👋🏻 Jacob here.
Let me tell you what’s keeping me up at night.
As we navigate the race to the bottom with AI, finding the signal through the noise is becoming increasingly difficult.
Especially when trying to assess which executives are the real deal — and which ones are simply using AI to appear like they know what they’re talking about.
Elite recruiters such as Kate Bullis, Erica Seidel, and Terry Shaw can sniff out this BS 2 minutes into a phone screen — but many cannot. Be wary.
I meet more than a few imposters posing as senior leaders who are nothing more than mediocre middle managers with inflated titles.
(Don’t worry, I’m not talking about you, intelligent reader of Execs and the City…)
Here’s what I’m seeing in my executive coaching practice: The convergence of AI, Leadership, and Psychology is becoming the foundation of successful executives.
But not in the way most think.
While business acumen remains table stakes, psychology levels up your humanity, and AI provides the rocket fuel.
The magic happens when you combine all three.
Think about that executive who walks into a room and immediately changes its temperature.
The one who can read micro-expressions, navigate complex dynamics, and influence decisions through pure presence.
That’s not AI – that’s mastery of human psychology. You cannot skip this step yet.
As AI democratizes intelligence, your uniquely human abilities become your premium skills:
- Building authentic connections
- Navigating complex emotions
- Deploying strategic empathy
- Commanding presence
As IQ becomes a commodity. EQ becomes your superpower.
I’m not just theorizing about this convergence – I’m living it. My team is obsessed with cracking this code.
Justin Parnell, Chelsey Langan, and Julie Neumann are pushing our executive experiences to new frontiers, while the brilliant minds at Blast X and AMP Creative are challenging us to reimagine how AI can amplify – not replace – the human experience in leadership and reimagining the experience of every leader, team member, and customer that your organization influences.
Want to stay ahead? Study the convergence:
For cutting-edge AI: Follow Dario Amodei for deep takes and Ruben Hassid for tactical moves you can use right now.
For executive presence + AI integration: Study how Carilu Dietrich and Liza Adams discuss deep AI but also command a room of executives.
For behavioral science mastery: Follow legend Rory Sutherland and learn from Shira Abel’s innovative work on perception and heuristics, hormones, and history.
The future isn’t just about better AI – it’s about being a better human. And the leaders who master both will be unstoppable.
Stay fearless, friends.
See you next week.