In the Loop: Week of 3/28/25
A quick summary of the week's top AI news. More with Less: How AI Can Help Marketing Teams Impacted by Recent Staff Cuts Marketing and communications ...
In the last several months, I’ve spoken with several Chief Marketing and Communications Officers in higher education and healthcare about AI adoption. When I ask how knowledgeable their teams are on the topic, I often hear, “The level really varies—from zero to using it every day. They could use some training.” Then, almost sheepishly, they add, “Even I could probably benefit from knowing more.”
It was during one of these conversations that something clicked: senior marketing leaders are being asked to lead their organizations into the age of AI, but many don’t fully understand it themselves.
This moment took me back to the early 2000s, when social media channels like Facebook and Twitter began reshaping corporate communications. I was at Boston Children’s Hospital, grappling with how to use Facebook to better connect with audiences while protecting patient privacy and the hospital’s reputation.
At the time, we were navigating concerns like, “What if someone posts negative comments? What if a family member shares private health information publicly? How do we manage a brand when control is no longer entirely in our hands?”
Social media was new, and many of us were still learning how to use it, let alone lead through its implications. It was about relinquishing control—an unsettling but necessary step to engage audiences where they were.
Today, with AI, marketing leaders are again faced with a watershed moment. They're expected to guide their organizations into an uncertain future, where AI’s capabilities are still evolving. Yet many are learning on the job, asking questions for which there are no easy answers.
But here’s the key: you don’t need to be an AI expert to lead AI adoption. Just like with social media, it’s not about mastering the technology—it’s about mastering leadership during times of transformation.
So how can you lead when you’re still learning AI yourself?
Just as with social media, the goal is not to control the technology but to guide your organization through the changes it brings. Leadership in the AI era means being comfortable with uncertainty and empowering your team to innovate.
You don’t need to understand every technical detail of AI to lead your organization into this new frontier—you just need to be willing to learn alongside your team and guide them toward the strategic opportunities AI presents.
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