Brian Egan, CEO of @EvolveVR gave a talk at Colorado Startup Week on how his company became AI first.

A lot of people talk about AI tools. Brian talked about people, and that's what got my attention.

AI adoption is a leadership decision before it's a technology decision.

The hardest switch I see owners make is going from doing everything to letting their people make the call.

This week, pick one decision your team makes without checking with you. Then leave it alone.

Your best tech isn't automatically your best lead.

Economists who studied sales teams found top performers were more likely to get promoted, and often became weaker managers.

Before the title, give them one small crew, one weekly check in, and one number they own.

Source: Benson, Li and Shue, "Promotions and the Peter Principle," Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2019 academic.oup.com/qje/article

The manager's job quietly changed this year.

A new Wharton study covered by Fortune found 72% of managers and above say their focus shifted from creating the work to managing what AI creates. For VPs and above, it's 82%.

And 1 in 5 managers and directors say nobody is clearly es a major mistake, or they don't know who is.

The old sales leader habit still wins: inspect what you expect.

Who on your team checks the AI work before it goes out?

this isn't for you. it's for your AI.

Most business owners start every AI chat from zero. Your AI has no idea what you sell, who buys it, or how you talk to customers.

Fix that once. Paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Grok:

"Interview me about my business, one question at a time. Ask what I sell, who buys it, why customers pick us, how I talk to them, and my biggest challenge this month. Ask a follow up if an answer is vague. When we're done, write a short profile of my business in plain language, under 1,200 characters, and save it to your memory."

Then paste that profile into your AI's custom instructions too. That's the step that makes it stick in every new chat, on any of them.

Ten minutes of answers, and everything after fits your business.

Save this, and follow for a new one every week.

Building AI tools keeps getting easier. That's good news, because the build was never the hard part.

I've trained about 8,000 sales pros and leaders. The tools always changed. What stuck was coaching, clarity, and a team that trusted the system.

Is your team ready to lead with it?

A polished answer is not the finish line. What information is missing? Which assumption changes the decision? AI can make a trade-off visible; we still need to check it. What would you like to understand better? Like, follow and share. #Leadership

Your ambition doesn’t need an audience. It needs an appointment.
Give one meaningful goal a time and place this week.
What are you done leaving to someday?
Share and follow for people-first leadership.
Original AI-created artwork.

The most trustworthy AI setup isn't the one you trust most. It's the one built so you never have to trust it blindly.

For small teams that starts simple: whoever does the work shouldn't be the one approving it.

Who signs off on your AI's work today?

Before you delegate a task to a person or AI, define finished: a useful result, the right context, and a human decision. What keeps bouncing back to you? This week's It Starts With Us connects AI news to better handoffs. Like, follow and share.

youtu.be/ehplBM7aov0

@EvolveVR Their six lessons: start with your why, this has to be led, pick a meaningful first bet, invest in fluency, optimize your stack, and make your P&L the AI scoreboard.

AI wasn't a replacement there. It helped people think better, decide faster, and grow into new roles.

Before you count what’s left, notice what you moved forward.

One conversation. One decision. One promise kept.

What’s one thing you’re glad you did this week? Share the reminder and follow for practical encouragement.

Make it safe to ask the next question.

A good leader makes room for “I don’t know yet.”

Try: “What part feels unclear?” Then listen before explaining.

Who made learning easier for you? Share this and follow for people-first leadership.

The customer cares whether we get back to them. What recurring task would help you follow through better? Like, follow and share. Digital-avatar video; human-directed, AI-assisted.

You don’t have to change someone’s whole life today. Just leave them a little more confident than you found them.

Notice the effort. Ask what would help. Let them take the next step.

Who gave you that confidence? Follow for more people-first leadership.

AI can carry more work. We still choose what matters. Start with one useful job and count the corrections. What would you make room for? Like, follow and share. DJ's digital avatar; human-directed, AI-assisted.
youtu.be/cnqw03R0fVs

AI is becoming a systems race.

Cheaper models matter. So do permissions, verification, infrastructure, and the human who takes responsibility when an agent gets something wrong.

Five stories. Five leadership questions. One practical framework.

youtu.be/VibXxO6EJdU

One agent with deep context—or a team of agents with defined roles? Muse and GrokBot make that a real leadership design choice. Start with the human owner, handoffs, proof, and approval boundaries. New It Starts With Us briefing (presented by DJ’s digital avatar): youtu.be/Tc4Loi755LY