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Forbes
5 minutes ago
- Forbes
7 Business Lessons For AI
From above photo of an anonymous African-American woman analyzing business graph on a laptop ... More computer while sitting at restaurant desk with notebook, pen and eyeglasses. When considering any implementation of AI in a business, leadership teams have a weighty responsibility. This is an approach that people want to get right. They face a few challenges – that the technology is so nascent, that there doesn't seem to be a lot of road maps available for companies, and that many people instinctively distrust large language models to automate processes. So what's to be done? A Leader's Perspective Here's where I recently got some insights from a paper written by Lidiane Jones, who was previously head of Slack, and CEO of Bumble, a major dating platform. Jones breaks down some of the aspects of AI implementation that C-suite people are looking at. Data Transfers and Governance Jones points out that transformations like ETL (extract, transform, load) and ELT (extract, load, transform) predated AI, but data is still siloed in many cases. One solution Jones touts is an 'omnichannel data strategy' – this, she writes, 'will ensure privacy and security of your data, ease of access for business applications, offer real time capabilities and can integrate with your everyday tools.' Compliance with Financial Data Rules For example, Jones speaks about the need to focus on compliance in some areas. 'Every company has critical financial data, subject to audit, regulation and compliance that must be carefully protected,' she writes. 'Normally, for more scaled companies, this data sits on an ERP system. Every CEO, CFO, COO and CRO needs critical real-time insight from these systems, to determine how the business is performing against plans, how expenses are tracking against the budget or how a change in employee investment … will affect the overall cost structure and velocity of the business, among numerous other capital allocation considerations.' Business Intelligence for the Win In terms of general business intelligence, Jones spins a story to illustrate: 'Imagine a Sales Executive who develops a multi-year high trust relationship with one of a company's most important large customer, and she decides to leave the company for a better career opportunity,' she writes. 'Historically, though there will be good information about that customer and notes from this leader, much of her institutional knowledge leaves with her. Corporate human knowledge exists within organizations, and is shaped by the culture, people and business processes.' She then addresses the role of workflow tools and other platform resources. 'Collaboration software of all kinds like Slack, Google Workspace and Teams … have a lot of people's knowledge embedded in them that is hardly ever nurtured,' she adds. 'Unstructured data like this is highly effective in training LLMs, and can provide opportunities that haven't existed before - like capturing the sentiment of what this large customer loved the most about their relationship with this Sales Executive.' She also gave a nod to the potential difficulties, conceding that ' it might feel daunting to expand data strategy planning to be as broad as this,' but notes that partnering with vendors and other firms can help. 'Phasing and prioritizing how you bring more of your data into a single system is key to making progress and capturing business value along the way,' she writes. Agents do the Agenting Jones also makes an important point about the use of AI agents. It goes sort of like this: we're used to computers doing calculations, and digesting and presenting information, but these new systems can actually brainstorm on their own to change processes. 'In many instances, agents can optimize workflows themselves as they determine more effective ways to get the work done,' she writes. A Story of Implementation Citing ChatGPT's meteoric rise, Jones talked about using these technologies in the context of her work at Slack, which is, after all, a business communication tool. She chronicled the firm's connection with companies like OpenAI circa 2017. 'At the time, when I was leading Slack, it was exciting to collaborate with OpenAI, Cohere and Anthropic to use their LLMs to help our customers with some of the most challenging productivity challenges at Slack,' she writes. The challenges she enumerates: 'finding a conversation they knew they had but couldn't remember in what channel, or help customers manage the large amount of messages they received with summaries and prioritization, optimize search for information discovery and so much more.' Then, too, the company created tools. 'We introduced Slack Canvas based templates to help our customers quickly create content based on their corporate information, and captured Huddles' meeting notes and action items, and that was just the beginning,' she explains. 'The capabilities of LLMs gave us the opportunity to solve real-world customer challenges in a pleasant and insightful way, while maintaining the experience of the Slack brand.' Calling this kind of thing the 'table stakes' of the new corporate world, Jones walks us through a lot of the way stations on the path to what she calls 'co-intelligence.' That includes workflow automation, agentic AI, multi-agent systems, and new interfaces. Our AI Brethren Here's one way that Jones characterizes managing an AI: 'Considering autonomous agents as truly 'digital workers' can be a helpful framing for questions we already think of today with 'human workers' like: how does the employer track the quality of the work done? What systems does the digital worker have access to? If the company is audited, how do we track what steps and actions were taken by the digital worker? If the digital worker's actions turn malicious, how do we terminate the agent?' As for the extent of agent autonomy, Jones suggests that fully autonomous agents will be able to handle a complex or 'scoped' job on their own, conceding, though, that 'even an autonomous agent, like a human, needs a job scope and definition - or a set of instructions - on the job at hand.' This new world is one we will have to reckon with soon. Four Principles of Leadership Jones finished with a set of ideas for those who are considering these kinds of deployments. 1. Be hands-on: as a leader, stay close to what's happening 2. This one goes back to prior points: working with vendors and partners is a plus 3. Build an AI-first culture with AI-native projects 4. Find the value for your company I found this to be pretty useful for someone who is contemplating a big move in the age of AI. Some of the best ideas for leadership can be gleaned from TED talks, conferences, and these kinds of personal papers on experience with the industry.
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Nigeria's Aliko Dangote Retires as Chairman of Dangote Cement
Aliko Dangote has retired as chairman and director of Nigeria's Dangote Cement Plc, the company he founded, according to a statement. He will be replaced effective immediately by Emmanuel Ikazoboh, the company statement said, while Mariya Aliko Dangote was appointed to the board.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Red Lobster's 36-year-old CEO isn't repeating the chain's $11 million endless shrimp disaster. But he is reading all of your social media comments
Red Lobster, the iconic seafood chain, is charting a new course under the leadership of CEO Damola Adamolekun after making its way out of bankruptcy. In an interview with Good Morning America on Thursday, the 36-year-old chief executive addressed two questions lingering on the minds of loyal guests and industry watchers alike: Will the beloved Endless Shrimp deal return, and how will looming U.S. tariffs on imported seafood impact diners? His answers signal a reset for the troubled restaurant brand, focused on financial stability, customer experience, and menu innovation. Endless shrimp promotion: officially retired For years, the Ultimate Endless Shrimp promotion was a staple at Red Lobster, drawing crowds with the promise of limitless seafood at a set price. But as the company navigated severe financial headwinds, it became clear the beloved deal was more curse than blessing. Adamolekun stated unequivocally, 'We don't have any plans to bring it back,' all but closing the door on an offer that, while popular, ultimately helped sink Red Lobster's bottom line. The all-you-can-eat shrimp program, initially launched as a limited-time offer, was made a permanent fixture in recent years. Far from boosting profits, the promotion instead triggered multimillion-dollar losses due to customers out-eating the chain's margins. Bankruptcy filings revealed the deal alone was responsible for a loss of $11 million, accelerating Red Lobster's financial unraveling in 2023 and 2024. 'We listen intently to customer comments and try to react really quickly to deliver people what they want,' Adamolekun explained. 'But you also have to make sure you're running a profitable business.' Red Lobster has shifted its strategy to focus on value in more sustainable forms: introducing appetizer deals, weekday happy hours, and a three-course 'shrimp sensation' menu offered at select locations. While Adamolekun hasn't completely ruled out creative promotions in the distant future, diners hoping for the Endless Shrimp's return shouldn't hold their breath. Red Lobster's new menu items Adamolekun has prioritized innovation and agility, though, including extensive outreach to customers via social media, and a notable responsiveness from the chain to their feedback. Since emerging from bankruptcy, the company has overhauled its menu—streamlining offerings by 20% while adding new items like Lobster Pappardelle Pasta, Bacon-Wrapped Sea Scallops, and revitalizing favorites including hush puppies and popcorn shrimp. Within days of receiving requests for bolder flavors, Red Lobster added new spicy, Old Bay Parmesan, and Cajun sausage options to the menu. 'We want to be exciting, relevant and compelling for our guests,' Adamolekun said. Red Lobster addresses new tariffs This summer's scheduled U.S. tariffs on imported seafood have sparked concern that seafood lovers could soon see restaurant bills soar. Adamolekun was quick to calm those fears in his GMA interview, stressing that almost 90% of Red Lobster's key seafood—lobster and crab—comes from North America and Canada. These sources are largely exempt from new tariffs under agreements like USMCA. While some shrimp and other products are still imported and thus subject to tariffs, Adamolekun underscored, 'We do import products as well — so on those products we'll pay a tariff like everybody else. That impacts our business, and our intention is not to pass that through. We're not intending to do any more price increases for the rest of the year, regardless of what happens with tariffs'. Adamolekun's leadership approach Red Lobster's turnaround has not gone unnoticed, with improved customer feedback and returning foot traffic since the restructuring. The company's multiyear plan includes further renovations of its restaurants to create a more vibrant, inviting atmosphere—an appeal especially aimed at younger diners looking for experience as much as a meal. After turbulent years, Adamolekun's approach reflects both hard business lessons and a renewed commitment to guest satisfaction. The days of bottomless shrimp may be over, but under new leadership, the seafood chain is betting that menu innovation, value deals, and responsive service can once again make Red Lobster a place to celebrate. For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing. This story was originally featured on
