I’ve always loved sports. From the Bolder Boulder 10K to Grand Slams, World Championships, the Olympics, there’s something deeply human about watching athletes pour everything into their sport. The struggle, the fight, the raw emotion of victory and defeat.

My late dad instilled this love in me. Growing up in Manila, we’d play volleyball and jai alai together, then watch boxing, basketball, and tennis. Those moments taught me to see the beauty in human determination.

This weekend I had work to catch up on before traveling, but I couldn’t miss the French Open. Yesterday’s women’s final between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka was incredible. Two athletes leaving everything on the court in one of the most compelling finals I’ve seen in women’s tennis in years.

Congratulations Coco! We’re so proud of you! Aryna, your fight promises many more Grand Slam battles ahead.

I didn’t have to choose between work and watching. While enjoying the women’s final yesterday, I was collaborating with AI about voice, image, and multimedia search impacts on advertising. ChatGPT and Gemini handled deep research. Claude helped me test my hypotheses and code an interactive model for different adoption scenarios.

I got more work done than ever while enjoying every moment of the match.

We’re living in a remarkable time. AI gives us more space to be human. We can be present for what makes us human while achieving things that seemed impossible just years ago.

This is just the beginning. Ready to enjoy this men’s final. Although I miss Nadal so much, I’m here to cheer on Alcaraz!

The hardest part isn’t AI. It’s us.

It’s the mindset and behavior shift — whether you’re a team of 5 or 500 — from using AI as a tool to guiding it as a teammate. The transformation can start quickly when you put people first.

I loved seeing this happen with Intuit’s marketing and communications team:

• 170 professionals became nearly 600 by building ~400 AI teammates in just a few hours

• The shift from AI primarily for content creation to AI for ideation, research, analytics, automation, and personalization

• From curiosity to confidence with everyone hands-on keyboard, learning together

What amazed me most was watching them move from wondering what AI could do to confidently building AI teammates they’d use immediately. Seeing the possibilities when AI handles repetitive tasks and serves as a thought partner. That’s when real adoption happens.

This team is going to inspire others and truly reimagine how work gets done. What a gift – a company investing in upskilling its people for both business growth and individual career success.

Many thanks Mos’ Okediji, Kim Klinedinst Miller, Emily Valencia, and Jessica Cheng for the opportunity to keynote these sessions. You’ve inspired me right back. Natalie Lambert, I loved partnering with you and learning alongside you.

Nothing energizes me more than seeing this kind of impact in action.

See Mos’ original post in the comments below.

Here’s Mos’ Okediji’s original post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mokediji_excited-to-share-highlights-from-our-q4-activity-7331826252741308416-4AsT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAABO9I0BwLXGa43-7PJLaexXcn71tIaW5sc

As a senior exec, you’re expected to have the answers even when you’re still figuring things out.

Half-formed ideas can be mistaken for direction. Teams need clarity before you’ve had a chance to explore. And time to think with peers is hard to come by. But the need is real.

Whether you’re a CEO evaluating strategy, a CRO working through forecasts, or a CMO refining positioning, you need time to work through ideas before they become plans.

That’s where AI can help.

It won’t replace trusted advisors or conversations with your peers. But it gives you something you’ve never really had:

• Time to think through a decision.

• A way to test different options.

• A partner that’s always available — no scheduling, no politics, no judgment

To get value, you need first-hand experience, especially at the top. Studies show the higher the executive engagement, the greater the success with AI.

You can’t lead and inspire your team into this if you haven’t done it yourself. You wouldn’t delegate your most important conversations. This is one of them.

Start by building a digital twin, an AI trained on your knowledge and judgment. One that challenges your thinking, helps you see what you’re missing, and gives your team access to your guidance even when you’re not in the room.

AI isn’t just another tool. It’s the partner execs have always needed but never had.

I’ll be sharing how to build your digital twin and use it as your thinking partner at CMO Alliance’s June 11 CMO Summit. Learn more and register for this virtual summit here: https://lnkd.in/grri63xu

Many of the AI conversations right now are loud, urgent, and fear-driven.

Fear doesn’t always shout. Sometimes it shows up like this:

• ► “I don’t have time to learn this.”

• ► “What if I mess it up?”

• ► “You’re already behind.”

• ► “AI will replace your job.”

• ► “Here’s the tool—go figure it out.”

I’ve said this before: AI isn’t the hard part. We are.

This is a mindset and behavior shift. It’s human change and we need to give ourselves, and each other, some grace. None of us have done this before.

There’s no perfect path, no playbook, no experts. Just people trying, learning, and sharing what works and what doesn’t.

That’s why AI literacy matters. When we’re literate, we make better decisions for ourselves, our teams, our companies, our families, and society. When we’re not, we risk being influenced by people who don’t share our values.

A comment on one of my recent posts captured this better than I could:

“This has a very different energy. It invites curiosity and adaptation instead of panic. And at this stage of life (and the world), that feels so much more sustainable and human.”

That’s the energy I want to lead with.

So how do we move from fear to something more useful?

We start with curiosity. Below are a few reframes that have helped teams I work with shift their thinking. (See carousel.)

Leading with curiosity matters because fear shuts people down. It makes them play small, avoid risk, and stay quiet.

Curiosity, on the other hand, builds confidence. It invites experimentation. It keeps us learning. It’s also what helps us lead through change without the panic, pressure, or burnout.

This isn’t about sugarcoating. I’m all for being pragmatic and prepared. But fear doesn’t move us forward. Deliberate learning does.

I’m not always great at it. But I’m practicing and inviting others to do the same. If you’ve made a shift from fear to curiosity, big or small, I’d love to hear how. I dropped a few examples in the comments (https://lnkd.in/eHGUaxtW) of how I’ve been reframing AI in my work.

What’s worked for you or your team? We rise faster when learn together. If this resonated with you, feel free to share it with others.

Xapa Christine / Chris Heckart Uday Keshavdas

1) Are companies really replacing humans with AI?
What layoff statements actually say and what’s really happening: https://lnkd.in/gYayna-f

2) What it looks like to evolve your role with AI
Megan’s story of reimagining her job, not just automating it: https://lnkd.in/guRvHzaY

3) What history can teach us about adapting now
60% of today’s jobs didn’t exist in 1940—what that means for AI and what’s next: https://lnkd.in/gSNPwyRR