UNDERSTANDING AI by Sandi Webster, PhD AI: The silent seat at the advisory board table Artificial Intelligence has rapidly become one of the most talkedabout business tools in recent history. Much of the conversation focuses on AI’s ability to generate marketing copy or produce an outline for a book. While these capabilities are fascinating, entrepreneurs may be overlooking one of AI’s greatest opportunities: improving strategic thinking. As someone who helps organizations form and manage advisory boards, I have spent years watching leaders seek what they need more—an outside perspective. Advisory boards exist because business owners often become immersed in the day-to-day realities of their organizations. They can become so close to their business that it becomes difficult to identify blind spots, recognize emerging risks or imagine new opportunities. AI is introducing an interesting possibility: the silent seat at the advisory board table. AI should never replace advisors. It cannot replace human judgment, experience, emotional intelligence, wisdom or relationships. But it can serve as a powerful support system that strengthens decision-making. Imagine preparing for an advisory board meeting. Traditionally, the leadership team and I spend at least one week collecting reports, researching trends, and assembling information for discussion. AI has significantly accelerated many of these tasks for me. Prior to a meeting, this is how I use AI, and all entrepreneurs can use it in a similar way: ■ Summarize industry trends ■ Identify competitor activities ■ Create discussion questions ■ Analyze customer feedback patterns ■ Organize and summarize meeting notes ■ Generate scenario planning ideas ■ Identify potential risks and opportunities I can now get these reports in about one hour or less. I created a project in ChatGPT to ensure AI follows the same outline for each meeting. AI updates from the last report date to the present. However, perhaps the most valuable use of AI is not giving answers: it is helping leaders ask better questions. Great advisory boards are built on thoughtful discussion. Sometimes the most powerful question in a meeting changes the directly of an entire company. AI can help leaders generate questions such as: ■ What assumptions are we making that may no longer be true? ■ What emerging trends could disrupt our industry? ■ If a competitor wanted to take our customers, what would they do? ■ What risks are we overlooking? ■ What opportunities would an outsider immediately recognize? Questions like these often stimulate richer conversations among advisors and encourage broader thinking. Now, I ask each board member what questions they would like to ask, then AI refines it. It also gives me suggestions on how to answer the question, and I can take them back to the board. AI can also help stimulate multiple viewpoints before a meeting even begins. A business owner could ask AI to evaluate a proposed strategy from the perspective of a customer, investor, employee, or competitor. This does not guarantee the answers are correct, but it may expose issues that deserve discussion. Still, leaders should proceed thoughtfully. I was preparing for a board meeting and I normally would give new board members a bio of each current board member. It was perfect timing to update my resume. So, I uploaded my current resume and asked AI to update it. When I received the result, I was surprised to find that quite a bit of the information was incorrect. One incorrect piece of information referred to me as a private detective and writer of children’s mysteries. Immediately I knew I had forgotten to include a prompt to exclude any other “Sandi Webster” except the one who owns Sandi Webster LLC, and to include my birth date. The updated bio was perfect. I was grateful that someone else didn’t update my resume as they might not have caught it. All systems are trained on existing information and patterns. They can generate inaccurate information, reinforce biases, and confidently present incorrect conclusions. They also require caution when handling confidential or proprietary business information. This is why AI should be viewed as a tool—not a decision maker. The future likely will not be a choice between humans or AI. It will be about humans working with AI to make better decisions. Entrepreneurs who thrive will not necessarily be those who use the most technology. They will be those who learn how to combine technology with experience, wisdom, and trusted human relationships. The most effective advisory boards of the future may include experienced leaders around the table—and one silent participant who helps everyone think more broadly. That participant will not replace human insight. It will simply help us see what we may have missed. SANDI WEBSTER, PhD, leads her consulting firm, Sandi Webster LLC, and is a member of the Enterprising Women Advisory Board, a past recipient of the Enterprising Women of the Year Award, and co-chair of the New York Young Enterprising Women Mentoring Forum program. Connect at www.sandiwebster.com. 54 enterprising Women
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