Leaders must take time now to become well-versed in how AI will affect their company, deciding on matters ranging from ethics, which jobs will be reserved for humans, how it will affect culture and what kind of processes and policies will be needed, write BTS executives Andrew Atkins and Peter Mulford. Make all of these decisions in concert with your executive team and employees so everyone can feel involved in the final outcome, they write.

Put it into practice: AI is changing rapidly, so it behooves leaders to do what they can now to outline how it will be used and allay employees' fears of being replaced, write Atkins and Mulford. "This inflection point in our journey with AI is a good time to ask some questions to uncover a few ways we can use AI to its fullest capacity while staying aligned with our business goals and objectives."

A rallying cry placed prominently in your office -- such as President Ronald Reagan's sign on his desk in the Oval Office that read "It can be done!" -- can keep you motivated when challenges arise, writes Paul Thornton. Some of the rallying cries readers submitted to Thornton include: "Community. Connections. Compassion." "Grow on purpose!" "Being human is back in fashion" and "Lean toward love."

Put it into practice: Coming up with a rallying cry can remind you of your core beliefs and values when situations tempt you to go off track, Thornton writes. Slogans readers suggest, such as "Finish what you started" and "Stay focused, fear not, forge ahead," can remind you of the value of persistence and dedication.

Build trust with your audience during a speech or presentation by ditching jargon and using appropriate personal stories that put a human face on data and offer solutions, says consultant Nick Lanyi. "Compelling leaders share their successes, motivations and dreams to connect with audiences emotionally," Lanyi says. "But they also share their challenges."

Put it into practice: Make your personal anecdotes more compelling by studying great stories and include elements like a hero on a worthy quest, being sure to mix in vivid details and emotionally provocative moments, Lanyi says. "Research has shown that people are more likely to remember information when it's conveyed in a story with these elements."

If you can't seem to get things done on time or forget to finish (or start) essential tasks, you have "time blindness," which means you have trouble analyzing how long something will take, say experts. There is support through time-management apps, virtual or physical to-do lists, attention to self-care, and being compassionate with yourself, say experts.

ChatGPT and other AI chatbots may seem like newfangled technology, but in 1966, computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum created ELIZA -- a simple chat program that mirrored user input and responded in a clinical, non-judgmental way. A later study found that ELIZA fooled more users into thinking it was a real person than the free version of ChatGPT, but Weizenbaum believed no computer could understand a human being since even humans themselves hardly understand each other.

Depending on your point of view, AI is either the new boogeyman or humanity's savior. Many of us, though, are somewhere in between. I've dabbled in ChatGPT, using it mainly to come up with songwriting ideas. In the office, we use AI-powered grammar tools to ensure that our punctuation, spelling, and grammar are top-notch. (Even then, I disagree with some of its suggestions and still go with my own.)

We don't allow AI to choose the stories in our briefs, and every summary is still written by an actual human being, unlike some of the other newsletters I receive each week. I'm proud that this is what sets SmartBrief apart from the crowd!

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