Great leaders are often known for their ability to make smart decisions. However, that task has become infinitely more difficult in today’s frenetic business environment. We’re faced with more complex variables, tighter deadlines, and vast amounts of data to sift through. If you haven’t already turned to artificial intelligence (AI) for support in this area, I want to share some reasons why you might want to consider it, as well as how to make that happen.
Let’s look at some of the ways AI tools such as ChatGPT can help you in this critical area of leadership:
Accelerate the decision-making process
Leaders are often expected to be super-human these days—doing more with fewer resources. But the success of your company (and your career) may hinge on your ability to determine the best alternative or the right path forward. If you find yourself stuck in “analysis paralysis,” ChatGPT can be an outstanding partner to quickly help you make sense of enormous quantities of information and pull out the key insights before making an important decision. A sample prompt might sound something like this:
“Analyze the following sales data from the past year. Identify trends in client purchases, predict the sales trajectory for the next quarter, and suggest more effective alternatives for inventory management.”
Note of caution: If your company has a robust security agreement that keeps your AI entries within the confines of your company firewall, you can include the product names and specifics. If you are not sure about the potential for leakage, then adjust your entries so they are generic and not associated with your company’s proprietary information.
Get strategic recommendations
The benefits of ChatGPT can go far beyond basic number crunching to offer you strategic advice on a wide range of issues. Those might include brainstorming with you to evaluate a range of options and providing an objective assessment of diverse and often evolving variables. For leaders, that’s priceless information and perspective to help inform your most pivotal choices. Here’s a sample prompt:
“Determine which AI use cases are gaining the most traction within the worldwide travel industry. Identify which of those applications would be most beneficial for a medium-sized travel agency focused on scaling the business and establishing a more global presence with minimal staffing additions. Evaluate the technical and financial feasibility for implementing those use cases.”
Introduce Teams to Data Analysis with ChatGPT
Some of your employees may not be experienced in analyzing data through spreadsheet manipulation or querying data platforms, but you can show them how to use ChatGPT to pull out the information needed to make better decisions and solve problems. For instance, you could demonstrate that using this type of prompt:
“Please comb the social media posts for XYZ company and provide an analysis of these digital marketing campaigns for the last 12 months, including engagement, shares, and any notable trends. Suggest which social media features should be repeated or eliminated in the upcoming digital campaign based on the analysis.”
To get the most out of ChatGPT as a decision-making support tool, remember that the quality of data you get out is determined by the quality of data you put in. Be sure your prompts include adequate context and bias-free data sources. And, of course, keep in mind that successful decision-making depends on your own experience-based judgment as a leader. AI can provide all sorts of suggestions and advice, but that’s never a substitute for your own instincts, experience, and ethics.
If you have been feeling hesitant about using AI as part of your leadership toolbox, I hope this series of articles has convinced you to rethink the possibilities. With just a little experimentation, I’m confident you’ll find that ChatGPT can become a priceless partner in your role as a leader—boosting your ability to make better decisions at a faster pace.
Until next time,
