How can your business keep up with the AI revolution? | Ryan Kohler | TEDxStGeorge
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- Опубліковано 28 січ 2025
- How do we lead in times of profound change?
Can leadership and collaboration turn the tide of uncertainty into an ocean of opportunity? In this riveting TEDxStGeorge talk, Ryan Kohler takes us on a journey through the highs and lows of founding and scaling a tech startup in a world where change is the only constant. With a narrative that stretches from the initial challenges of bootstrapping a hiring software company to the triumph of sending over a billion personalized emails to job seekers, Ryan's story is one of resilience, innovation, and unwavering leadership.
As we stand on the brink of what many believe to be the most significant shift in the workplace since the internet-thanks to generative AI-Ryan shares his insights on steering through this era of uncertainty. He reveals how, under his guidance, a diverse team of working moms and career changers grew a startup into a powerhouse, defying odds and earning a spot on the Inc5000 list for 11 consecutive years.
Ryan Kohler doesn't just recount his experiences; he offers a roadmap for future leadership. He delves into three transformative tactics that have been instrumental in his team's success: embracing the concept of fractional professionals to bring in external expertise without breaking the bank, leveraging collective intelligence by combining human ingenuity with AI capabilities, and initiating friction meetings to streamline processes and reduce conflict. This talk is a treasure trove of insights for anyone looking to lead with clarity, foster a culture of collaboration, and navigate the uncharted waters of the AI revolution with confidence. Join Ryan as he demonstrates how the right leadership can not only navigate change but also harness it to create unprecedented opportunities for growth and innovation. applicantpro.com
#LeadershipInChange #GenerativeAI #InnovationLeadership #FutureOfWork #AdaptingToChange #TeamCollaboration #EmbracingAI #Entrepreneurship #TechInnovation #AIRevolution #BusinessStrategy #NavigatingUncertainty #FractionalProfessionals #TedXTalks #ChangeManagement #TEDxStGeorge #RyanKohler Ryan Kohler, CEO of refer.io and ApplicantPro founder, epitomizes visionary entrepreneurship. He bootstrapped ApplicantPro from the ground up, transforming it into an industry leader with over 10,000 clients, 280 employees, and $35M+ in revenue, earning an Inc. 5000 spot for 11 years in a row. Championing part-time work, Ryan has revolutionized employment models, demonstrating that part-time roles, notably filled by working moms, can be a powerful driver for business success and work-life balance. His journey from a part-time accountant to a CEO underscores his belief in part-time employment's potential. A beacon for startups and established firms, Ryan leverages the gig economy in an unconventional way to promote flexible, output-focused work cultures. His leadership and advocacy for a more adaptable workforce have established him as a sought-after thought leader, reshaping modern work paradigms. Refer.io applicantpro.com This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx
There is a saying that if you want to lose a fight all you have to do is fight chance. You have to embrace change in a meaning way.
This is probably the most important thing for employees and companies to embrace on generative ai. It may not be perfect but it can very powerful if you lean in and learn how to make it work as your co-pilot!
I love this! Change is critical, when the market changes, the businesses that stay at the top are the ones that change. Ryan is a genius at that.
I love this. Learning to change as the market, the economy, and social conditions change is paramount to us being able to succeed in the world. We can control the change we can only control our reactions to change.
I think what was implied was "we can not control change, but address our reactions to it."
But, we can mitigate the impact, and systematically address change itself.
Very informative and insightful thanks!
This is such good information ❤ Thank you Ryan!
Very good points and great reminder about the role of humans. Soft skills are often more important than technical skills, especially when working on a team. Thank you 😊
The most powerful situation is the integration of soft and technical skills… when someone can use technology with the humans instead of trying to replace them we always see the biggest gains and success!
As someone who has been designing technology for 40+ years, most times both are important. We usually select project leaders who blend skills, knowledge, and technology. I also consider personality, but then I also have a psych degree...
Clear and functional- good one
Ryan Kohler provides essential insights on how businesses can stay competitive during the AI revolution. He emphasizes the importance of adaptability, continuous learning, and embracing AI-driven innovations to remain relevant in a rapidly changing landscape. Kohler advocates for leveraging AI to enhance decision-making, streamline operations, and create personalized customer experiences. His approach is both practical and forward-thinking, encouraging businesses to not just react to changes but to proactively integrate AI into their strategies. For any business looking to thrive in the age of AI, Kohler's advice is a valuable guide to navigating this technological transformation successfully.
lool did u prompt ai to write this
Yes, it did seem as if someone was passing the kool-aid around...
But lots of folks are getting on the bandwagon, and forward-thinking folks should be planning on adjustments.
Working in an educational setting has showed us the positives and negatives of AI. It has helped in so many ways, however it has also raised many issues for our instructors.
I’m glad you and others are helping bring the positive aspects to the forefront, so that we can learn how to use the positives. 😃
🔑 3 Tactics to Lead Through the AI Revolution:
1. 🕹️ Embrace Fractional Professionals - Bring in external experts as needed without full-time commitment.
2. 🧠 Leverage Collective Intelligence - Combine human expertise with AI capabilities to enhance capabilities.
3. 🔀 Initiate Friction Meetings - Proactively address conflicts and streamline processes to reduce friction.
The core message is that strong leadership focused on collaboration, adaptability, and leveraging diverse resources can help businesses navigate the changes brought by the AI revolution.
Thanks for extracting these valuable points from the self promotion. I thought TED licensing regulates self promotion.🤔
great!
Using AI to monitor workers and then that same AI emailing them in the writing style of their boss who isn't even examining their work is extremely depressing to envision.
Actually... that isn't what's happening at all. We use AI to identify users & clients who need specific attention, and highlight them by sending a short lists of those clients to their account managers. This is a huge win for the account managers because they can focus on the 10 accounts brought to their attention instead of weeding thru a hundred or more to find them. It's a huge win for the clients because they get more attention on their specific challenges than they would have otherwise received. We know it is working based on extremely high customer ratings on capterra and extremely high employee ratings on glassdoor.
the people who hate change are always left behind so,let us all embrace change and positive
Change & handling conflicts in a positive productive way is the key. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and skills.
Nice
Thanks Ryan! Thanks for recentering our thinking on AI to get ahead of it instead of missing the wave of opportunities.
It is very general, however there was some actionable content for me
Good identification of problems and some good ideas on how to address them. I particularly like the notion of fractional employees. Subject Matter Experts (both technical and operational), Project Managers and Technology Stategists all fit nicely into that model. However, I think you missed the mark a bit on the most advantageous use of AI. Using AI to front-end access to employees that can solve a given customer problem simply exacerbates the problems presented by off-shoring call centers in that it increases the touches required to address a customer issue, inevitably leading to dissatisfaction and exasperation of the part of the customer.
My suggestion on the best use of AI is to realize its most powerful function is processing vast amounts of information and recognizing patterns and trends well before any human can. Therefore organize customer service with the objective of recognizing problem attributes and more quickly opening the doors to the resources that can truly help. Don't use AI as a gatekeeper; use it as a way to expedite matching the customer & issue to the best resources to address the problem and best serve the customer.
Hello TEDx team Subtitle use plz 🙏
U just need to turn on subtitle on your UA-cam setting 😊
applausi
Integrate. Don't resist the assimilate. Or be left behind in your competitors' tracks.
(Ai to watch the line of code. To enhance cyber security. It finds a malicious code attack, it auto runs protocols to fight, I
The vulnerabilities. Sends a log and everything nesacary to damage control)
Ps. They can't "take your jobs." Nerds will be needed to fix the bots and code.
Many small and large nonprofits will be left behind in AI age!
I think that depends on if nonprofits embrace AI, ignore it, or reject it (the same goes for small business). From all of my experience, AI could be a tool to give nonprofit teams (especially smaller ones) a huge boost in employee output for a very low cost. Imagine if every employee at a non profit had a $25 per month writing assistant that could help them do more in less time? Wouldn't that be a huge benefit to nonprofits? Wouldn't that help them do more good with the limited resources and funding that they have?
The nonprofit organization I work for this going to be behind.
Why do Americans sound the same
What did he change though?
This was a whole lot of talk without any information just basically all he was saying is look how much I know without providing any value whatsoever
Typical sophistry. "Fractional professionals" is just a techbro way of saying "part time workers".
Or consultants
I think what he’s talking about is someone like a fractional CTO. You’re correct it’s a part time employee but not in the way that you might typically think
Many years ago, I worked in national defense, and we had matrix management: technology specific managers and project specific managers. Everyone had management from two directions. Some were direct employees, some contractors, and some consultants with specialized knowledge.
@@bobferguson7510 Matrix management aka part timers?
No.
He didn’t say anything practical about AI at all…
ai will handle all of this workload in 5 years, you won’t even need humans
I really don't believe that. All of the studies show that humans paired with AI out perform AI or humans on their own. There are things that AI does well, and things that Humans do well, and when we pair them up we get the best of both worlds.
What "AI" can currently do is evolving, just as what humans do is evolving. There are discussions about how intelligent 'AI' really is, and how much further it really needs to go before it can replace, rather than supplement current professionals. The hype is significant, but folks (and systems) are addressing these issues.