How to use AI like a Rockstar

This post is adapted from a keynote address I shared last Fall to 600 executives from Hard Rock at their Key Management Meeting.

Let's start with a question.

If I told you I had extra tickets to a concert where the below guitar was going to be played and I would be glad to sell them to you for $300/ticket, would you go?

What's the first question that comes to mind?

For me, it's "who's going to be playing that guitar?"

It makes a big difference whether it's John Mayer or someone I've never heard of.

Because we intrinsically know something about music that we've forgotten when it comes to technology:

I once lived in Los Angeles for 6 years, chasing the dream of being a professional musician, and it recently stood out to me that there are some powerful lessons to be shared from musicians to technologists.

So let's begin:

Imagine you're the lead singer of a new band. What do you need to do to make your first platinum album?

1. Assemble a band

The first step is to assemble the band. Most corporate leaders already have a band in place and can jump to step two.

If you are starting from the beginning, a lesson that can be drawn from assembling a band is that each potential band member brings a specific sound, style, and passion to the mix. You wouldn't want to hire the best drummer in the world if they constantly overpowered the rest of the band.

2. Start jamming

If you were on tour with a band, playing a different city every night, would that be the right time to write a new album?

No–you need enough mental and creative energy. The same is true for you and your teams. Your day-to-day responsibilities are like being on tour. If you want to write a new album, you need to make space for it.

And it’s not going to happen with a weekly one-hour meeting in between operational meetings, but I also can’t prescribe the number of hours or the best location.

For me, it was Norway (you can read my takeaways from that adventure here).

3. Find your sound

An organization is as much a group of people trying to do something meaningful together as a band, and those people just have as much innate potential. Don’t let it go untapped.

Have you ever seen a documentary about a band where the lead singer or the lead guitarist steers everything in a certain direction and the other musicians don’t feel like they can contribute to the mix of the band?

It’s easy to fall into that trap as a leader. You’re supposed to lead, right? A critical part of that leadership is bringing everyone’s unique sound into the mix of the group.