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AI in Business / 7 Essential AI Strategies Smart Leaders Are Using in 2025 to Lead Industries
« on: Yesterday at 05:07:40 PM »
Actionable insights from real-world projects and 15+ strategy calls with founders, CEOs, and sales leaders.
This is what real leaders are saying (and doing) to outpace the competition, right now:
1. Smart Leaders Don’t “Outsource” AI Knowledge
Old thinking: “Just hire an expert, I don’t need to know the details.”
Smart leaders now: “If I want to lead, I need to understand how AI and automation connect to business results.”
This is the biggest paradigm shift I’m seeing.
The best leaders don’t want to outsource AI understanding. They don’t want to rely on external (or internal) expertise.
Smart leaders want to OWN the AI expertise.
Smart leaders want to BUILD AI solutions.
The best leaders block out a few hours. They roll up their sleeves and dive into hands-on demos. They ask, “How would this work for us?” and don’t settle for vague answers.
They don’t care what AI can do.
They only care what AI can do FOR THEM.
But… They don’t know what AI can do for them!
And it’s painful. It itches them.
They know:
AI is a new huge thing.
AI is gonna change everything.
Without AI, they may be out of business in the next years.
Clarity on what AI can do for their business gives a strategic edge.
And what’s even more important… They know that the best way of gaining AI expertise is through building.
When did this click for me?
I remember a call with a CEO who said, “I saw your YouTube videos. I want you to teach me how to build these AI automations. I know AI is gonna be huge, but I don’t see the direct impact on my business.”
7 days later, he was building simple automations.
Not to become a developer, but to make better strategic decisions.
2. Smart Leaders Use External Mentorship as a Temporary Accelerator
Old model: “Let’s just outsource it and let experts build it for us.”
Smart leaders: “I want you to co-build or co-mentor us for a few months. After that, we need to be self-sufficient.”
Mentorship accelerates learning.
Learning 1:1 with an expert is much faster than learning online from random resources.
Best leaders know it.
They do NOT:
Want yet another “course” that sits untouched in a Notion folder.
Want to watch 10 YouTube videos to find a solution to their problem.
Want to spend 5 hours fixing a bug that an expert would fix in 5 minutes.
They want the speed and accountability that comes from working with a hands-on expert. But… only until their own team can stand on its own.
Tim — A 59-year-old Leader with Permission to Fail.
I mentored a 59-year-old non-tech entrepreneur.
After three 1-hour sprints, he gained enough confidence to build the “Email Pipeline System” in n8n, which:
categorized and prioritized emails,
recognized emails with attachments,
saved received invoices on Google Drive,
read crucial data from invoices and save it in Sheets.
Yes, he spent 10+ more hours building it all.
But he solved his specific problems and doesn’t waste time on boring tasks that we can already automate.
What made him succeed?
Curiosity.
Painful (yet solvable) problem.
Permission to fail: A bias for trying things even if he knew he’d break something.
Note: If a 59-year-old non-tech guy can build AI automations, so can you. You just need an expert to give you a quick start. I specialize in helping beginners become builders. Interested? DM me on LinkedIn (mention you come from Medium).
3. Smart Leaders Build AI & Automation Talent Internally — Not Just Buy It Externally
Smart leaders bet on people. Period.
They don’t want AI & automations to REPLACE people.
They want AI & automations to ENHANCE people.
Remember, your true competitive advantage is NOT in technology. It’s in your people.
Instead of endlessly hiring outside experts (who will never understand your business as deeply as you do), they focus on growing in-house AI and automation skills.
Why? Because internal experts know the company’s processes, quirks, and industry details inside out.
This makes building AI solutions faster, more efficient, and ultimately cheaper than relying on outsiders who are “catching up” for months.
My not-so-bold prediction: Within 30 months, businesses without internal AI & Automation experts will be in survival mode.
Great leaders:
Upskill their teams through practical projects and hands-on learning.
Bring in mentors for sprints, but with the goal of graduating to independence quickly.
Encourage everyone, not just the “tech team,” to learn the basics of AI and automation.
They make “AI-first” thinking a cultural habit.
And it nicely leads to the next point.
4. Smart Leaders Position Learning as a Competitive Edge Company-Wide.
It’s not enough to tell people to “learn AI”.
You need a culture where learning and failing are safe.
Smart leaders know that:
Curiosity and asking questions should be rewarded, not shut down.
Teams should be able to admit what they don’t know (without fear of embarrassment or job risk).
Failure and “I broke it!” moments are shared and learned from, not hidden.
This approach creates “emotional safety” around failing and not knowing.
This psychological safety is the secret behind teams that experiment and win faster than their competitors.
Why does this matter?
As AI moves faster, no one will have all the answers up front.
The companies that win will be the ones who create room for “messy learning” and continuous experimentation.
Whoever fails the most, learns the fastest.
5. Smart Leaders Turn Curiosity Into Rapid Experimentation
Once leaders see what’s possible with AI and automation, their curiosity becomes a superpower.
I love it when leaders ask me one of the following:
“Can we automate X?”
“Is it possible to do Y?”
I love them because the answer is almost always yes.
Even better… Often, I explain it’s already possible to automate even more than they asked…
They thought their question was already too “wild” to be possible.
I live for these moments:
the jaws dropping,
the eyes wide open,
the eyebrows shooting up,
the “No way!” reactions.
Just last week, I spoke with a CEO who already uses ChatGPT every day.
He pastes in emails, explains the context, and then writes a reply for each employee.
“You don’t need to repeat yourself. Just create a Custom GPT for each person,” I told him.
He stared at me, eyes wide: “So all I have to do is paste the email into the right GPT, and it gives me the answer?”
But that was just the start.
I explained how, with n8n, he could have every email read automatically, identify which ones need action, generate task lists, even create ClickUp tasks and draft personalized responses… All with the right context.
And if he wanted, he could add a quick review step (so-called “Human in the loop”) before anything was sent.
He was stunned. Jaw on the floor.
You could almost hear his brain firing up, seeing a dozen new possibilities.
That’s what I love about these moments.
Curiosity turns into realization, then suddenly explodes into ideas.
Once leaders see what’s possible, their questions shift from “Can we automate X?” to “What else can we do?”
6. Smart Leaders Treat Process as the Foundation (aka “You Can’t Automate Chaos”)
This sentence gives away a leader with no clue: “I don’t care about the process, I just want to automate.”
Here’s the simple truth every leader must internalize:
Process first. Automation later.
Why? Because the latter can NOT exist without the former.
The most successful companies I work with don’t jump straight into building bots or agents.
They invest real time into mapping out their key processes, holding cross-team workshops, and defining clear steps.
Only then do they automate.
Because automating confusion only increases the mess.
7. Smart Leaders Move Now, Without Waiting for “Industry Case Studies”
Most industries don’t have polished AI case studies… Yet.
That’s exactly where the competitive edge is.
Smart leaders don’t wait for permission. They don’t wait for someone else in their industry to prove it first.
Instead, they take a risk. They bet on AI and automation before it’s “safe.” They put real money and resources behind it.
As a result, they grab the early-mover advantage — every single time.
They know being first means mistakes, but also means:
lower costs
attracting better hires
more resilient processes
more efficient operations
stronger employer branding
deeper AI & automation expertise
Alex — The CEO Who Waited for Permission
Alex runs a busy service business, managing complex projects for corporate clients. He loved the idea of using AI and automation to save time on admin and research.
But every conversation circled back to one objection:
“Kris, but you have NOT done this for companies like mine…”
Alex wanted the results, but hesitated to be first.
He didn’t see that most of his headaches (organizing inbox, collecting prices, making proposals) are the same everywhere.
These are process problems, not industry mysteries.
Alex ended up staying on the fence, waiting for someone else in his field to move first.
So, if you’re hesitating because you haven’t seen “your” case study, ask yourself: “Is this really an industry problem, or just a process problem waiting to be solved?”
Written by Kris Ograbek source: https://ai.gopubby.com/7-essential-ai-strategies-smart-leaders-are-applying-in-2025-to-dominate-their-industry-in-2027-c34674830800
This is what real leaders are saying (and doing) to outpace the competition, right now:
1. Smart Leaders Don’t “Outsource” AI Knowledge
Old thinking: “Just hire an expert, I don’t need to know the details.”
Smart leaders now: “If I want to lead, I need to understand how AI and automation connect to business results.”
This is the biggest paradigm shift I’m seeing.
The best leaders don’t want to outsource AI understanding. They don’t want to rely on external (or internal) expertise.
Smart leaders want to OWN the AI expertise.
Smart leaders want to BUILD AI solutions.
The best leaders block out a few hours. They roll up their sleeves and dive into hands-on demos. They ask, “How would this work for us?” and don’t settle for vague answers.
They don’t care what AI can do.
They only care what AI can do FOR THEM.
But… They don’t know what AI can do for them!
And it’s painful. It itches them.
They know:
AI is a new huge thing.
AI is gonna change everything.
Without AI, they may be out of business in the next years.
Clarity on what AI can do for their business gives a strategic edge.
And what’s even more important… They know that the best way of gaining AI expertise is through building.
When did this click for me?
I remember a call with a CEO who said, “I saw your YouTube videos. I want you to teach me how to build these AI automations. I know AI is gonna be huge, but I don’t see the direct impact on my business.”
7 days later, he was building simple automations.
Not to become a developer, but to make better strategic decisions.
2. Smart Leaders Use External Mentorship as a Temporary Accelerator
Old model: “Let’s just outsource it and let experts build it for us.”
Smart leaders: “I want you to co-build or co-mentor us for a few months. After that, we need to be self-sufficient.”
Mentorship accelerates learning.
Learning 1:1 with an expert is much faster than learning online from random resources.
Best leaders know it.
They do NOT:
Want yet another “course” that sits untouched in a Notion folder.
Want to watch 10 YouTube videos to find a solution to their problem.
Want to spend 5 hours fixing a bug that an expert would fix in 5 minutes.
They want the speed and accountability that comes from working with a hands-on expert. But… only until their own team can stand on its own.
Tim — A 59-year-old Leader with Permission to Fail.
I mentored a 59-year-old non-tech entrepreneur.
After three 1-hour sprints, he gained enough confidence to build the “Email Pipeline System” in n8n, which:
categorized and prioritized emails,
recognized emails with attachments,
saved received invoices on Google Drive,
read crucial data from invoices and save it in Sheets.
Yes, he spent 10+ more hours building it all.
But he solved his specific problems and doesn’t waste time on boring tasks that we can already automate.
What made him succeed?
Curiosity.
Painful (yet solvable) problem.
Permission to fail: A bias for trying things even if he knew he’d break something.
Note: If a 59-year-old non-tech guy can build AI automations, so can you. You just need an expert to give you a quick start. I specialize in helping beginners become builders. Interested? DM me on LinkedIn (mention you come from Medium).
3. Smart Leaders Build AI & Automation Talent Internally — Not Just Buy It Externally
Smart leaders bet on people. Period.
They don’t want AI & automations to REPLACE people.
They want AI & automations to ENHANCE people.
Remember, your true competitive advantage is NOT in technology. It’s in your people.
Instead of endlessly hiring outside experts (who will never understand your business as deeply as you do), they focus on growing in-house AI and automation skills.
Why? Because internal experts know the company’s processes, quirks, and industry details inside out.
This makes building AI solutions faster, more efficient, and ultimately cheaper than relying on outsiders who are “catching up” for months.
My not-so-bold prediction: Within 30 months, businesses without internal AI & Automation experts will be in survival mode.
Great leaders:
Upskill their teams through practical projects and hands-on learning.
Bring in mentors for sprints, but with the goal of graduating to independence quickly.
Encourage everyone, not just the “tech team,” to learn the basics of AI and automation.
They make “AI-first” thinking a cultural habit.
And it nicely leads to the next point.
4. Smart Leaders Position Learning as a Competitive Edge Company-Wide.
It’s not enough to tell people to “learn AI”.
You need a culture where learning and failing are safe.
Smart leaders know that:
Curiosity and asking questions should be rewarded, not shut down.
Teams should be able to admit what they don’t know (without fear of embarrassment or job risk).
Failure and “I broke it!” moments are shared and learned from, not hidden.
This approach creates “emotional safety” around failing and not knowing.
This psychological safety is the secret behind teams that experiment and win faster than their competitors.
Why does this matter?
As AI moves faster, no one will have all the answers up front.
The companies that win will be the ones who create room for “messy learning” and continuous experimentation.
Whoever fails the most, learns the fastest.
5. Smart Leaders Turn Curiosity Into Rapid Experimentation
Once leaders see what’s possible with AI and automation, their curiosity becomes a superpower.
I love it when leaders ask me one of the following:
“Can we automate X?”
“Is it possible to do Y?”
I love them because the answer is almost always yes.
Even better… Often, I explain it’s already possible to automate even more than they asked…
They thought their question was already too “wild” to be possible.
I live for these moments:
the jaws dropping,
the eyes wide open,
the eyebrows shooting up,
the “No way!” reactions.
Just last week, I spoke with a CEO who already uses ChatGPT every day.
He pastes in emails, explains the context, and then writes a reply for each employee.
“You don’t need to repeat yourself. Just create a Custom GPT for each person,” I told him.
He stared at me, eyes wide: “So all I have to do is paste the email into the right GPT, and it gives me the answer?”
But that was just the start.
I explained how, with n8n, he could have every email read automatically, identify which ones need action, generate task lists, even create ClickUp tasks and draft personalized responses… All with the right context.
And if he wanted, he could add a quick review step (so-called “Human in the loop”) before anything was sent.
He was stunned. Jaw on the floor.
You could almost hear his brain firing up, seeing a dozen new possibilities.
That’s what I love about these moments.
Curiosity turns into realization, then suddenly explodes into ideas.
Once leaders see what’s possible, their questions shift from “Can we automate X?” to “What else can we do?”
6. Smart Leaders Treat Process as the Foundation (aka “You Can’t Automate Chaos”)
This sentence gives away a leader with no clue: “I don’t care about the process, I just want to automate.”
Here’s the simple truth every leader must internalize:
Process first. Automation later.
Why? Because the latter can NOT exist without the former.
The most successful companies I work with don’t jump straight into building bots or agents.
They invest real time into mapping out their key processes, holding cross-team workshops, and defining clear steps.
Only then do they automate.
Because automating confusion only increases the mess.
7. Smart Leaders Move Now, Without Waiting for “Industry Case Studies”
Most industries don’t have polished AI case studies… Yet.
That’s exactly where the competitive edge is.
Smart leaders don’t wait for permission. They don’t wait for someone else in their industry to prove it first.
Instead, they take a risk. They bet on AI and automation before it’s “safe.” They put real money and resources behind it.
As a result, they grab the early-mover advantage — every single time.
They know being first means mistakes, but also means:
lower costs
attracting better hires
more resilient processes
more efficient operations
stronger employer branding
deeper AI & automation expertise
Alex — The CEO Who Waited for Permission
Alex runs a busy service business, managing complex projects for corporate clients. He loved the idea of using AI and automation to save time on admin and research.
But every conversation circled back to one objection:
“Kris, but you have NOT done this for companies like mine…”
Alex wanted the results, but hesitated to be first.
He didn’t see that most of his headaches (organizing inbox, collecting prices, making proposals) are the same everywhere.
These are process problems, not industry mysteries.
Alex ended up staying on the fence, waiting for someone else in his field to move first.
So, if you’re hesitating because you haven’t seen “your” case study, ask yourself: “Is this really an industry problem, or just a process problem waiting to be solved?”
Written by Kris Ograbek source: https://ai.gopubby.com/7-essential-ai-strategies-smart-leaders-are-applying-in-2025-to-dominate-their-industry-in-2027-c34674830800