Earlier today I had a coffee with Sandy Gupta, Microsoft’s Asia VP and Chief Industry and Innovation Officer.
Sandy partners with the Microsoft Asia leadership team to drive Business and Digital Transformation for customers across the region – with a deep emphasis on making Generative AI relevant to business outcomes for Microsoft’s most strategic customers in Asia.
We talked about Sandy’s move to Tokyo, his new role and (of course), the Artificial Intelligence revolution. Along with his views on well-being and mental health in the fast-paced world that we live in today.
With Sandy’s permission, I’m sharing his thoughts below:
SITAL: Sandy, you and the Microsoft team are at the cutting edge of AI conversations across multiple industries right now. What an exciting time! What are the top 2 challenges that you’re hearing about from organizations around AI adoption and deployment?
SANDY: Yes indeed! It really is a unique time and such a real privilege to be part of so many important conversations on AI-driven transformation with our customers.
The number one challenge that we are having conversations around is Governance and the Ethics of AI. There’s a strong desire to understand how AI models are built, how they’re used and where the data comes from. Organizations want to be confident that their AI models are making decisions in a way that are aligned with their core values, and that they can explain these decisions to stakeholders, regulators, and the public.
The second challenge is the opportunity for Domain-Specific AI. The real potential of AI lies in its ability to revolutionize specific sectors/domains – for example, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Retail, Healthcare, Education etc. However, to do this effectively requires a deep understanding of both AI technology and the specific industry domain in question. The challenge here is bridging the gap between domain experts and AI practitioners. When both groups can collaborate effectively, AI can be tailored to address domain-specific problems and unlock new opportunities in creating value.
SITAL: That’s helpful context on the broad challenges – and indeed, the opportunities.
Let’s talk about AI from a Leadership and Talent perspective; What are some of the key challenges that you’re seeing here? Where do you see the opportunities for forward-thinking organizations?
SANDY: The two key challenges I see in this area relate to Change Management and Talent Shortages.
a) Change Management: With the rapid advancement of AI, leaders are faced with the challenge of technological change in a way that aligns with organizational goals and culture. This requires not just the adoption of new tools, but a shift in mindset and approach – that must start from the top of the organization.
b) Talent Shortage: As AI continues to grow in significance, there’s a massive demand for professionals skilled in AI, data science, and related areas. Companies are in a race to attract the best talent, leading to a potential talent crunch.
These 2 challenges also give a clue to where the opportunities lie:
a) Leading by Example: To drive change management, leaders have the opportunity to set the tone for AI adoption by integrating AI-driven tools and methodologies into their own workflows. This not only showcases the potential of AI but can inspire and motivate the entire organization to follow the lead in learning AI tools.
b) Bold Talent Strategies: There is a massive opportunity for AI-driven talent development and talent acquisition. From my perspective, leaders need to be very bold here – it’s not a time for small incremental change. AI is projected to drive 15% of the GDP in the future – with that level of opportunity you cannot take small incremental changes. You have to be very bold. There are a few ways to think about this.
- Becoming an AI-centered organization: Through the Cloud and Digital Transformation journey, commentators would say, “every company is becoming a software company”. I’d go further now and say “every company has to become an AI company” to embrace the opportunities ahead and remain relevant for the future.
- Building AI capability through acquisitions: In my discussions with CEO’s, my recommendation is often to think about building their own AI team – even it means through acquisitions of AI start-ups or smaller companies. Whether you are a manufacturing company, a bank or a conglomerate, you cannot just wait for the tech companies to do everything.
- Domain/Company-Specific Innovation: By having your own in-house AI team which then works in partnership with large tech firms like Microsoft, you ensure that the AI technologies being developed are finely tuned to the specific challenges and opportunities of your industry sector and your company.
SITAL: These are smart, strategic shifts that organizations can take to build a competitive edge for the future.
Let’s get tactical. There is so much innovation with new AI tools and new updates launching almost weekly – it can seem overwhelming!
How are you learning and adopting AI personally yourself? Can you share some simple, practical actions that leaders and their teams can apply to start moving in the right direction this week?
SANDY: I totally understand Sital, there is a lot going on! We need think big – but start small.
My recommendation is to first use something like ChatGPT to build your own AI capability and capacity. And then use a diffusion product like Microsoft 365 Copilot so that your entire organization doesn’t even realize that they’re already AI users. They’re already leveraging AI without having to get harder and deeper into AI.
a) Embracing Generative AI Apps like ChatGPT:
- Personal Use: Just download and start using ChatGPT for day-to-day activities. This is where I started. I am using it more and more now as a quick ‘go-to’ for answering questions or gaining insights on various topics with my family (it’s usually much faster and smarter in responding to my kid’s questions than me!). By integrating tools like ChatGPT into daily life, we can all get firsthand experience of the power and utility of AI.
- Professional Use: For gathering information quickly and creation of plans, strategies and campaigns – tools like ChatGPT can be a game-changer. It streamlines the process, saves time, and often produces high-quality outputs. I’ve recently used it for a philanthropy campaign at work to help underprivileged children. I used the Bing creator in ChatGPT and just created a whole campaign for the project in minutes and sent out. We were able to make an impact much faster simply by embracing these new technologies.
Whether it’s your personal life or work, just embracing tools like ChatGPT, starts helping you learn and get ahead. You will start understanding the value of AI and start then looking to adopt Diffusion Products.
b) Adopt Diffusion Products (like Microsoft M365 Copilot):
- Broad AI Integration: Instead of delving deep into domain-specific AI solutions immediately, leaders can start by adopting tools that offer a more general application of AI across various organizational functions.
- Efficiency & Convenience: With tools like Copilot, meetings and collaborations become more efficient. Participants can extract crucial information without having to attend every meeting or listen to lengthy recordings. They can literally ask questions for a summary of key points from a meeting and follow up actions. This not only saves time but also ensures that the main takeaways from discussions are not missed.
It’s important to start small and practical. By adopting user-friendly and broad-reaching AI tools, leaders and their teams can begin their AI journey in a less overwhelming manner. Over time, as the organization becomes more familiar with AI’s capabilities, they can venture deeper into domain-specific solutions.
We therefore get to reap the time saving benefits which AI brings and reinvest into differing activities.
SITAL: That’s a great way to think about getting started in a small way, learning and avoiding overwhelm.
Talking of saving time and reinvesting – let’s switch subject and talk about investing time in ourselves and our well-being.
We’re now into the month of “Movember” – with a focus on men’s health, in particular men’s cancers and mental health. As someone with a very busy schedule, what are the things that you do to take care of your well-being and mental health?
SANDY: Sital, for me, over the last 30 years, the hard learning has been on how self-discipline is so critical for you to be able to take care of yourself. If you take care of yourself, you can take care of your family, your work and teams.
Let me share 3 practices that I’ve found helpful for me:
i) Daily Reset with Discipline:
- Morning routine: I’m a 4 am early riser. The first thing I do on waking is to exercise. I don’t touch my phone until I’m done with my exercise and showered. Only then do I really start looking at tech and work activities for the day. That daily morning practice helps me reset and be super energized for the rest of the day.
- Adequate Sleep: Usually, I aim to sleep by 10am – 10.30pm where possible. Initially when I started this regime, I had a challenge balancing late night meetings with customers – or that last drink you want to have in the bar when travelling. But for me, taking the self-leadership in that moment to say “no” and leaving at 9 or 9.30pm, walking back to my hotel room, and getting a good night’s sleep has made a huge difference to my well-being and my ability to be at my best the next day.
ii) Saying “No” When Overwhelmed
In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to say “no” at times is crucial. Overcommitting can lead to burnout and compromise the quality of your work. Setting boundaries ensures that you can deliver quality results while also maintaining mental well-being.
iii) Promoting work-life balance
Maintaining a balance between professional commitments and personal life is critical for mental health. This balance not only benefits the individual but also sets a positive precedent for the entire team or organization.
Like everyone, I am a “work-in-progress” on all these areas!
I do have bad days and bad weeks. The key is to remain disciplined in getting ‘back on track’ when I lose my routine and balance. And providing the leadership and role modelling for our teams to show the importance of wellbeing and mental health.
SITAL: That is sound and very practical advice Sandy, thank you.
One final question. As you can see, I’m in the early stages of growing a moustache (“Mo”) as part of Movember – to raise awareness for Men’s Cancer’s and Mental health. I remember, you used to have a moustache for many years – in your expert opinion, how’s my “Mo” looking Sandy?
SANDY: Firstly, all the very best to all the ‘Mo Bros’ and ‘Mo Sista’s’ raising funds and awareness for men’s health – it’s a very important cause.
But Sital, to be honest, I think your moustache could do with a little help. Maybe there’s an innovative new AI solution for your “Mo” just around the corner?!?!
SITAL: Thanks Sandy š
To follow Sandy’s viewsĀ on business transformation enabled by AI and other disruptive technologies, you follow him on LinkedInĀ here.
To learn more about my personal connectionĀ to ‘Movember’, and the upcoming celebration event,Ā click here.