From 'Idea Machine' to Strategic Advisor: How I Help Leaders Navigate the AI Shift

Early in my career, I made a classic mistake. I thought leadership meant being the "Idea Machine." I kept generating concepts until I simply ran out of fuel.

I was lucky. I had a strong network of peers who let me lean on them. Today, my role has flipped. As a Principal Research Director at Info-Tech Research Group, I get to be the sounding board for C-level leaders who are navigating the same pressures I once felt.

The Counseling Sessions: "Geek to English"

When I sit down with executives, the biggest challenge isn't the technology itself; it's the translation of that technology into business outcomes. This was the core theme of my keynote at the Progress Data Platform Summit 2025.

In this session, I outlined the three critical shifts leaders must make:

1. From "AI Features" to "Business Value"

Stop talking about LLMs and Tokens. Start talking about "Time to Insight" and "Customer Retention." As I shared in the keynote, if you can't explain the business impact in plain English, you aren't ready to deploy the code.

2. Surviving the Era of AI-Powered Search

Marketing leaders are panicking about "Answer Engines" replacing traditional SEO. My counsel is grounded in our research: Don't try to game the algorithm. Focus on Contextual Intelligence. Feed the AI structured, high-authority data so your brand becomes the verifiable source of truth.

3. The "Right Software" Dilemma

I recently worked with a tech leader at a large retailer who was overwhelmed by AI use cases. We moved the conversation from "Chatbots" to "Agentic AI"—systems that reason and act. Whether it is choosing a CRM or a No-Code platform, my role is to help them cut through the hype and select software that fits their process.