Leadership Archives

Afraid of AI? Here’s What to Do Instead

Take a walk through any office, wait online for others to join a Teams or Zoom call, or bump into an old co-worker at Starbucks——you’ll hear the same concern:

“Is AI going to take my job?”

It’s a fair question. Unless you’re in a profession that involves fixing plumbing, laying concrete, or replacing brake pads, it’s hard not to feel like the digital tidal wave of AI might wash you out of relevance.

But here’s the thing: AI isn’t just a threat. It’s a tool. One that’s already helping most of us—whether we realize it or not.

Like right now. You’re reading something that was written by a human (me) and shaped by an AI assistant. I still had to think, edit, and guide it. But it helped me get here faster—and better. It’s not a replacement. It’s a force multiplier.

Fear is normal. Staying afraid is optional.
The worst thing to do with AI is nothing. To bury your head and hope this all blows over. Spoiler: it won’t.

The second worst thing? To become a doomsday narrator in your own story.

The better option is this: get curious. Learn how to use it. Let it help you. Because once you stop seeing AI as a rival and start using it like an ally, everything changes. Along with helping you, look how it can help those who work with or for you. At Intertech, everyone, including the admin is reading a book or attending a course on AI for their job.

Here’s how to stay relevant—and even thrive—with AI:

1. Become a “human-AI hybrid.”
The people who succeed in the next decade won’t be the ones who avoid AI. They’ll be the ones who use it daily—and pair it with judgment, emotional intelligence, and common sense. Think you + AI = amplified value. For my software application development firm, like mine, AI represents the challenge that AI will reduce our billable hours. This is the reality of the future. Either we embrace it, or others will surpass what we can deliver.

2. Use it to eliminate the junk work.
AI is great at first drafts, summaries, idea generation, and repetitive tasks. Let it take care of the shallow work so you can focus on the deep stuff—strategy, creativity, relationships, leadership.

3. Focus on what AI can’t do (yet).
Things like building trust, mentoring a junior colleague, closing a deal with nuance, or navigating politics inside a client’s organization. That’s still very much human territory. Strengthen your relationships with clients, employees, partners, or others.

4. Stop waiting for perfect. Start experimenting.
Use ChatGPT, CoPilot, or others. Not sure where to start? Tell AI about your job and ask for feedback. Try an AI meeting note taker. Let AI generate a first pass on a report. You don’t have to be an expert. You just have to start. Every new skill starts with awkwardness.

5. Ask AI to help you with AI.
Open up to AI and share what you’re about, what you do, your goals, and where you have questions and want answers. Have it be a dialogue not a one-and-done question. Guide the AI on the journey not vice versa. Expect to be surprised. The more you interact with your AI, the more it learns about you and will guess what you want next. And, finally, a good thing about AI is to think how often it calls in sick, gets tired of you asking it to answer the same question, or doubts what it’s saying… zero.

Bottom line? Yes, I will change work. It already is. But it’s not coming to replace the people who adapt—it’s coming to help them outperform everyone else.

So the question isn’t “Will AI take my job?”

It’s “Am I willing to evolve with it?”

And if you’re already using AI to draft blogs, answer emails, and prep for meetings… congratulations. You’re not behind. You’re ahead.

What Wrestling and Karate Taught Me About Leadership

Long before I was running a company or mentoring teams, I was wearing a singlet and sparring in a gi. I wrestled in high school—captain senior year—and studied two styles of karate, earning belts in both. At the time, I thought I was just getting stronger. Turns out, I was also learning how to lead.

Here are a few things those sports drilled into me—literally and figuratively—that still shape how I lead today.

1. You’re on your own—but never alone
In wrestling, when you’re on the mat, it’s just you and your opponent. No one’s coming to save you. Same in karate. You can’t fake readiness—you either trained, or you didn’t.

Leadership is like that. At the end of the day, the decisions are yours. The accountability is yours. But behind the scenes? A team, mentors, training, and support make all the difference. You do the work alone—but you’re backed by others.

2. Pain is a great teacher (if you listen to it)
A bad takedown or lazy block in karate doesn’t go unnoticed. You learn—fast. The feedback is immediate and usually lands somewhere between “ouch” and “lesson learned.”

In business, mistakes hurt too—missed sales, bad hires, lost clients. Leaders who ignore those signals keep making the same mistakes. The best ones learn quickly, adapt, and come back stronger.

3. Discipline > motivation
There were plenty of mornings I didn’t feel like cutting weight, drilling techniques, or getting punched (lightly) in the face. But I showed up anyway.

That’s what leadership requires. You won’t always feel inspired. You won’t always have clarity. But if you’ve built discipline—habits, routines, and standards—you can push through.

4. Respect is earned, not assumed
In martial arts, you bow to your opponent. In wrestling, you shake hands before and after every match. You respect the work, the grind, and the person across from you.

Good leaders don’t demand respect—they earn it. Through consistency, fairness, and effort. And they give it, even when it’s not reciprocated.

5. Control what you can
Wrestling teaches you how to use leverage, not brute strength. Karate emphasizes control, not chaos. You don’t win by panicking—you win by staying focused, calm, and in control of your breathing and your mindset.

That’s leadership. You can’t control the market, the economy, or client decisions. But you can control how you respond. How you show up. How you lead.

I didn’t know it at the time, but wrestling and karate were less about fighting and more about focus. Less about toughness and more about resilience.

Turns out, those early lessons still apply—whether you’re on the mat or in the boardroom.

The Best Business Advice I Ever Ignored (Until It Was Almost Too Late)

When I was just starting out in business, I read a book by Michael Gerber. This was the core focus:

“Don’t just work in the business—work on the business.”

Too busy to think
Back then, I was coding during the day, handling proposals at night, managing clients somewhere in between, and generally trying to do everything myself. Growth meant more work, more chaos, more duct tape.

I wasn’t working on the business. I was sprinting in it—head down, inbox full, and calendar jammed. And I told myself that was what success looked like.

It took nearly burning out, missing some important family moments, and watching key people leave for me to finally listen to that advice.

Working on the business meant stepping back.
Not to disengage—but to lead. To think about where we were headed. To build systems. To delegate, hire better, and create a company that didn’t depend on me being everywhere all the time.

When I started carving out time to work on the business, things changed:

We hired stronger leaders
Our delivery process became repeatable
Client relationships deepened
Profitability improved
I slept better

Funny how that works.

What I’ve learned since
That advice wasn’t just good—it was essential. And the best leaders I know? They carve out regular time to work on their business like it’s a non-negotiable.

They treat strategy like a discipline, not a once-a-year retreat.

They document what works so others can repeat it.

They create a culture where growth doesn’t mean chaos—it means clarity.

So here it is again:

Don’t just work in the business. Work on the business.

You can thank me later. Or ignore it and learn the hard way. Either works—I’ve done both.

What I’ve Learned About Leadership From Watching Youth Hockey

I didn’t expect to learn anything about leadership sitting in freezing rinks at 6 a.m. on a Saturday. But after watching hundreds of youth hockey practices and games (and drinking gallons of burnt coffee), I’ve realized something:

Youth hockey is a masterclass in leadership—if you’re paying attention.

Here are a few things I’ve picked up between faceoffs:

1. You can’t coast on talent.
Every team has one or two kids with raw skill. They skate circles around everyone—until they don’t. As the season progresses, the grinders catch up. The lesson? Talent opens the door. Hustle keeps you in the game. Same in business. I’ll take a consistent B+ performer who shows up every day over a moody A+ who only plays hard when they feel like it.

2. Everyone has a role. Even the quiet kid.
In hockey, not everyone scores. Some win faceoffs. Some block shots. Some just skate hard and wear the other team down. It’s the same in a consulting firm. Flashy presentations might win work, but follow-through and behind-the-scenes execution keep clients coming back. Great leaders notice the quiet contributions—and reward them.

3. You’re only as good as your last shift.
In youth hockey, kids forget the scoreboard five minutes after the game. What sticks is how they played. Did they hustle? Did they support teammates? Did they give it their all? Business isn’t so different. Reputation isn’t what you say—it’s how you show up, over and over, especially when no one’s watching.

4. Coaching matters more than you think.
I’ve seen kids transform under the right coach—not just skill-wise, but in confidence, attitude, and self-belief. The best coaches teach, encourage, and hold kids accountable without yelling. Leaders in business would do well to take notes.

5. It’s supposed to be fun.
Yes, hockey is competitive. But when it stops being fun, kids burn out. The same goes for work. Culture, camaraderie, and a little levity keep people engaged. As a leader, your job isn’t just to drive performance. It’s to create an environment where people want to keep showing up.

I didn’t set out to write a leadership manual based on youth hockey. But it turns out you can learn a lot when you’re standing in the cold with your hands wrapped around a coffee cup, watching kids chase a puck and slowly figure things out.

Just like the rest of us.

Let’s Start Q2!

As we move from Q1 into Q2, businesses, managers, and leaders should take the opportunity to assess performance, refine objectives, and mitigate risks for the rest of the year. Here’s what should be on the radar:

1. Evaluate Performance & Adjust Goals

Q1 KPI Review: Are revenue, profitability, and other key metrics on track? If not, why?
Customer & Employee Feedback: Are there recurring pain points or emerging trends that need attention?
Budget vs. Actuals: Are expenses in line with projections? Are there areas to cut or invest more?
Sales Pipeline Health: Is there enough in the pipeline to hit annual targets, or does lead generation need a boost?

2. Identify Growth & Market Opportunities

Industry Trends & AI Adoption: Are competitors leveraging AI, automation, or new tech in ways you’re not?
Customer Needs: Has anything shifted in customer expectations or behavior that presents a new revenue opportunity?
Strategic Partnerships: Any new collaborations that could accelerate growth or provide a competitive advantage?
Expansion & Diversification: Are there adjacent markets or services that make sense to explore?

3. Address Risks & Operational Bottlenecks

Talent & Workforce Planning: Any high-performing employees at risk of leaving? Does hiring align with business goals?
Supply Chain & Vendor Risk: Any vulnerabilities in procurement, logistics, or dependencies that need mitigating?
Tech & Cybersecurity: Are systems secure and scalable? Are there process inefficiencies that tech upgrades could solve?
Regulatory & Compliance Risks: Any upcoming legal, tax, or compliance shifts that need preparation?

4. Reinforce Culture & Engagement

Employee Motivation Post-Q1: Are people feeling engaged and aligned with company goals, or is burnout creeping in?
Leadership Development: Are managers equipped to lead effectively and adapt to changing workplace dynamics?
Remote & Hybrid Work Adjustments: If hybrid/remote work is a factor, does the setup still support productivity and collaboration?

5. Plan for Q3-Q4 Success Now

Mid-Year Adjustments: If Q1 wasn’t strong, what immediate pivots can improve trajectory?
Summer Slowdowns: If Q2/Q3 is historically slow, what strategies can keep momentum going?
Big Projects & Initiatives: What needs to be set in motion now to hit year-end targets?

Bottom line: This is the perfect time to correct course, capitalize on early trends, and ensure the rest of the year unfolds with fewer surprises. What’s the biggest challenge or opportunity you’re seeing as Q2 approaches?