The Ferris Bueller Test
The other night I was on a Zoom with a couple of friends who also happen to be d.school colleagues. One of the repeating key elements of all our conversations is that when someone brings up a new idea or something that they’re interested in or have just done, someone else on the call will inevitably say, “oh, that makes me think of this story I heard on the radio like 3 years ago.”
And then the conversation jumps on to the next place. It would be impossible to map this convo ahead of time or God forbid, create an agenda. It would be one of those times when more constraint would be harmful. It’s these moments or throw away comments that really make our calls so interesting. It also happens to be the same type of “connecting the dots” that happens when we work on a high functioning team.
Many of us have found AI helpful to suss out ideas and create plans. Or let’s be honest, to have AI articulate our shitty ideas into something that sounds amazing. But I feel like there’s this promise that it can enable us to get the same caliber of thought and work done while sitting alone in a basement. AI can accomplish some neat tasks, but it never leads me to that bizarro jumping off spot my friends would when they say my comment reminds them of an old jazz record from the 70’s or a documentary they saw on how rivers are vanishing in America.
Personally, I’ve never had AI say that my new product idea reminds them of some scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. And that’s what I crave from a team. Not the binary yes/no answers we all hear in the conference room, but the next illogical step that I probably wouldn’t have made on my own or known to prompt AI to help me make.
According to recent research, 90% of investors think the quality of the c-suite is the single most important factor when evaluating an IPO. Yet, most senior leadership teams are typically hobbled together under the assumption that if we throw a bunch of smart and experienced people in a room they will surely make a killer team. Wrong.
As Michael Jordan famously said “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” And teamwork, at least at this point in time isn’t being replicated by AI in a meaningful way.
What do I mean when I say teamwork? I mean the healthy debate of ideas, the diversity of perspective, challenging old ways of doing things, and of course supporting our teammates and and being fanatical about each others success.
To be clear, I’m not mad at AI. I have plenty of opinions about AI, but I’m not sharing those here today. What I’m advocating for is the embrace of, and attention to, the unparalleled benefit of having a high-performing team leading your organization.
If you’ve ever been on a high functioning team then you know what it feels like to deliver amazing work for your customer WHILE enjoying the lived experience of being on a team that’s firing on all cylinders. Yes, it feels amazing to win, but it feels 10X more amazing to be on a winning team.
I know that most organizations are busy trying to figure out how (and why) to use AI and I think that’s a noble endeavor that should be built on exploration and experimentation. But I’d urge teams (especially c-suite teams) to pay more attention than ever before to the team they’re already on. If everyone is using AI then there is real potential for competitors to end up in the sea of sameness. Your primary differentiator is the unparalleled capability of a well built, well coached team to do work that will be unlike anything else out there.
If you’re reading this and feeling like your team has been operating in low-orbit for a while, then I recommend reinvesting the time and energy it takes to get that team up to championship level instead of putting it all on another magic bullet.
When's the last time someone on your leadership team said something that genuinely surprised you?
If this resonated, here’s how to go deeper:
Work with me: I help leaders and entrepreneurs build sustainable, high-performing work lives through 1:1 coaching. Book a free 30-min coaching call
Stay connected: I share more on building healthier relationships with work on LinkedIn 3-4x/week.
Speaking/Workshops: I design custom workshops on sustainable leadership for executive teams. Email Me