Technology – Croixstone

Building an AI Foundation for Growth

“Artificial intelligence and generative AI may be the most important technology of any lifetime.”
– Marc Benioff (Chair, CEO and Co-Founder – Salesforce)

Taking AI to the Next Level: Like many other organizations, Croixstone has launched a journey to harness the full potential of AI and to drive its value creation. Last week, three of our leaders (Ed Ritter, Brandon Morgan, and Mark Weber) participated in the second of a three-part AI educational series hosted by the Charlotte Chapter of the Private Directors Association (Croixstone serves as a sponsor along with Gold Sponsor Charlotte Business Journal and fellow Bronze sponsors GreerWalker and Essex Richards).

AI Speakers: Last week’s AI educational session featured a diverse panel of speakers including Jeremiah Grant (President, Chief Information Security Officer – EverOak Solutions), Lisa Weil (Board Advisor – Quinnipiac University School of Nursing and former Senior Managing Director, Head of Experience Product Management – TIAA), David Phillips (Founder – Faster Glass) and moderator Carolina Ko (Senior Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager – Bank of America).

AI Key Messages: We appreciated and strongly aligned with the following key messages delivered by the panelists regarding the AI journey:

There is a call to action for EVERY organization when it comes to AI.
Focus first on your employees and their concerns and potential resistance to AI.
Allow for experiential learning to drive AI training.
Organizations must have solid foundations rooted in clean data strategies, great controls environments, and solid governance to support their AI journeys.
Organizations should “right-size” their governance of AI.
Board members need not be AI techies, but rather they should be asking foundational and strategic questions related to AI.

Wondering about how to best launch your organization’s AI journey? Reach out to Mark Weber, Croixstone’s Managing Partner and Co-Founder here.

Learn more about the Private Directors Association. Founded in 2014, the Private Directors Association is dedicated to improving private companies’ growth and sustainability through governance that adds value. Learn more here.

ChatGPT Fast Facts

It is nearly impossible to scan the business news over the past few months without seeing “ChatGPT” in the headlines.

Here are some fast facts to help you get to know what ChatGPT is all about.

The big picture: Many experts believe that new chatbots like ChatGPT are poised to massively disrupt technology to the same degree like Apple’s iPhone, Google’s search engine, and Netscape’s web browser proved disruptive.

“Anybody who doesn’t use this will shortly be at a severe disadvantage. Like, shortly. Like, very soon.”
– Jeff Maggioncalda – CEO, Coursera

So what is it?: ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence tool that allows a user to generate original text. It can serve up information in clear, simple sentences, rather than just a list of internet links. Furthermore, the AI tool can explain concepts in ways humans can easily understand.

ChatGPT automatically generates text based on written prompts in a manner that is much more advanced and creative than earlier chatbots. The software debuted in late November 2021, and it has generated extreme buzz.

Here’s the backstory: ChatGPT was created by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based company that was founded in December 2015. Open AI’s founders include well known technology gurus including: Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever, Greg Brockman, Wojciech Zaremba, Elon Musk, and John Schulman.

OpenAI’s mission: The company conducts research in the field of AI with the stated goal of promoting and developing friendly AI in a way that benefits humanity as a whole.

Yes, but: AI chatbots are anything but perfect. They learn their skills by analyzing huge amounts of data posted to the internet, and they therefore can blend fiction with fact. They can deliver information that is biased along with toxic language (including hate speech).

The money train: OpenAI’s founders pledged $1B to launch the company. The company received a $1B investment from Microsoft in 2019, another significant investment in 2021, and a rumored $10B investment in January 2023. Microsoft said the renewed partnership will accelerate breakthroughs in AI, and help both companies commercialize advanced technologies.

Learn more:
OpenAI
ChatGTP

Our Sources: CNN Business, Axios, The New York Times, Microsoft, Gizmodo, Wikipedia

The NOW Normal.

Life has changed dramatically for all of us in the Charlotte region over the past couple of weeks. Given the vast uncertainties we’re facing with COVID-19 and the economy, the Croixstone team isn’t quite ready to call these times the “new” normal. We prefer to think of our current state as the “now’ normal.

Whether you are presently employed or seeking your next opportunity, COVID-19 is causing all of us to think, and act, differently. The following links are designed to help you navigate the “now” normal.

Learn about consulting.
Join Croixstone + the Charlotte Chapter of the National Black MBA Association for a virtual Zoom meeting/webinar on “The Business of Consulting.” Joining us will be leaders from Deloitte, The Kaleidoscope Group + The Graybeard Partners. Wednesday, April 8 from 6-7:3pm.
Grab your tickets here.

Learn how consulting revenues may be impacted by COVID-19.
Yes, the consulting industry is being impacted. Source Global Research has surveyed hundreds of consulting firms from across the world to gain insights.
Click here.

Find a job.
Your best strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic might be to focus on short-term solutions.
View this Fast Company article to learn more.

Learn more about collaboration tools.
Inc. magazine has compiled a comprehensive list of tools including pricing.
Click here.

Learn how to stay productive + connected while at home.
LinkedIn is offering 16 free professional development courses on Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom and more.
Click here.

Learn Zoom basics.
Zoom experts host interactive, live training webinars daily.
Sign-up for free or watch a previously recorded training session.
Click here.

Take your Zoom skills to the next level.
Learn 13 Zoom video chat tips, tricks + hidden features.
Click here.

Learn how to run a virtual meeting.
An executive recruiter shares 8 cardinal rules for successful virtual meetings with Forbes.
Click here.

Access a library of COVID-19 resources.
Check out the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance’s “COVID-19 Resource Portal.”
Click here.

Learn how to lead during a crisis/downturn.
5 great tips from Chief Executive magazine.
Click here.

Find your right work-from-home playlist.
LinkedIn is now on Spotify with a variety of playlists curated for the varying times of your career journey.
Click here.

Know Globots + Telemigrants

The future of work is bringing new language to us. We all know that artificial intelligence is bringing about seismic changes to the workforce. But “globots” and “telemigrants” are predicted to cause major upheaval as well. Learn more.

IT Transformation Best Practices

CEOs and CIOs are under constant pressure to improve operations and adopt new technologies. The allure of “Cloud” and “Digital” can create excitement and executive approval to launch a project. Success, however, is always a challenge, and there is no shortage of advice and thought-ware on the subject. David Frost, a Charlotte-based digital transformation leader, believes that new digital transformations can still learn from past technology transformation. To learn more, Read the White Paper Here.

LinkedIn Skill Assessments

LinkedIn recently announced its latest feature to help professionals showcase their skills. The professional networking site has rolled out LinkedIn Skill Assessments, a new way to validate technical skills. Robin Ryan, a writer who covers baby boomer careers for Forbes magazine, has published a helpful article that explains this new LinkedIn feature.

Read About LinkedIn Skill Assessments

All You Need to Know About Artificial Intelligence in 1 Infographic

The team at OneRagteam (a platform that brings together entrepreneurs, investors and corporations) has created a terrific infographic that illustrates concrete ways in which Artificial Intelligence either has disrupted, or will disrupt across a wide range of sectors. View it here.

North Carolina Tech Race

WFAE in Charlotte recently aired and published a story that caught many by surprise. The story revealed that Charlotte is on pace to surpass Raleigh-Durham in the number of tech jobs that each metro area holds. Seven days later, Lowe’s announced that they will be building a new 23-story global technology hub in Charlotte’s South End and adding as many as 2,000 new tech jobs to the Queen City. Read WFAE’s story here.

Write a Winning LinkedIn Headline

Ever wonder how to write a LinkedIn headline that will get you noticed? The following are key messages and tips on how to use your LinkedIn headline to advance your personal branding objectives.

The headline is the section on LinkedIn that gets searched the most.
Your job title is not necessarily the right, or best, headline. You have the ability to change your headline beyond the default that LinkedIn uses (your title). Be purposeful in choosing the right headline.
The headline has a limit of 120 characters so plan your text wisely.
For consulting, consider spotlighting what you do and who you help.

Read Forbes magazine’s full article here for more details and examples.

LinkedIn for Baby Boomers

LinkedIn is an essential tool for all business professionals to use. There is both art and science to building and sustaining an impactful LinkedIn profile, and the navigation between these two elements can be tricky – especially for highly experienced professionals.

We love that Forbes magazine has published the first article in a brand new series of articles named “The Baby Boomer’s Guide to LinkedIn.” Read the first article in the series that presents strategies baby boomers can deploy to fight age discrimination on LinkedIn.

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