👩‍🍳 How we use AI at Tech in Asia, thoughtfully and responsibly.🧔‍♂️ A friendly human may check it before it goes live. More news hereMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella shared how he uses the company’s AI assistant, Copilot, during a recent interview.Instead of listening to podcasts, he uploads transcripts to Copilot and discusses the content while commuting.He also uses at least 10 custom agents built in Copilot Studio for tasks like summarizing emails, preparing for meetings, and managing office communications.The integration of AI tools like Copilot is changing how Microsoft operates. This shift comes as the company recently laid off some of its programmers.Nadella’s comments highlight how AI is playing a bigger role in improving workflows and supporting decision-making.🔗 Source: TechCrunch🧠 Food for thought1️⃣ Executive AI adoption signals rapid workplace culture transformationNadella’s AI workflow represents a broader shift in how executives are reshaping workplace expectations around AI usage.At Shopify, CEO Tobi Lutke has established AI proficiency as a fundamental expectation for employees, requiring them to demonstrate why tasks can’t be completed by AI before requesting additional resources 1.This executive-led adoption creates cascading effects throughout organizations, with 94% of CEOs now suspecting employees are using generative AI tools without formal approval 2.The gap between leadership expectations and organizational readiness is substantial, with 35% of companies still lacking any formal AI usage policies despite rapid adoption 2.Companies with established AI initiatives are demonstrating clear advantages, being significantly more likely to exceed growth targets compared to those still in exploratory phases 3.2️⃣ The productivity paradox: AI efficiencies linked to workforce reductionsNadella’s description of using AI for tasks like email management and meeting preparation reveals how AI is changing productivity expectations while simultaneously reshaping workforce needs.More than half of tech hiring managers now expect layoffs targeting roles that can be effectively replaced by AI 4.This trend extends beyond tech, with Wall Street projected to eliminate up to 200,000 jobs due to AI and automation, particularly in middle and back-office operations where 54% of banking jobs have high automation potential 5.A World Economic Forum survey reinforces this trend, finding 41% of companies globally plan to reduce their workforce due to AI automation by 2030, while simultaneously 77% intend to reskill employees to work alongside AI 6.The contrasting statistics reveal the dual nature of AI’s impact: creating efficiencies that reduce certain jobs while also creating demand for new skills—77% of surveyed companies plan to reskill workers, and 70% intend to hire for AI design expertise 6.3️⃣ The widening gap between AI experimentation and strategic implementationNadella’s use of 10 custom AI agents shows Microsoft has moved beyond experimentation to deeply integrate AI into core executive functions—a transition most companies struggle with.McKinsey research reveals only 3% of companies qualify as high performers in AI adoption, reporting 5% or greater revenue increases from their implementations 7.The majority of organizations remain stuck in exploration phases, with only 16-23% of CEOs reporting meaningful value creation from their AI initiatives 3.The challenge is primarily cultural rather than technological—Harvard Business Review research shows even ambitious AI projects like MD Anderson’s $62 million IBM Watson initiative failed when they prioritized moonshots over practical applications 8.Companies that successfully bridge this gap focus on incremental implementations with tangible benefits rather than grandiose ambitions, similar to how Nadella’s approach focuses on specific productivity improvements like email management and meeting preparation rather than complete workflow reinvention 8

Merging AI with expert strategy to accelerate growthDALLAS, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SBI Growth Advisory (SBI) today announced its acquisition of Daydream's AI Business Intelligence (BI) Platform, reimagining what go-to-market consulting is. As the only growth advisory firm that spans strategy through execution—integrating strategy, structure, talent, and data—SBI will now embed AI at the core of its approach. This move merges cutting-edge technology with expert strategy to unlock new levels of commercial growth for its clients.Renamed ACE, the platform is an advanced AI-powered business intelligence engine developed over five years. ACE goes beyond the capabilities of traditional BI tools – connecting siloed Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success data, interpreting conversational nuances, adding critical business context, and enriching insights through extensive industry and third-party research. The result is unparalleled data integrity and precision, delivering deeper, more strategic, and immediately actionable insights."The 2024 Harvard Business Review article "Why Consistent Growth is So Challenging" describes what our clients know – growth requires connectivity between strategic vision and system execution. SBI solves this challenge and brings a new level of precision and speed by combining data-driven decisions with human-driven execution," said Mike Hoffman, CEO of SBI