The Big Idea: AI Isn’t a Threat—It’s Your Leadership Opportunity

Trent opened with a story from his third day at Amazon: asked to “fix global growth” before he even knew where the coffee was. He chose to lead before he felt ready—and it rewired his career. That’s the AI moment leaders face now.

• AI isn’t an IT project; it’s a company-wide rewiring.
• The upside is massive: new products, new cost curves, new skills, new customers.
• The bold aren’t waiting for AI to happen to them. They’re using it to reinvent what’s possible—starting now.

The AI SPRINT Discipline: The New Operating Rhythm

Successful organizations aren’t deploying monolith “transformation” projects. They start with a monthly habit—the AI SPRINT:

1. Pick one meaningful AI use case.
2. Try it.
3. Review what worked, what didn’t, what you learned.
4. Repeat next month—org-wide.

This builds momentum, capability, and culture—fast.

Reality Check: Where AI Is Today

• Daily users see ~20% lift in speed and quality; weekly ~5%; monthly ≈ 0.
• ~40% of employees already use AI—often without approval.
• Action: fund the tools (~$30/user), train safely, get AI out of the shadows.

Build for the Future Customer (Not Yesterday’s)

Trent’s 5 questions to force clarity:

1. What do our customers say they value most today?
2. Which of those values will still matter when know-how is free and instant?
3. Which of those values can you no longer charge extra for— because it becomes table stakes?
4. Where will customers still desire — and pay for — a uniquely human touch?
5. What brand-new value could we create because intelligence is cheap—something customers don’t yet ask for?

Leaders who answer these now will own the next market phase.

When Intelligence Becomes Cheap

AI is “electricity for thinking.” Decision-making, strategy, creativity—on tap.

• Live demo: a custom renewal-campaign app built in minutes with ChatGPT + Replit; cost: $0.99.
• Message: if your edge is “we know things,” you don’t have an edge. Reimagine products and services with AI at the core.

Real-World Results Are Already Happening

Use Case	Outcome
Daily AI adoption	~20% productivity lift for daily users
PDF → spreadsheet automation	$250K annual labor savings
Sales agent chain (prospect → qualify → brief → outreach)	Always-on funnel growth
Amazon Tokyo delivery (case example)	Happier customers/drivers, lower cost, thousands of jobs
Custom Member Renewal Campaign (demo)	Built in minutes for $0.99

 

AI Agents & AI-to-AI Commerce: The Next Evolution

• General-purpose agent as your daily interface.
• Specialist agents (membership, CEU, events, policy) wired to your data and rules.
• Workflow chains (n8n/Lindy, no-code) across dozens of systems—no devs required.
• AI-to-AI commerce: customer agents will research, negotiate, and buy—often without humans. If you’re not discoverable to agents, you’ll be invisible.

The Vision Question: What’s Left for Humans?

Vision. When intelligence is infrastructure, imagination is the advantage.

• See unmet customer problems.
• Connect AI capability to business outcomes.
• Orchestrate teams of humans and AIs.
• Ship fast, learn faster.

The AI SPRINT Framework: Six Steps to Lead with AI

Trent introduced the 6-step AI SPRINT Framework to transform your company to serve your future customers.

Step	Name	Focus	Key Actions
S	Spark Action with Leader Education	Light the fire; align leadership	Hands-on exec education; name an AI owner; start monthly sprints
P	Position Your Company to Win with AI	Design for your future customer	Answer the 5 vision questions; set targets; build the roadmap
R	Rally Your Employees to Use AI Daily	Make AI normal, safe, and expected	Create an AI Use Policy + safety guardrails; equip/train everyone; reward usage
I	Integrate AI into Sales & Marketing	Hit revenue first; then fix bottlenecks	Prospecting, personalization, campaigns; then focus on removing bottlenecks, starting with the largest
N	Enable a Culture of Innovation	Make experimentation a reflex	Share wins monthly; sprint cadence; idea intake + fast pilots
T	Trailblaze with New Offerings to Create Growth	Build what the market will need next	Prototype AI-enabled services; productize bold experiments

Final Thought

Association leaders have the opportunity to shift entire industries, to help their members learn to use AI to create jobs and growth in their communities.  But they need to be bold and take action.

 

It’s your Day One. Don’t wait to feel ready. Choose to lead—because the future won’t wait.