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AI is being integrated into our daily lives at breakneck speed now.

It can do everything from your checklist in seconds. It can crank out numbers, write 80% of your proposal in a matter of minutes, churn out analysis, and spit out answers faster than you can blink, make high-resolution videos, and the list goes on.

There’s even an AI robot that can fold your laundry and do household chores (yes, wild, I know).

But the real game isn’t speed and output anymore. Its depth and quality.

Empathy, curiosity, and clarity aren’t just “soft skills.” They’re the only edge left when everything else is pivoting to some sort of automation.

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AI can run the numbers, but it can’t read the room.

Senior leaders aren’t remembered for their speed. They’re remembered for how they show up when the stakes are highest and solve their clients’ problems.

Let’s dance.

The Fortune 100 are investing billions in AI for speed and efficiency. But no algorithm wins a boardroom, calms stakeholders, or saves a deal about to go south.

Here are some facts:

When the industry is racing for efficiency, depth is your advantage.

AI can’t hustle through moments that actually decide deals. It can’t defuse fear in a negotiation, sense skepticism in a Zoom call, or spot the one silent objection that’s about to tank your project.

Algorithms don’t read the tension in a room, don’t bridge a gap in trust, and don’t build empathy.

Not sure where you sit with the customer? Check out our past posts on customer stakeholders:

How to Build Your Customer Stakeholder Map & Free eBook

You’re not just showing up on another video call. You’re watching body language, reading the room, what are they saying, and what aren’t they saying, reading 6 months out on what their clients need, or finding unspoken signals that let you guide outcomes.

Human connection is the advantage AI can’t automate.

If you skip these moments, you’re just another producer. Easy to replace.

If you lean in, you become indispensable. You aim to be a trusted advisor, not the algorithm without a face.

Check out some of my other newsletter posts around this same topic here:

When Chaos Hits, Accountability Wins

Tech Breaks...Teams Don't

Don’t Let AI Sabotage Your Signature

Invest time in the human lane, the space AI can’t touch.

There are some people who are better at it than others.

Stop treating conversations as transactions. Listen for the worry behind their question, not just the data on the screen. Curiosity builds clarity and character, and clarity uncovers the real issue.

Don’t be afraid to show a sense of vulnerability. If you sense fear in a deal, address it. Be honest about challenges. Empathy isn’t a script; it’s sensing what’s unsaid and responding with care.

Take a genuine interest in your clients’ world. AI can tell you their buying history; only you can remember their last worry, ambition, or pivot.

Your team that focuses on the day-to-day activities of the client can be one of the most impactful ways to build client trust.

If there is an understanding that they are not just onsite to do just the project (or build the account) that is outlined for them, but also to mind the needs of the customer and be on the lookout for future work and building client trust.

I have been amazed at how many companies do not actively engage their clients or are reactive (i.e., wait until their client needs something from them), other than just specifically on their particular project that they are working on, understand their overall project/service portfolio, or how else they can support them. They are just focused on the project.

Enable your account managers to listen, tell you what is going on in those closed-door rooms, what is coming down the pipeline that is not seen yet, and build a strong relationship with the customer can open many doors that AI could never do, and help position you for success.

Body language can tell you a lot. When something isn’t sitting right with someone, it will usually be very apparent and lead to questions and conversations.

AI can flag risks. Only you can calm nerves and keep the trust alive when a deal’s on the line, or upcoming policy changes could affect your client’s business operations, or maybe the partnership is not feeling right. Whatever the case might be, you don’t leave it in the hands of AI to do the work.

No platform can automate that moment or solve for it.

Your influence lives in the cracks the algorithms can’t reach.

Strong relationships flex where automation snaps. Complex deals survive because someone actually bridged trust rather than just trading emails.

Clients introduce you to their networks because you made them feel heard, not because you automated their experience. In the darkness of disruption, human connection is the only light that can’t be replicated.

From new tools, recent trends, and market updates, here is what has been on my mind.

Efficiency is getting cheaper. Influence is getting rarer.

AI keeps scoring points for speed.

But you, the CEO, SVP, Business Development Manager, Founder, Marketing Manager, score when you listen, probe, adapt, and show up where fear and uncertainty live.

Don’t let automation take your seat at the table. You lead when you connect.
The future belongs to those bold enough to hustle with humanity at the forefront.

See you next week.