Navigating The AI Platform Shift: How Leaders Actually Keep Up

Vivek Bhaskaran is founder & CEO of QuestionPro, a global leader in survey and research, data and insights services.

AI is not just another technology trend. It is a platform shift. In every true platform shift, the way value is created and delivered fundamentally changes, and the leaders who treat it like a routine upgrade usually experience the hardest surprise. In 2005, when I started my company, the shift was from shrink-wrapped software to cloud. Then came mobile. Today it is AI, and the speed and range of outcomes are unlike anything we have seen before.

What keeps many leaders up at night is not whether AI will change everything. It is whether they, their teams and their companies are keeping up. The good news is you do not need a 70-page AI readiness framework to respond. What you need are a few concrete behaviors you can put in place this quarter.​

Recognizing The Fog Of A Platform Shift

Every platform shift introduces fog. You know something big is happening, but you cannot see exactly where it will land or how long the uncertainty will last. When the iPhone launched in 2007, BlackBerry’s revenue actually doubled over the next two years. If you were the CFO in 2009, the numbers would have told you everything was fine. We know how that story ended.

With AI, the fog is even thicker. The range of possible outcomes runs from “we all lose our jobs” to “we all sit on a beach drinking margaritas while agents do the work.” Smart people argue for both extremes. As a founder and CEO, worrying about outcomes I cannot personally influence does not help me run a better company. What matters is how my team and I navigate the next days, weeks and quarters.

One simple metaphor guides my thinking: do not sail into the wind, sail along with it. You do not need the wind perfectly behind you, but you cannot stubbornly fight it either.

Why ‘Early Majority’ Beats ‘Early Adopter’

How This Shaped My Leadership

• Has this technology produced measurable value in use cases similar to ours?