Executives are being sold two stories about AI right now.
One is that it will magically transform the business overnight. The other is that it is too disruptive, too risky, or too controversial to touch. Both stories can become expensive distractions.
On a recent episode of CEO Daily Brief, I spoke with Nicole Mangarella from SPS about how companies are actually using agentic AI today. The answer was far more practical than the hype cycle suggests. And it’s not that sexy.
They’re reducing operational drag. Think about the amount of time teams waste every week booking rooms, coordinating visitors, arranging catering, managing AV requests, and bouncing between disconnected systems to complete routine tasks. These issues rarely show up in strategy decks, but they pull talent away from higher-value work.
That is where agentic AI can drive immediate business value. When friction is removed, speed increases. Administrative costs decline. Employees can focus on customers, growth, innovation, and decisions that impact revenue. And yes, you probably need less administrative assistants. But that’s not the whole story.
AI can’t only be framed as a labor reduction tool. That narrow view creates fear internally and leaves money on the table externally. If your workforce believes innovation is simply code for cuts, you’re going to get resistance to adoption.
Nicole suggests shifting the focus to redeployment. She pointed to IKEA, a $52 billion (€44.6 billion) global home furnishings retailer, as a strong example. After driving efficiencies in customer service, IKEA redeployed that talent to build a new interior design offering — creating a new revenue stream worth $1.52 billion (€1.3 billion) from the same workforce. As a leader, this is your permission to think bigger. You can use those productivity gains to expand capacity. Use freed-up talent to improve service. Use operational savings to fund growth. Use better systems to move faster than competitors.
Taking care of people and improving the bottom line aren’t competing priorities. They can reinforce each other when approached creatively. Many organizations haven’t figured this out yet, which makes it a competitive advantage. I’ll be speaking more about leadership, business performance, and workplace innovation at the SPS Connected Workplace Experience this June in New York alongside leaders including Nicole Mangarella. If you are focused on growing results in a changing market, I hope to see you there.
Event Page and Registration: https://www.spsglobal.com/en/events/us-connected-workplace-experience
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Elsewhere in Culture
Decisions vs. Choices This week on CEO Daily Brief, John Frehse and I attempted to untangle the difference between decisions and choices and may have confused ourselves in the process. But underneath the chaos was a useful point. Decisions are often transactional, selecting from the options in front of you. Choices are deeper. They are about defining what matters, what problems deserve attention, and what kind of leader you want to be. In a world drowning in data, dashboards, and endless optimization, the real work may be choosing what deserves your energy in the first place. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ceo-daily-brief-with-dr-jessica-kriegel/id1725350421?i=1000766020976 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6mCE5DDv9TG1gAdgdbuXjp?si=0625f282309c4ea7
Culture Leaders: Reverend Eric J. Hall on Spiritual Care, Whole Person Healing, and Bringing Meaning into Modern Leadership I sat down with Reverend Eric J. Hall, CEO of the Spiritual Care Association, for one of the most fascinating conversations I’ve had in a long time. We talked about the difference between spiritual care and religious care, the research behind whole person healing, and why meaning and purpose matter in leadership. Reverend Hall made the case that people do not leave their grief, fear, family stress, illness, or deeper questions at the door when they come to work. Leaders may not need all the answers, but they do need to understand that people are whole human beings, not just producers of work. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ceo-daily-brief-with-dr-jessica-kriegel/id1725350421?i=1000766207487 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0unIg75m3FgdoFxDqAvMhB?si=99d9ea18ca124567
You’re Not Listening with Kwame Christian Kwame Christian, founder and CEO of the American Negotiation Institute, joined me to talk about what he calls “competitive listening.” The idea is simple and hard: listen so deeply that the other person is surprised by how understood they feel. We talked about why high performers often struggle to listen well, how insecurity shows up as interruption or over-preparation, and why the moment you feel unheard is usually the moment you need to listen harder. That is the leadership move most people miss.
And later this week…
The Tucker Carlson Interview with The New York Times I unpacked Tucker Carlson’s interview with The New York Times, not as a political endorsement, but as a cultural signal. His argument was that Americans may be far more aligned than divided on the outcomes that matter most, especially economics and foreign policy, while culture wars keep attention focused elsewhere. Whether you agree with him or not, the leadership lesson is worth examining. Systems often survive when people stay divided. They become fragile when people realize they may want the same results.
Beliefs Can Be Sneaky I also shared a story from a recent trip to Washington D.C. with my daughter. After visiting the Lincoln Memorial and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, I realized she genuinely believed Thomas Jefferson was Black because her understanding of the founding fathers came from Hamilton. It was funny, sweet, and also a serious reminder that beliefs form quietly. They can sit beneath the surface, shaping how people interpret reality, until one moment reveals them. In organizations, the same thing happens all the time. Leaders try to change actions and results without first understanding the beliefs driving them.