reap rewards for years - perhaps even decades.

I’ve seen this in some of my work with clients.

Senior executives have crazy expectations for workers to become ‘AI Experts’. They don’t even know what that means - I don’t even know what that means!

Solid fundamentals will help, no doubt.

But fundamentals don't = fully capable expert.

AI is not static.

Learning the fundamentals and taking time to put them into practice is key. Yes, I know that's hard in a world where you need more than 1 week to show 'ROI'.

By encouraging a more deliberate approach, you can craft the mindsets, new behaviours, and technical, and human skills to navigate AI transformations at large.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here.

(Note: Being more deliberate with crafting AI skills does not mean building bloated 3-month + learning experiences. No one wants or needs this!).

In sum: You need a bit of patience, time and structure but lots of experimentation. Again, counter-intuitive, I’m aware, but with a technology so transformational, we have to find ways for these elements to co-exist.

80% of AI projects fail because of this

Another report I’m reading, in what I must say, is an era for ungodly amounts of reporting on one topic, focuses on the root causes of failure for AI projects.

If I’m being fair, the findings of these failures apply to L&D projects too.

Anyway, one of the biggest factors for failure was being given the time for a project to succeed. You see executives are drinking the koolaid. They think that what needs at least a year to succeed can be done in a week.

The writing is on the wall for most projects before they start.

You have no doubt suffered this exact problem with countless L&D projects.

Think of all the projects that have died because:

• Expectations were unchecked

• A problem was not defined to solve

• The resources you need to succeed weren't provided

• You were given 1 week when you need 1 year

One word to define this - misalignment.

AI literacy is about building a long-term capability, not a short-term fix.

This creates a workforce that is not just technically competent, but equipped with the critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability needed to succeed in an AI-driven future.

📝 Final thoughts

As a good BCG article once told me, "Treat Gen AI upskilling as a marathon, not a sprint".

Yes, you need to move fast to help people unlock the potential of new technology. But, you also have to be smart. People won't just get it after some 30-minute online course.

They will need more hand-holding than you think, and you need to inject a dose of realism into the 'time to become proficient' with your AI tools of choice. Marathons are a mixture of both fast and slower-paced elements.

Again, think constant experimentation and exploration. This is not a static game.

The investment in Gen AI fundamentals at most companies is criminally low.

Don't fall into the trap of tools before educating on the basics. I've seen this back-fire too many times.

As the wise Uncle Ben said, "With great power, comes great responsibility" - and too many are forgetting the final part of that famous quote.

As I said in a recent newsletter:

Too many forget that AI is only as good as the human using it.

It's, perhaps, the greatest ‘mistake’ made in all this AI excitement.

Here's five things I suggest you do:

1. Teach AI Fundamentals: What is AI and Gen AI, and what is not? How LLMs work, etc

2. Behaviours + mindset: How to think critically and validate outputs. Understand AI hallucinations. Know when and when not to rely on AI tools

3. Practical use cases: Not cat pics, real work impact. You could combine this with ‘tools’ for experimentation.

4. Picking the right tools: Not every AI tool is created equal, so know the opps and limitations of yours

5. Upgrade human skills: You won’t go far without a strong sense (and clarity) of thinking and analytical judgment.

The key to all of this is time, patience and intention to build the right skills.

Sometimes that will be fast, others it will be slow.

[Bonus: Think about introducing some really simple and easy to follow guidelines for AI use at work. Don’t overcomplicate it with jargon! - think best practices, or as much of a best practice as you can give on this rollercoaster]

In sum: Don't make the mistake of rushing the process of crafting meaningful AI skills and behaviours.

Oh, and if you’d like help with any of this in 2025, shoot me a message.

📖 Read more

→ The Hidden Impact of AI on Your Skills

→ How To Get More People Adopting AI at Work To Build Modern Skills

→ How To Design Meaningful AI Skills Programmes

👀 ICYMI (In case you missed it!)

• Why the prison of workplace rituals harms L&D teams

• 7 incredibly useful ChatGPT features in 2024 you might have missed.

Till next time, you stay classy, learning friend!

PS… If you’re enjoying the newsletter, will you take 4 seconds to forward this edition to a friend? It goes a long way in helping me grow the newsletter (and cut through our industry BS with actionable insights).

And one more thing, I’d love your input on how to make the newsletter even more useful for you!

So please leave a comment with:

1. Ideas you’d like covered in future editions

2. Your biggest takeaway from this edition

I read & reply to every single one of them!

 TECH THOUGHTS 💾

It’s not often I’m stopped in my tracks with a new product feature.

But it happened last week. This is the first time I’ve felt both an excitement with current generative AI tech and terror at the same time since ChatGPT launched.

Kudos to NotebookLM, you did it!

The team at Google updated the UI to already one of my most used tools this year, and they might have just released one of the most impressive product updates of 2024.

You can now talk with two AI hosts about your notebooks. Yes, you read that correctly.

What a time to be alive!

P.S. Wanna build your L&D advantage?

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• Build your confidence and skills with the only AI course designed for L&D pros.

• Become a better L&D partner with the Art of Performance Consulting.

• Get a backstage pass to exclusive industry insights, events and a secret monthly newsletter with a Cult of Thoughts membership.

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