We made a deal with ourselves when AI tools started getting good. The deal was this: let the machines handle the transactional stuff so we could focus on the human stuff. The routine emails, the meeting summaries, the first drafts nobody wanted to write anyway. Hand...
By Thom Singer, CSP | Professional Keynote Speaker & CEO, Austin Technology Council What Is the Next Big Business Trend After AI? I’m going to make a prediction that will annoy the AI-obsessed corners of the business world: the biggest topic in the meetings...
I’ve spent two decades speaking about human connection, trust, and building real relationships in business. For most of that time, the reaction from a lot of people was polite but dismissive. “Soft skills.” Nice to have. Not the real work. Meanwhile,...
Earlier this week I posted something on LinkedIn that I expected would ruffle a few feathers. The gist: stop cramming your conference agenda with more sessions. Remove one. Replace it with nothing. Let people talk to each other. I’ve given over a thousand...
Often I hear people say some version of this: “Don’t be nice. Be kind.” It gets said like it is deep wisdom. Like it is some advanced leadership philosophy. Like “nice” is weak, fake, soft, or naive, while “kind” is honest,...
For years, people have treated human interaction like it is some nice extra. A bonus. A leadership add on. A warm and fuzzy concept that belongs in culture conversations, but not in serious discussions about growth, innovation, client loyalty, talent retention, or...
