Harvard’s Raffaella Sadun on why it’s so hard to become an AI-first organization

Estimated read time 3 min read

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​ The journey to becoming a Frontier Firm requires leaders to reimagine every aspect of their organization – quickly and without a playbook. Harvard Business School’s Raffaella Sadun joins host Molly Wood to explore what makes a Frontier Firm, why reskilling is so hard, and how leaders can build cultures that thrive on experimentation and human-AI collaboration. Discover actionable strategies for navigating uncertainty, driving transformation, and empowering every employee to become an AI-enabled inventor.

Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
01:15 – Echoes of past tech revolutions & AI’s promise
02:45 – The J curve of productivity & firm-specific adoption
03:55- Defining frontier firms & strategic experimentation
04:33 – Organizational vision, value creation & building buy-in
06:25 – No playbook: tailoring AI to culture & people
08:36 – Human–AI collaboration & managerial mindset shifts
10:41 – Leadership styles, adoption phases & building credibility
12:57- Reskilling challenges & five paradigms overview
14:59 – Middle management’s role & employee perspective
17:35 – Designing effective reskilling programs & strategic imperative
26:26 – Practical steps for CEOs & employees to become frontier firms
29:16 – Looking ahead – divergence across firms & the future of work

Find this episode on:
– Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/worklab/id1582908812
– Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vApnLW5XfXoP8WDYGzFkT
– WorkLab Podcast: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/podcast/

About the WorkLab Podcast:
Join host Molly Wood as she explores what leaders need to know to prepare their organizations for the innovations and disruptions that are transforming the way we work. Listen to her conversations with leading economists, technologists, and researchers on everything from how to use AI effectively to what it takes to thrive in a digital age.

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