Behind the scenes at the Outthinker Chief Strategy Officer Summit

There is nothing like gathering with a group of peers from other organizations and sectors to facilitate making sense of the context in which crucial strategic decisions need to be made. I was pleased to be an invited guest to the Outthinker CSO Summit, with the main topics being how organizations are using AI and what’s next at the intersection of strategy, innovation and organization.

Kaihan Krippendorff and the gang at Outthinkers Network carefully curate events for their members during which exchanges with experts and peer-to-peer interactions offer insights that would not be available via any other mechanism. I feel fortunate to be part of their Leader Board and occasionally to head over to one of their sessions. This one, on November 13, was hosted by Chief Strategy Officer for BNY Mellon / Pershing and member Thomas P. Sholes. I jokingly said that I felt as if I were at the center of the beating heart of the capitalist system and he said I wasn’t far off, as BNY Mellon touches 20% of the world’s assets in some way. That’s impressive.

Talking AI and strategy

One of the sessions focused deeply on what effect AI is likely to have on strategy. Clearly, the ability to summon massive amounts of information at low cost at the touch of a button is likely to create big…