The BIG idea revealed
"If AI does take all of our jobs, all we have left is human connection"
This is a quote I have been sharing in my keynotes recently, made by futurist Mo Gawdat during an interview on Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett. At first listen, I thought that's a compelling argument for the importance of 'people skills' in this crazy world of work.
Shortly after I read a substack article on stoicism warning against letting others impact your emotion and suggesting we look at things through a logical lens rather than an emotional one.
So if it's all about human skills, but we should prioritise logic, then which is it?
How do we be a fully expressed human being and not get emotionally distracted by business?
I work with CFOs and CEOs who are by definition high-functioning, intelligent people, and time and time again I see them get emotionally distracted by their businesses.
· The founder hesitating on a critical decision because they have loyalty to the wrong people.
· The CEO forgoing an investment decision because they don't want to look bad in front of their board.
· The CFO putting off a conversation about performance for fear of recourse about the numbers.
There is a real cost to business of emotional distraction. It produces bad decisions, misread signals, and overlooks the fact that persistent problems are structural, not personal.
Ever wondered why all your meetings are consumed with 'people problems'? Emotional distraction is what keeps leaders in the drama of personal emotions instead of focusing on the structural business problem staring them in the face. Obsessing over your people isn't helpful because at the end of the day, you can't control them.
So what - do we dismiss emotions in business? Do we leave our humanity at the door? Where does this leave us?
Math is the answer we've been looking for
This is where I believe math comes in as the answer - not to devalue humans and the emotions that come with them, but to give humans a container that protects the business from the distraction and distortion that emotions can bring when misused.
This is the big idea. In business, the math isn't cold. It's actually the most caring thing you can do for your people.
"Looking at business through the lens of math is an act of care, not an absence of humanity"
This is why the real math of business is 100% people AND 100% math.
What's your real math of business ratio?
Author: Alena Bennett
Alena works with leaders and their teams to connect technical and leadership skills so they can deliver to deadline without killing their people.
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