|
|
|
| | What's missing from today's conversation around AI |
|
| | NEW GROWTH
"The last time around, when traditional tech was busy selling cloud and hybrid technologies, others were quietly using it to build Uber and Airbnb. I'm looking for similar signals of the next era of business. It's about what you do with the tools."
This provocation from Martin Jetter, former Chairman of Deutsche Börse and SYP Global Advisor, reflects what we're hearing from many leaders: AI-native companies aren't just new competitors—they're early signals of what's to come. From novel offerings to new organizational models, these emerging players are showing what it looks like to design from first principles. How will AI find and fuel the next great white space? "The next winners of the AI age won't focus on incremental gains in productivity—they'll solve problems we don't yet know how to articulate," notes SYP Managing Partner Nicolas Maitret. "Exploring 'AI-native whitespace' requires radical imagination." |
|
| | ACCOUNTABILITY
"In my industry, too many CEOs are handing off full accountability for AI to tech teams. It's being treated as a technology issue, when it's actually a business model and leadership issue."
A Chief Digital Officer in the fashion industry shared this growing concern with us recently. We can confirm it's a pattern everywhere. When AI is delegated to tech leads or innovation hubs, it shifts from a strategic lever to a siloed tool. As SYP Venture Partner Marc Winter puts it: "The way you frame the opportunity determines how big you think it is—and who gets to solve it." How can we enable collective ownership of the AI transformation? Senior leaders need to own not just the outcomes of AI, but the understanding. That means carving out time to build real fluency, ask hard questions, and experiment in the open. It's not easy—but it's essential. Without shared literacy at the top, there's no basis for sound decisions about risk, investment, or the future you are building. |
|
| | STRATEGY
"Grounding strategy in current GenAI tools limits tomorrow's potential."
This insight from a product executive at a digital infrastructure company captures a growing tension. AI is moving fast—too fast for static planning. Leaders hesitate to commit, or worse, lock into soon-to-be-obsolete roadmaps. How do you create a forward-looking strategy when the future is being rewritten in real-time? We're helping clients shift from building around technologies to building around the role they want to play. As Partner Carina Cortese puts it: "The best strategies are directional, not deterministic—strong enough to guide action, flexible enough to evolve." |
|
| | EXPONENTIAL IMAGINATION
"IQ + EQ + AI is the new equation for humans to explore."
Naveen Agarwal, former Chief Customer Officer at Prudential and SYP Global Advisor, suggests that the most powerful use of AI may not be to replace what humans do—but to radically expand what they're capable of. When AI augments human insight, creativity, and empathy, entirely new possibilities emerge—faster, and from more places than before. What becomes possible when every team in your org is AI-equipped? When more people can make, test, imagine, and build—without needing to code or pitch or get permission—the capacity for transformation grows exponentially. That's why SYP's VP of AI Systems and Technology, Anthony Quigley, argues: "We should be putting AI tools in as many hands as possible. The next leap won't come from replacing people—but from enabling them." |
|
| | EMOTION
"Do you want to grow more? Deepen your love with customers. If AI can help us have real dialogue with them, great. I've been insured for over 40 years and have never received a proactive phone call from my insurer to talk about something I didn't know I needed."
While many AI conversations center on speed, efficiency, and savings, Steven Braekeveldt—SYP Global Advisor and former CEO of Ageas Portugal—invites us to bring emotion back into the equation. Imagine what a more emotionally attuned system could unlock: deeper employee engagement, radically personalized products, or proactive service that builds lasting trust. How can AI deepen customer love? The leaders we're working with are increasingly exploring how AI can foster trust, connection, and personalization at scale. It's a call to design systems that aren't just smart, but also deeply human. "If you walk into the conversation through the door of relationships," says SYP Partner Laura Gordon, "the opportunity becomes so much more expansive." |
|
| | CULTURE
"The hardest part of the transformation won't be the technology—it will be the people."
Saira Jesani, Executive Director of the Data & Trust Alliance, echoes what we're hearing in many conversations. Resistance to AI is common—but so is unchecked experimentation. In response, many companies are introducing compliance training and usage policies. And while necessary, they often miss the deeper need: helping employees understand how to orient themselves to AI in their day-to-day work in a way that aligns with company strategy, values, and ethics. Are we giving our people more than tools—are we giving them a compass? We're now being challenged by leadership teams to translate AI strategy into culture—clarifying what role AI should play, how AI-related decisions get made, and what "good" looks like in practice. It's the practical behavioral layer that keeps intention and execution aligned. |
|
| | | 🌍 FROM THE UAE "The 'chill and build' playlist is on repeat," says SYP's UAE-based Tristan Hills, describing the vibe of extreme optimism about the future—a counterbalance to the anxiety felt in the US and elsewhere in the West. Despite the recent regional conflict, in a recent survey, 85% of UAE's CEOs expect the global economy to improve over the next three to five years, up significantly from 61% in last year's survey. From ad-hoc to systematic. "In the U.S., there's a lack of systemic planning for the AI shift. In the Gulf States, they're designing AI integration from education to labor, as part of a national strategy," observed Rie Norregaard-Madsen, Founder of SYP Middle East. |
|
| 🌍 FROM EUROPE Yes ABUSA, 'Anywhere but the USA' is a thing. We keep hearing from clients that the breakdown in trust between the US and Europe is generational and already having real business impact. Case in point: Some European companies are no longer issuing RFPs to US companies. HELP WANTED: Time travel. The "Europe is five to ten years behind the US" line has been tossed around board rooms for decades. But what if you can shrink the window to two years? We're seeing a number of interesting startups promising to do just that for business leaders in the region craving to leap forward in new ways. Defense! Defense! The global political situation is shifting unprecedented investment in defense across the board. The big question we're hearing: "How do you shift a mindset of fiscal responsibility to suddenly spend widely and effectively?" |
|
| | | 🙋♀️ Jessica Orkin, our CEO, took the stage at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Riyadh on May 21, Her powerful talk explored the transformative impact of courageous questions in leadership. You can watch it here. 📖 There's still time to nominate a leader from your organization for SYP's Emergent Leadership Program—a six-month transformative journey crafted for high-potential leaders to
lead with inspiration, courage, and humanity in today's rapidly shifting world. 🌀 Bree Groff, SYP alumna and Senior Advisor, brings a fresh perspective to the workplace in her upcoming book Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously), landing July 15. Blending candor with research, the book is a field guide for leaders who want to infuse real joy into their teams' everyday work—making the job not just productive, but deeply human, vibrant, and yes, fun. 🔎 Last week, we hosted an invitation-only breakfast at our New York office for a select group of CMOs. The focus: navigating the future of marketing leadership in these unprecedented times. We'll be sharing a synthesis of the most compelling insights and provocations from the conversation in an upcoming issue. Stay tuned. |
|
| | | Dispatches from the collective delivers insights from SYPartner's work through human anecdotes, practical tips, and beautiful questions designed to help C-suite leaders navigate the unknown and act with purpose—shared in the spirit of helping all of us lead in a better way. |
|
| | SYPartners is a consultancy that partners with clients at their critical turning points to design new possibilities for impact, create paths for long-term value, and build cultures of competitive advantage. For more than 30 years, we've helped transform some of the world's most iconic organizations by fusing strategy and design. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
