The Empowerment of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and High Touch

Great healthcare article in this morning’s Wall Street Journal.

Looks like medical teams are raising the effectiveness bar another couple tier levels in cancer treatment.

The article talks about how patients are receiving personalized treatment plans that are customized in terms of not just how many times they have to come in, but where, what levels and how many treatments are needed.

The treatment tech equipment itself is engineered specifically around the individual.

And after each treatment, the next treatment is crafted specifically around the cancer cell reaction to the treatment just provided.

There are some that believe the cancer diagnosis will no longer be classified as “terminal.”

Yesterday I was in the heart of Atlanta and sitting at an in-town Starbucks.

The young woman next to me was a new hire at one of the Atlanta public schools special elementary programs for new entry into the U.S. kids re-settling in Atlanta.

She told me that she was working on a program now rolling out that scripts the tests and class assignments in a mix of both the kids native language and English.

As the kids progressed through the program, an increasing share of the content is conveyed in English.

She went on to share how the kids can share the activities they engage in at home with their parents and how language content is crafted around those activities with a similar progression to more and more of the content expressed in English.

The kids can also select course content that is crafted around their areas of interest like their pets, sports and music.

When I asked if she is seeing positive outcomes, she quickly replied a very pronounced, yes!

In a past “beta test” of the program, the new entry kids posted a significant increase on test scores and advanced through the class material much quicker.

Yesterday evening, I took a break and met a colleague of mine for a cup of coffee.

My friend used to work corporately for Zaxby’s restaurants which was based out of Athens. About 18 months ago, Zaxby’s was purchased by a restaurant holding corporation headquartered in Atlanta.

Today, my friend works with a network of new, start-up restaurant entrepreneurs in store design and operations.

He shared with me how he works with individuals who are passionate about their role of chef and seldom get out of the kitchen cooking up the meals customers crave.

The trend in restaurants today is anchored around the locally-rooted mom & pops and not the “packaged” chain restaurants.

His role as an advisor is to help the entrepreneurs in setting up operations that includes inventory and purchasing to staffing and accounting.

I asked him if he gets bored doing the work.

He replaced, “Are you kidding… I love doing what I am doing today!”

He went on to say that the entrepreneurs are going to win out and more and more of the chains are going to close their doors.

I asked how the restaurant entrepreneurs can manage operations effectively and also continue to deliver their passion and art in the food they cooked in the kitchens.

He smiled and replied, “with what I bring to the table that manages their inventory, staffing and operations.”

I smile as I write this blog post.

All three of these sharings have a common thread.

All three of these sharings are driven by AI.

Yes… AI.

The cancer program is empowered with a new resource tool produced through a joint venture of OpenAI and a new startup with the name Color Health.

Color Health, which was founded as a generic testing company in 2013 — last year! — found a way to use screening information and integrating it with streaming, real time medical information sets to build personalized treatment programs.

The data streams in and then is modeled and engineered into action steps.

The Atlanta public schools are integrating AI into programs for new entry students to adapt and craft educational materials that personalize content not only in real time progress but also individual personalities and the environments where they now live.

But the third story might be the one that is coolest … and the one with the most “tidal wave” of impact on what we all encounter in our daily lives.

AI uses data points like the orders placed, levels of customers demand and even the availability of supplier inventory to engineer and manage the restaurant’s food inventory, staff operations and even just when and what levels are needed for heating and air conditioning.

This enables passionate entrepreneurs to do what they have a passion to do and operate at an efficiency level that the chain restaurants cannot.

The U.S. news media is still scratching to find the next Pandemic that boosted the online clicks and broadcast ratings.

And when I refer to “the U.S. news media,” its as much PBS and WSJ as it is CNN, FOX News and the New York Times.

Just this morning I received an Email from a local area Chamber of Commerce that is promoting an “AI Unleashed Lunch and Learn Series.”

The four lunches address issues like “AI Ethics” and “AI and HR” and even “AI Eventually Bypassing Entrepreneurs.”

Most of those gravitating to the news media as well as the Chamber of Commerce events are GenXers and Baby Boomers.

Few have any idea of what AI even means and represents.

Many recall watching The Jetsons and taking their kids to see the premiere of Star Wars.

In nearly every presentation I make with clients and public groups, I showcase a “slide” that highlights the generational groups in the U.S., their size and their current age specifics.

That generational slide includes a highlight box with this text in it… “Millennials will make up 60% and GenZers 25% of the U.S. workforce by 2025.”

LOL… Nearly 50% of the remaining 15% will be the “Tweeners” that make up the gap zone between Millennials and GenZers.

AND … 2025 is now 6. Months away!

The founders highlighted in the Wall Street Journal cancer article, the Atlanta public school teacher and the ex-Zaxby’s friend who I met for coffee are all less than 45 years of age.

Few interact in the U.S. news media.

If you want to understand what is evolving in our marketplace, turn off the news media. Get out of your office and homestead. Hang out in your local coffee house and talk with the folks co-working there.

High Touch, locally rooted and human interaction is shifting into high gear.

Thanks to AI and the younger generations driving it.