Hey folks,

Welcome. Let’s get stuck in with this week’s newsletter and the memo from Tobi Lutke:

🚀 Shopify is going all-in on AI.

This week, Tobi Lutke, Shopify CEO, dropped a memo on AI usage now being a baseline expectation at Shopify. This is a significant step change for any organisation, and if you and your teams are not using or experimenting with AI as part of your everyday workflows, then you will quickly fall behind.

But don’t worry; even Tobi is only scratching the surface now.

The important thing to do is to start. You should start experimenting, starting small and using that learning to think more deeply about applying AI in your context.

One of the most important areas to focus on right now is creating an environment for people to explore and learn these new skills. You and your teams will experience failure and success along the way, and you can help lead and support the organisation through this with strong, clear leadership, expectations, and psychological safety.

It’s important to start your learning and adoption as soon as possible as compound learning is accelerating, which is a step change in how we all do business.

We are still early and here at ChiefofStaff.is we are here to help you along the way.

Key takeaways from the Shopify memo:

• No Opt-Out: Stagnation = "slow-motion failure." Effectively using AI isn't optional; the time for tinkering has passed, and it's time to bake this into your craft.

• “Reflexive AI usage”: AI must be your modus operandi, part of your muscle memory, and natural reflex to get work done.

• Performance Reviews: AI adoption questions are coming. Skill development, learning and a growth mindset towards AI are now formally measured.

• Resource Gate: Justify headcount? First, prove why AI can't get it done.

• Multiplier Mindset: This is a mindset shift, a cultural shift more than just a migration to a new tech stack or systems that can leverage the tools to drive 100X output on "implausible" tasks.

• Psych Safety Imperative: Driving this change requires actively building psychological safety or risking burnout and compliance theatre instead of true innovation and adoption.

• "Everyone Means Everyone": From the C-suite down. No exceptions.

This memo should be seen as the firing pistol for organisations, and you should take this as a sign that your organisation needs to start moving along the adoption curve.

Stay tuned. We will shortly release our AI adoption playbook. Subscribe to ensure you don’t miss it.

Judgement 🧠

In a world of AI workflows and decisions, will there still be a need for judgement, and what exactly is judgement anyway?

Sir Andrew Likierman defines judgement as “the combination of personal qualities with relevant knowledge and experience, either to make decisions or to form opinions.”

The six elements of judgement;

1. Knowledge and Experience: Having the relevant background and understanding.

2. Awareness: Being perceptive of the situation and context.

3. Trust: Relying on credible sources and advisors.

4. Feelings and Beliefs: Understanding one's own biases and values.

5. Choice: The process of evaluating options and making a decision.

6. Delivery: Implementing the decision effectively.

Judgment is a key skill for any Chief of Staff and can be improved by treating it as a structured process, especially in important situations, and there are several direct applications to consider

• Self-Assessment and Improvement: Use the six elements outlined as a framework to evaluate and enhance your own judgment capabilities.

• Talent Management: When involved in hiring or performance reviews, explicitly assess candidates' and team members' judgment skills, incorporating this into feedback and development plans.

• Fostering Diverse Perspectives: Whilst facilitating decision-making processes, actively promote the inclusion of diverse viewpoints to mitigate groupthink and improve the quality of collective judgment.

• Navigating AI Integration: As organizations adopt more AI, ensure that human judgment remains valued and is effectively combined with AI tools, particularly for complex, nuanced, or ethically charged decisions.

• Decision Support: By understanding the structured nature of good judgment, you can better support your principal and other leaders in navigating complex decisions, ensuring a more deliberate and confident process.

With AI increasingly taking over more tasks and roles, we will have to design judgment into new AI-dominated operating systems and processes and ensure that a human is in the loop when and where judgement is required.

You can read the full article here: The secrets to better judgement

Productivity Prompt of the Week 🚀

New complex project kickoff prompt

Use this prompt when kicking off a new complex project to gain new insights and save a lot of time.

Top Tools

1. Gamma App - AI-powered presentation software

2. Wispr - super easy voice dictation tool that will increase your productivity

3. Apollo.io - AI sales platform

4. clay.com - GTM engineering platform

5. notebooklm.google.com - AI powered document collaborator from google

That’s it for today. Feel free to hit reply and share your thoughts with us. 🙏

chiefofstaff.is 💥 Your Impact Multiple!