Welcome to episode 229 of the Business Development Podcast.

And today we're diving into the leadership traits that will define the next decade.

What skills truly matter as AI reshapes our world.

And how we prepare the next generation of business developers to thrive in a future we can't fully see.

This one is for the visionaries, the builders and the parents raising tomorrow's leaders.

Stick with us.

You don't want to miss this episode.

The great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years.

Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.

And we couldn't agree more.

This is the Business Development Podcast, based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and broadcasting to the world.

You'll get expert business development advice, tips and experiences.

And you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs and business development reps.

You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business.

Brought to you by Capital Business Development, CapitalBD CA.

Let's do it.

Welcome to the Business Development Podcast.

And now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.

Hello.

Welcome to episode 229, nine of the Business Development Podcast.

My gosh, this episode did not go to plan.

You know, we've had a few of these, you know, in the journey of the Business Development Podcast.

But I had a different plan for this particular episode.

We dove deep into AI on Sunday, me and Shelby, and my gosh, after that, I had no choice but to do this episode because I think it's something that we all have to start talking more about.

We have to learn how to work together and we have to learn how to prepare for this massive, massive shift that is coming to life and business over the next five years.

And so I cannot wait to get into this.

This episode.

I am incredibly excited about.

I'm excited to have this conversation and I'm excited to start my own journey about how I'm going to implement some of these things into my business, into my teaching, into my coaching, and into the future of business development.

So let's not waste any more time and let's just jump right into it.

I said it a while ago, guys, and I'm saying it again.

There is absolutely no question that the world is on the verge of a tectonic shift in technology, in business, in our personal lives, and in probably just about everything that humans touch.

If 2023 was the year of AI and 2024 was the year of personal branding, 2025 will definitely be the year that we shift to a human centric approach and I talked about this in a previous episode, guys, but I think it's going to really hit home in this one.

Shelby and I were sitting at the kitchen table on Sunday chatting about.

I.

I'm not really sure how we got onto the topic, but specifically we were trying to understand the impact that it will have for our kids.

As you guys know, me and Shelby, we have four little boys and we were trying to just think our way through.

What does this big AI shift mean for our kids, mean for our future and the future of business in general?

And what we learned in this dig, guys, was actually pretty mind blowing.

Artificial intelligence is doubling in power approximately every six months, guys.

Every six months it's doubling in power.

This means that we are not experiencing the slow linear rise in capability, but it's an exponential surge.

It's basically a rocket ship, guys, just blasting to the moon.

If AI was one times powerful in early 2023, it will be over 1000 times more powerful by 2028, guys.

A thousand times more powerful.

You guys want a Fun exercise?

Ask ChatGPT what a thousand times more powerful AI looks like.

It'll blow your mind.

As of this recording, April 14th of 2025, AI is already 22.6 times more powerful than it was just two years ago.

So what does this mean for our very near future?

This level of AI expansion is going to transform society more in the next five years than in the last 50.

This level of change we cannot even imagine at this time.

I recently had an interview with Dr.

Robert Pearl who who wrote ChatGPT, MD and in that interview he said this.

The change will be larger than the Gutenberg Press, the Internet and the smartphone combined.

We can expect the following major shifts.

Number one, Work will be completely redefined in the following ways.

Hybrid human and AI teams, most if not all knowledge work will involve AI co pilots handling research, admin and even writing strategy and drafts.

Job roles will blur.

Roles will become more fluid and people will be hired for outcomes and adaptability rather than static job descriptions.

Time will become currency efficiency tools will shift focus towards deep, strategic human work.

Time management and attention mastery will become more critical than ever.

2.

Education and learning will go on demand.

AI tutors, personalized learning assistants will replace traditional models.

Think tailored coaching for every student and every professional.

Credentialing will shift.

Skills and proof of capability will outweigh degrees.

Micro certifications and project portfolios will matter more than diplomas.

Soft skills training will surge.

Schools and companies will prioritize emotional intelligence, creativity and leadership alongside tech literacy.

Number three, Sales and business development will change.

AI powered outreach, hyper personalized sales, messaging and targeting will be automated.

Business developers will focus on building trust and closing over cold calling.

Real time relationship intelligence.

AI will provide instant insights into prospects, needs, sentiment and behaviors.

Brand authenticity will win.

In a world of AI noise, people will crave real connections.

Being human becomes the differentiator.

Number four Leadership will shift from command to coaching.

Empathy will be more powerful than authority.

Leading with understanding and support will matter more than top down control.

Trust will be a strategic asset.

Teams will follow leaders that they trust in uncertain times.

Transparency and adaptability will define culture.

Leaders will be expected to be open about challenges and agile in navigating changes.

Number five Personal life will blend with smart tech.

AI will manage our routines from meal planning to budgeting.

Daily tasks will be handled by AI co pilots.

Parenting will involve smart tools.

Families will use AI for homework help, life coaching, emotional regulation and digital boundaries.

Mental health tools will be always on.

AI therapists, mood trackers and wellness tech will support mental well being but self awareness will be key.

Number six Decision making will be augmented.

Real time data will drive every decision from hiring to strategy.

AI will surface insights before we even know to look for them.

But human discernment will still be essential.

Context, values and ethics cannot be outsourced.

As you can see, the world just five years from now will be radically different from the one that we live in today.

And in order to be prepared, we must start learning the skills of tomorrow today.

Guys, I talked about this before in the episode that I chatted about.

Human centric approach.

I really do think that in this time of AI and robots and all of this advancement, what's actually happening is that humans are craving human to human interaction more than ever.

And as AI starts to take over some of these technical jobs, some of like the monotonous jobs that we've had, whether it be data entry, whether it be prospecting, AI is going to take over these tasks and humans are going to be left doing what humans have always done best and that is build relationships, make connections, become more human center centric.

And I talked about it before and I just want to redefine for you guys what human centric approach is.

Human centric is a philosophy and approach that puts human needs, values and experiences at the forefront of decision making, design and development.

It's about creating systems, products, services and solutions that prioritize and respect the well being, emotions and goals of people who interact with them rather than focusing solely on profits, efficiency and technological advancement.

In this new world guys, the Boring jobs are going to be taken and it's going to be up to humans to build connection, to do business development, what we've been doing the entire time in business development, but without all the crap.

Like this world is going to be a haven for business developers who've been in the job for a long time, who've learned emotional intelligence, who know how to create trust, who know how to build interest, who know, who know how to make human to human connection.

This world is going to become absolutely incredible and these skills are going to become more valuable than ever.

In order to be prepared for this new world, we have to start learning and refining the skills of tomorrow, today.

And here are five things that you guys can start working on today that will prepare you and your businesses for this next massive, massive shift in humanity.

Number one, we must teach adaptability, not just strategy.

We must help our teams and our kids get comfortable with change.

The rules are evolving and it's not about knowing everything.

It's about learning fast, pivoting with confidence, and not being afraid to try, fail and try again.

Guys, it's like the rules of entrepreneurship all over again, but it's going to be supercharged.

And like I've said, we don't learn in the comfortable, we grow in the uncomfortable.

And the rules of this new world is going to depend on us getting really good at making the uncomfortable, comfortable, at pushing the boundaries and always learning it, never being okay with where we're at.

Because things are going to be advancing so quickly that the moment you get comfortable is the moment you're dead in the water.

Because there's something else that's going to change the world rapidly right around the corner.

If AI tech is doubling every six months, that means that basically every year the skills that you created last year are already becoming obsolete and you're going to have to learn the next one.

One of the major skills that is going to make you successful in this world is being uncomfortable and being okay with it, not having all of the answers and always looking for the next big thing.

It's going to keep you on your game, it's going to keep you current, and it's going to make sure that you never get left behind in this incredibly rapidly changing world, which frankly isn't going to go anywhere.

It's only going to accelerate.

Number two, we have to build emotional intelligence early.

Being emotionally intelligent is no longer optional.

We need to teach people how to manage themselves and how to navigate tough conversations, how to lead with empathy.

Relationships will always be the foundation for success.

And that won't be changing, not even in the age of AI.

Okay?

Relationships are king.

They're absolutely everything.

And us getting even better at interacting with people, at understanding people are being empathetic, being trustworthy, being able to connect.

These are the skills of the top performers of tomorrow.

Number three, we have to start integrating AI into real work.

Okay?

Don't just talk about.

I don't just talk about it, guys.

Now is the time to start using it, to start experimenting with it.

Let your teams explore how it can support their workflows, save time and enhance creativity.

Show them that AI is a partner, not a threat.

It's a tool we all need to learn how to wield well.

We can't just pretend that this isn't happening, okay?

The people who pretend, the people who don't get behind AI tools, who don't learn how to augment their own abilities utilizing AI, they're going to get left in the dust.

These skills are absolutely mandatory.

And the companies of tomorrow are going to require you to be experts in utilizing AI to make yourself more powerful than ever.

Okay?

There will be people who get left behind, and the people who get left behind are going to be the ones who are stuck in their ways, who are not willing to implement AI, who are not willing to adapt it.

Smart companies right now would be encouraging all of their employees to experiment with AI, to do their jobs better.

Because the reality is those are the skill sets.

Those are the lessons, those are the tools we are going to need to be successful in this new world that is coming very, very quickly.

This is happening even faster than I could have imagined.

Even in my mind, when we started down this kind of like AI path back in 2023, I thought we were 10 years out, 15 years out.

The reality is, guys, we are less than five years from a completely different world, and we have to start adapting today.

Number four, we have to redefine what success looks like.

It's not about titles and revenue goals anymore, guys.

It's about the impact you make, the people you help, and whether your values show up in your work.

The leaders of tomorrow are purpose driven, not just performance driven.

It's about to be a very different world, guys.

The tools are going to be available.

The ways to make money are going to be probably easier than ever for most businesses.

So the leaders of tomorrow are going to have to learn how to work with people in a way that they never have had to before.

Emotional intelligence is going to become one of the most valuable skills in leadership.

It is today.

But there's still very much performance oriented tasks keeping people to task.

AI is going to be doing that.

People are going to need to motivate people, to understand people, to encourage them, to help them, to support them.

Leadership of tomorrow is completely human centric.

And so we need to be training the leaders of tomorrow, our kids, to be empathetic, to understand people, to work with people, to build trust, to be likable.

These are the skills of tomorrow.

And last guys, number five, be the kind of leader that you would like to follow.

We must model it.

We must be curious, we must be honest, we must lead with care.

People are watching how you show up and when you lead with integrity in heart, you give others permission to do the same.

The world is changing.

The world is never going to be the same.

Nobody is putting this AI genie back in the bottle, right?

For good, for worse, whatever it works out to be.

At the end of the day, we have to model the world we want.

If we want empathy and care, human connection and trust to be the currency of tomorrow, we have to start modeling it today in our products and our services and the way that we run our businesses and the way that we host podcasts, in the way that we interact with people, hopefully with respect, hopefully with kindness.

These are the traits of tomorrow and we can start building them today.

The world is changing so rapidly that it's likely in five years, the way that things work today will be nearly unrecognizable.

However, human centric skills will be more in demand than they ever have been.

Remember, in a world of AI and robots, your humanity is your greatest differentiator.

If you guys haven't done this as a family, look, I didn't expect Sunday to go the way that it did.

I'm not sure what led me and Shelby down this path, but me and Shelby ended up sitting down and talking for about two to three hours on the future of AI.

And that's where we dug deep into these statistics and we started asking questions about like, what could this look like?

And believe it or not, Chat GBT is a great place to start that conversation if you want to ask what changes you might want to make for your business.

ChatGPT can not only do that for you, it can put together a game plan on how to do it, write you a PDF report, and even put together a training program for you.

I personally am starting a training program on AI software that Chad GPT put together for me because it was done so well and so thoughtful and so specific to business development, leadership and the way That I wanted it.

We have to take action today, guys.

The urgency is for real.

It is absolutely imperative that if you run a business, if you're a business developer, if your job is to grow companies in any way, shape or form, you have to be utilizing AI tools from this point forward to help you do it.

You have to be figuring out how can you make your time exponentially more powerful.

And AI is the secret to do that.

But remember, AI is just a tool.

You personally, your humanity, your caring, your authentic self, that is always going to be the most important thing and nobody is going to replace that.

Nobody can replace your humanity, not even AI.

And so it's important that we're doubling down on the skills that can't be replaced, and we're learning how to augment ourselves, utilizing AI to make us more efficient than ever, to make our impact twice, three times, quadruple as powerful as we could have before.

Okay?

The tools exist today.

We have to start learning how to use them today.

And remember, at the rate of expansion, these tools are going to be obsolete probably a year after they're implemented if they're not updated quickly and rapidly.

So understand that.

Don't just be good with where you're at.

Always be looking for the next big tool, the next AI breakthrough, the next thing that can help take you to the next level.

Never stop learning.

In this new world, being able to pivot quickly, being able to be continuously learning, being okay with change, is the recipe for success.

Okay?

Things are going to change so quickly, you're not going to have time to get comfortable.

So learning to live in this uncomfortable place will always keep you growing and always keep you on the verge of what is next.

I know it's scary.

I know.

I'm feeling it, too.

I'm.

I'm feeling the urgency of whatever.

And I think the thing that scares me the most about it is that we can't see it.

But just think, you didn't see the iPhone before the iPhone was coming out.

You couldn't have imagined what a smartphone would do.

And look at the impact that that has had.

This next big AI shift is going to make the advent of the iPhone look like a calculator.

Okay?

It is that massive.

And so as business developers, as business owners, as entrepreneurs, as parents, we have to learn how these systems work.

But I think we have an opportunity to make work better than we ever have before.

Embrace it.

Never stop learning.

And the future could be better than we ever could have imagined.

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Our incredible, incredible rock stars out there.

Thank you so much for 229 incredible episodes.

Very much looking forward to this quick approach here to 250milestone and could not be more appreciative of each and every one of you.

Thank you so much.

We have an amazing listenership on the show.

Could not do this without you, would not be here without you.

I'm still learning right alongside of you.

This journey is never over for me.

And like I said, we're implementing an AI stack that we're going to start learning how to implement.

And as I learn these skills, I will share them with you.

If this episode hits home and you're wondering how to actually build these future proof skills, that's exactly what we do Inside the Business Development Mastery Program this isn't theory, it's a proven system built for business developers and leaders who want to thrive in a world where AI handles the noise and humans create the real value.

We focus on strategic outreach that builds trust, relationship for selling that works in any market, and the human skills that will never go out of style, adaptability, communication, leadership and emotional intelligence.

If you're serious about leveling up and leading with confidence into the future, this program is built for you.

Book your discovery call directly from my LinkedIn page.

Just click the Book an Appointment link, go through the steps on my coaching site and from there we can book a free discovery call.

And I very, very much look forward to working with each and every one of you.

The sources for this week's episode are as follows.

The World Economic Forum Future of jobs report 2023 McKinsey & Co.

The state of AI in 2023 Harvard Business Review Emotional Intelligence Will Matter More, Not Less OECD Skills Outlook 2023 LinkedIn Learning 2024 Workplace Learning Report Sequoia Capital AI Growth Curve Insights Open Air Power Scaling Estimates and Statements by Sam Altman, Future Today Institute 2024 Tech Trends Report, MIT Media Lab and UNICEF AI Child Development Studios and the books referenced were Yuval, Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century Simon Sinek the Infinite Game and Daniel Goleman.

Emotional Intelligence Shout outs this week Zolk Malik, Stuart Morawski, Eric Portillo, Rudy A.

Zacharias, Tyler Bentley, Jason Garner, Aaron Haberman, Gary Noseworthy, Rodney Lover, Vaijayan Swaminathan, Colin Harms, Lauren Graf, Tatiana Zametalina, Susan Paseca, Eduardo Cano, Ben Lincoln, Isa Montalvo, Abe Duik, Jan Hinat, Bill Flack, John Pelly, Tom Navesero and Swapna Patel.

Until next time, you've been listening to the Business Development Podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.

This has been the Business Development Podcast with Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly has 15 years in sales and business development experience within the Alberta oil and gas industry and founded his own business development firm in 2020.

His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development.

The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your business development specialists.

For more we invite you to the website at www.capitalbd.ca.

see you next time on the Business Development Podcast.