How I Unlocked Business Value with Generative AI as a CTO

Generative AI demands more than curiosity from today’s executives. Leaders need to make a deliberate shift in their role. As a CTO and former Microsoft insider, I’ve spent years guiding businesses through tech transformations. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. Businesses leveraging Gen AI are already boosting productivity in tech, marketing, and entertainment. Yet risks like data breaches and regulatory hurdles loom large. Success hinges on executives stepping up, not stepping back. Below, I’ve outlined the essential skills you need to master to drive real results in this era. These are practical ideas grounded in my work with forward-thinking organizations. Develop Core AI Literacy You don’t need to know how to build AI models from scratch. But you do need to grasp the basics of how Gen AI functions, what it can achieve, and where it falls short. Technical literacy ranks among the top skills employers value, with 68% citing it as critical in Statista’s 2023-2027 forecast. I’ve advised executives who’ve experimented with tools like GPT or DALL-E. They didn’t aim to code, but rather to understand its business applications. One marketing VP I worked with cut campaign prototyping from weeks to hours by understanding the tech’s potential. That’s the edge you gain when you know what’s under the hood. Fluency lets you spot opportunities others miss. It also keeps you from chasing dead ends. Logical reasoning and robotics still stump Gen AI, so focus on where it shines, like content creation or customer insights. Start Small and Experiment with Intent When you dive into experimentation, have a clear idea of what you want to uncover and how it relates to your business needs. Proactive experimentation is how you stay ahead. At Microsoft, we piloted ideas early, refining them as we went. A great example is a consumer product organization I worked with that tested producing AI-generated product descriptions. At first, many missed the mark. Over time, they were able to slash web content creation time by 40%. The lesson? Start small, learn fast, and allow some time to scale what works, iteratively. Your organization needs a culture that embraces this mindset. Encourage teams to test Gen AI across departments. What looks good on paper might falter in practice. Measure outcomes, and adapt accordingly. Lead to Shape the Cultural Shift Use AI to solve real problems, like streamlining operations or enhancing customer experiences. Profit follows purpose, not the other way around. I call this the investor mindset, a term coined at MIT Sloan. The focus is on building value for your business and society over the long haul. That perspective keeps you grounded amid rapid change. But keep in mind that technology alone doesn’t transform businesses. People do. Gen AI’s organizational impact remains unclear, and that’s your opportunity. Engineers built the tools. You define how they reshape your company. Take CITI Group’s Cherie Nursalim. She’s integrating AI into an eco-project in Bali, using systems thinking to align teams. That’s leadership with vision. You’ll need to anticipate how AI affects roles, morale, and customer relationships, then guide your people through it. Final Thoughts I get it - this is uncharted territory and may require a mindset that at first feels uncomfortable. However, I can guarantee the executives who succeed will blend technical know-how with bold experimentation. Learning will keep you agile. Set the pace for your teams and industry by investing in learning and experimenting with new AI tools. Start today. Pick one skill to learn or platform to experiment with. Dig in. Challenge your team to do the same and share together in a “lunch and learn”, creating a workspace for them all to cross-pollinate tools and ideas. The future belongs to those who act now. ... Nick Talwar is a CTO, ex-Microsoft, and fractional AI advisor who helps executives navigate AI adoption. He shares insights on AI-first strategies to drive bottom-line impact. → Follow him on LinkedIn to catch his latest thoughts. → Subscribe to his free Substack for in-depth articles delivered straight to your inbox. → Join the AI Executive Strategy Program to accelerate your organization’s AI transformation.

May 8, 2025 - 13:54

How I Unlocked Business Value with Generative AI as a CTO

Generative AI demands more than curiosity from today’s executives. Leaders need to make a deliberate shift in their role.

As a CTO and former Microsoft insider, I’ve spent years guiding businesses through tech transformations. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t.

Businesses leveraging Gen AI are already boosting productivity in tech, marketing, and entertainment. Yet risks like data breaches and regulatory hurdles loom large. Success hinges on executives stepping up, not stepping back.

Below, I’ve outlined the essential skills you need to master to drive real results in this era. These are practical ideas grounded in my work with forward-thinking organizations.

Develop Core AI Literacy

You don’t need to know how to build AI models from scratch. But you do need to grasp the basics of how Gen AI functions, what it can achieve, and where it falls short. Technical literacy ranks among the top skills employers value, with 68% citing it as critical in Statista’s 2023-2027 forecast.

I’ve advised executives who’ve experimented with tools like GPT or DALL-E. They didn’t aim to code, but rather to understand its business applications.

One marketing VP I worked with cut campaign prototyping from weeks to hours by understanding the tech’s potential. That’s the edge you gain when you know what’s under the hood.

Fluency lets you spot opportunities others miss. It also keeps you from chasing dead ends. Logical reasoning and robotics still stump Gen AI, so focus on where it shines, like content creation or customer insights.

Start Small and Experiment with Intent

When you dive into experimentation, have a clear idea of what you want to uncover and how it relates to your business needs. Proactive experimentation is how you stay ahead. At Microsoft, we piloted ideas early, refining them as we went.

A great example is a consumer product organization I worked with that tested producing AI-generated product descriptions. At first, many missed the mark. Over time, they were able to slash web content creation time by 40%.

The lesson? Start small, learn fast, and allow some time to scale what works, iteratively.

Your organization needs a culture that embraces this mindset. Encourage teams to test Gen AI across departments. What looks good on paper might falter in practice. Measure outcomes, and adapt accordingly.

Lead to Shape the Cultural Shift

Use AI to solve real problems, like streamlining operations or enhancing customer experiences. Profit follows purpose, not the other way around.

I call this the investor mindset, a term coined at MIT Sloan. The focus is on building value for your business and society over the long haul. That perspective keeps you grounded amid rapid change.

But keep in mind that technology alone doesn’t transform businesses. People do.

Gen AI’s organizational impact remains unclear, and that’s your opportunity. Engineers built the tools. You define how they reshape your company.

Take CITI Group’s Cherie Nursalim. She’s integrating AI into an eco-project in Bali, using systems thinking to align teams. That’s leadership with vision.

You’ll need to anticipate how AI affects roles, morale, and customer relationships, then guide your people through it.

Final Thoughts

I get it - this is uncharted territory and may require a mindset that at first feels uncomfortable.

However, I can guarantee the executives who succeed will blend technical know-how with bold experimentation.

Learning will keep you agile. Set the pace for your teams and industry by investing in learning and experimenting with new AI tools.

Start today. Pick one skill to learn or platform to experiment with. Dig in. Challenge your team to do the same and share together in a “lunch and learn”, creating a workspace for them all to cross-pollinate tools and ideas. The future belongs to those who act now.

...

Nick Talwar is a CTO, ex-Microsoft, and fractional AI advisor who helps executives navigate AI adoption. He shares insights on AI-first strategies to drive bottom-line impact.
→ Follow him on LinkedIn to catch his latest thoughts.
→ Subscribe to his free Substack for in-depth articles delivered straight to your inbox.
→ Join the AI Executive Strategy Program to accelerate your organization’s AI transformation.