This week in the world’s #1 newsletter on leadership communication:

• The Last Skill Standing​
• On the Show: How to Respond to Criticism without Losing Your Cool​
• Book recommendation: Life at the Speed of Play

The Last Skill Standing

A few times in your lifetime, the world changes profoundly. First slowly, then forever.

In our lifetime we've seen the advent of the internet, the smartphone, social media – and now AI.

Here's what I've noticed: the people who benefit most from these shifts aren't the smartest or the fastest. They're the ones with the strongest thesis about what the change means. Then they position themselves before everyone else catches on.

I've spent three years thinking about what AI means for human communication and even gave a TEDx talk on it.

My thesis: our personal communication skills will be the only business skill to survive the AI revolution.

Why? Because AI can already do standard business tasks better than you or me – and soon it will do most of them.

That doesn't mean jobs will disappear. Human preference, regulation, and inertia will see to that. As long as there are problems to solve, people will find interesting things to do.

But it does mean your and my job may not exist in its current form.

Leaders will still exist. Many manager roles won't – AI coordinates information more efficiently.

If I'm right, communication becomes the most valuable skill in business, specifically:

• Presence and in-person communication
• Strategic conversations
• Public speaking
• Storytelling
• Communicating a vision and leading others
• Creating trust and agreement.

It comes down to this: As trust continues to fall, those who know how to create trust are in high demand.

(The big AI companies seem to agree. They're hiring exceptional storytellers and communicators.)

What does this mean for you?

You may not share my thesis and that’s totally fine. Then I’d suggest you formulate your own – about what the AI revolution means for you and your industry.

If you do share it, turn insight into action. Ask yourself: What would it take to be in the top 10% of my industry for both AI skills and communication skills? Land in the top 10% of both, and the future is full of opportunity.

Then push further. What would it take to reach the top 1%? Because that makes you a force to be reckoned with.

(If you're interested in becoming a top 1% communicator, this week is your last chance to join the waitlist for my next live cohort.)

ON THE SHOW

“You suck!” How to Respond to Criticism without Losing Your Cool

▶️ Episode 334 on YouTube, Spotify or Apple.

Everyone gets criticized, and the more responsibility you have, the more you become a target. The problem is that if you lose your cool, you also lose your credibility and your sanity.

In this week's episode, I will share with you the four wrong ways to react to criticism. These are automatic stress responses that most of us default to under pressure. You've probably all used all of them at some point – I know I have.

Fortunately, there is a better way: to respond rather than react. I believe it's the only way to ensure people respect you more when accusations fly in all directions.

Unfortunately there isn't a magical sentence that makes all the criticism go away. But there are seven ways in which you can respond – depending on the situation – that make sure you come out on top when being criticized. I share them in this week’s short solo episode.

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Life at the Speed of Play

Don't we all want to enjoy work more – and be hugely successful at the same time?

Mark Pincus managed both. In Life at the Speed of Play, he shares how he stayed at the forefront of every iteration of the internet for 30 years.

As the founder of Zynga, he brought us FarmVille, CityVille, and Words with Friends – games played by more than a billion people. I don't play games myself, but the book is a roller coaster through the ups and downs of building technology companies.

What few people know: Pincus was one of only three seed investors in Facebook, alongside LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel. He wrote a check for $38,000 – while building Facebook's competitor Tribe.

Three insights I took away from the book:

1/ Proven, Better, New

His core framework. Most products fail because they don't build on a proven idea. Start with what already works. Make it better in one important way. Add one new feature. Then test relentlessly with customers before building anything.

2/ What altitude are you at?

Tell your team which altitude you're speaking at: vision, strategy, or daily execution. It sounds simple, but it prevents one of the most common leadership communication failures – your team lacks clarity and executes at the wrong level because they guessed wrong.

3/ Make everyone a CEO

Mark's leadership philosophy: everyone should be the CEO of something, regardless of rank. At Zynga, every new hire was expected to become the go-to person for one important part of the business within weeks of joining. The receptionist became CEO of the phone system – and grew into an HR leadership role from there.

Have an inspired weekend,

Oliver

PS: Whenever you are ready, there are 3 ways I can help you: private coaching; my 10-person cohorts; transforming your organization’s communication.

Eo Ipso Communications GmbH

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Uhlandstraße 32, 10719 Berlin

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