World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh discusses the transformative power of AI across industries and its potential to drive massive societal benefits—while diving into the crucial role of authentic leadership and intentional culture in building successful, purpose-driven organizations.
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00:00I absolutely believe AI will have more positive effects.
00:04Anytime you have a technology that's as disruptive as AI,
00:09there's going to be some challenges in managing and governing AI.
00:16But I truly believe there's going to be massive societal benefits
00:21that are going to come out of AI.
00:23And there's going to be some amazing technology breakthroughs
00:27in regards to science and health care
00:30and just how that positively impacts humankind.
00:34I think that's just going to be amazing,
00:36and you're going to see that, I believe,
00:38across every vertical industry out there.
00:47Culture is, I think, just an incredible, powerful,
00:52I would say, component of building an organization
00:55and developing an organization.
00:56I didn't realize that when I was younger,
00:58but as we built out worldwide technology
01:01and just naturally focused on the development of our employees
01:05and making sure that we were there to support them,
01:07and we spent a lot of time building out our value system
01:12and our integrated management and leadership curriculum,
01:16which is called our IML.
01:17When we look at all of those pieces and we bring them together,
01:21they bring together our culture.
01:24And culture is something, I think,
01:27that can take a life of its own
01:29in a very contagious and multiplier way.
01:32But I think it has to be done intentionally also.
01:36And that's where we have spent a lot of time making sure
01:39that when we recruit and we bring people on,
01:42that they understand our values,
01:44the behaviors of the organization,
01:46and what we expect of them.
01:48And as they come on and we proliferate
01:52those types of individuals and that type of mentality
01:56and those types of behaviors domestically and globally,
02:00it does just that.
02:02It gets everybody on the same page,
02:04but it also creates this mentality
02:07of what that culture is all about.
02:10And that's about taking care of each other.
02:12It's about working as a team.
02:13It's about trusting each other.
02:15It's about giving back to the community.
02:17And it truly is amazing how that can take a life of its own.
02:22What are some of the ways to lead?
02:27I do think there are different ways to lead,
02:31and I do think there are different leadership skills
02:34that are required to work in a purpose-built organization
02:39and a company that is very focused on purpose.
02:43And in our case, our purpose is really to,
02:46like I said before, it's kind of aligned to our mission
02:48to be a profitable growth company.
02:50It's a great place to work and to create a great place
02:53to work for all our employees.
02:55And so you have to authentically
02:57and sincerely care about your employees.
03:01You can't fake it.
03:02They can see through that.
03:04They're way too smart.
03:06So I think the authenticity and the compassion
03:09and caring for your employees comes through
03:12when it is just that.
03:13It is something you truly care about,
03:15and it is something that is very authentic and natural.
03:19At the same time, I believe that you can be very authentic
03:23and caring and compassionate about your employees
03:27and also do that in a way that you can also be very demanding,
03:31and you can have very significant aspirations
03:35about where you want to go with the company
03:37and how to grow that company and develop the company
03:40and push your employees to be the best that they can be.
03:44Those things can work in tandem,
03:46but it is something that I think from a leadership standpoint,
03:50you have to truly care about your employees.
03:54It's something you just can't fake.
03:56It has to be something that is truly near and dear to your heart.