Post by Tolga Akcura

I asked my executive students one deceptively simple question. Their answers, in their own voices, are in the video below. In my MGMT 816 Executive Entrepreneurship: Leading Innovation class at Özyeğin University, the EMBA Class of 2026 worked through the HubSpot / Motion AI case and answered the "Monday Moves for the CGO" challenge: For your own company, name one process you are SUBSTITUTING with AI, one you are COMPLEMENTING, and one you are deliberately REJECTING — and explain why. Each recorded a short video from their own world — banking, retail, venture capital, HR, industrial B2B, public relations. The highlights below feature the colleagues who kindly agreed to share their thinking publicly. What struck me was how much they converged: → Substitute the repetitive and low-risk. → Complement the analysis and the preparation. → Reject wherever trust, safety, or brand identity lives. → Measure retention and trust — not just speed. → Disclose AI. Ghost-writing is an identity decision, not a technical one. → AI is the new front door — get found by AI search. → Reinvest the time AI frees back into human relationships. One of them summed up the whole group in a single line: "Automate the preparation, but protect the relationship." That's the difference between AI tactics and AI strategy. If you can't name all three — substitute, complement, reject — you've thought about the tactics, not the strategy. Proud of this group from Özyeğin University. The leaders who win the AI era won't be the ones who automate the most. They'll be the ones who know exactly what to keep human. With thanks to the executives featured here for letting me share their work — and to their companies. 👏 Featured (in order of appearance): Ceyhun Akyol — Sales & Marketing Director, Soudal Sinem Taştan — Government & Institutional Relations Director, Fiba Group Holding Öznur Erdur Sever — IT Area Lead, ING Nihan Alkan— Category Manager, ebebek Cansu Nur Kılıç — Head of User Experience, ebebek Esra Özen — Human Resources Manager, Fiba Renewables Umut Kiper — Business Manager, Rockwell Automation Şara M. — Senior Regional Sales Specialist, Bosch Home Comfort Group #AI #GenerativeAI #Strategy #ExecutiveEducation #EMBA #Leadership #CustomerExperience #Marketing

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