Book: The Algorithmic Leader

Author

Mike Walsh

Summary

Anecdotes about modern leaders and their approach to decision making.

Takeaways

We experience a time of accelerated change that is unlikely to slow down in the future. With new technologies emerging and more data being available to influence decision making, leaders need to adjust their way of approaching problems. For example, successful leaders in the “algorithmic age” apply first principles thinking to come up with solutions that can be carried out by computers.

Quotes

“If you are simply automating your existing processes, adding a chatbot to your website, or updating your mobile app, then in all probability you are not thinking big enough about your future opportunities. Too often, digital transformation is just digital incrementalism."

“In the future, the most effective computational thinkers will be those who can directly express their ideas and execute their strategies in domain-specific programming languages."

“Dumbing down AI platforms to the extent that we can actually understand them may undermine their effectiveness. It is often more important to know why a particular optimum or target was chosen than to be able to explain the reasoning behind an algorithmic decision."