Tag: Artificial Intelligence

Weekly Reading List: How to Master AI Fluency and Build Meaningful Leadership

‘The AI Fluent Leader’ by Gísli Ólafsson. Photo: Amazon

Books of the Week

Looking for your next impactful read? This week’s featured selection explores deep human connection, leadership in the age of artificial intelligence, and how to successfully navigate constant technological change.

1. Make It Matter: Unlocking Human Potential Through the Mattering Method

By Matthew Emerzian

Something deeper is happening beneath the surface of our lives and our work. People are more connected than ever, yet feel more alone, achieving more, yet questioning if any of it truly matters. In the quiet moments, more people than we realize are asking: “Do I matter?” (Amazon, 2026)

In Make It Matter, Matthew Emerzian introduces a powerful and timely framework—The Mattering Mindset™—built from over two decades of work helping individuals, teams, and organizations reconnect to what matters most. This isn’t about motivation. It’s about mattering. Because when people know how much they matter, to themselves, to others, and to something bigger, everything changes:

  • How they show up
  • How they lead
  • How they live

Blending research, real-world application, and deeply personal insight, Make It Matter offers a new way forward that addresses the root of disconnection, burnout, and disengagement. Whether you’re navigating your own search for meaning, leading a team through constant change, or trying to make a greater impact, this book meets you where you are and helps you move forward.

“In a world that feels increasingly disconnected, uncertain, and heavy, the most powerful thing we can do is help people know they matter. And when we do that, we don’t just change how people feel. We change what’s possible.”

About the Author

Matt Emerzian is a four-time bestselling author and founder of the nonprofit Every Monday Matters, which has spent nearly two decades bringing mattering work into schools, companies, and communities for people of all ages, reaching nearly four million people.

2. Aligned With Intelligence: Reflections on Leadership, AI, and Consciousness

By Jeff Arnold

Artificial intelligence is accelerating. But the real shift isn’t happening in machines, it’s happening in us. (Amazon, 2026)

Aligned With Intelligence is not a technical book about AI. It’s a guide on how leaders must think, decide, and act in a world where intelligence is no longer limited to human minds.

Each chapter is intentionally brief and designed to be read in minutes, but considered for much longer. Between chapters, you will find space, an intentional design choice because in an age of constant acceleration, the ability to pause, think clearly, and act with purpose will define the next generation of leadership.

The book challenges a simple assumption: that more intelligence automatically leads to better outcomes. It doesn’t. Alignment does. As AI becomes faster, more embedded, and more powerful, the question is no longer “What can technology do?” The question is:

“Who are we becoming while we build it?”

If you are a leader, builder, operator, or thinker navigating the future of AI, this book will help you ask better questions—the most valuable skill of all in the age of intelligent systems.

About the Author

Jeff Arnold is a bestselling author known for a writing style that feels like a conversation with a trusted guide. His work blends vivid storytelling with practical insight, turning complex ideas into clear, memorable experiences. Reflecting his background as an entrepreneur and industry leader, Jeff writes to offer readers ideas that shift how they see the world.

3. The AI Fluent Leader: The Art of Leading When AI Changes Everything

By Gísli Ólafsson

Your AI program is not underperforming because of the technology. It is underperforming because of a leadership gap no one is talking about. (Amazon, 2026)

The AI Fluent Leader answers that challenge with precision and honesty. Gísli Ólafsson studied what separates the 12% of organizations that generate real AI returns from the 88% that do not. The answer is not better technology, bigger budgets, or faster adoption—it is better leadership.

The AUGMENT Framework

The book maps seven leadership imperatives into a complete system:

  1. Architect the Vision
  2. Upgrade Your Workforce
  3. Guard the Guardrails
  4. Manage the Machines
  5. Engineer the Culture
  6. Navigate New Competition
  7. Transform the Executive

Each chapter opens with a leadership challenge, provides a framework for addressing it, and closes with a sequenced action plan. The book includes practical tools such as an AI Leadership Bottleneck Diagnostic, an AI Fluency Self-Assessment, workforce readiness frameworks, and a guide to building AI personas that think alongside you on strategic problems.

“The organizations winning with AI are not using better tools. They have better leadership. This book shows you exactly what that leadership looks like, and how to build it.”

About the Author

Gísli Ólafsson is a technology executive, former parliamentarian, and crisis leader who has worked at the intersection of AI, institutions, and accountability for three decades. From Microsoft to global humanitarian responses and national government, he has led under pressure where technology and responsibility collide.

Photo: Amazon
Photo: Amazon

The Future of Work in the Age of AI: Essential Reads for Navigating Workplace Change

‘Finding Direction in the Age of AI’ by Michael Earls and ‘The Delivery Gap’ by Brenn Hill. Photos: Amazon

The Growing Interest in AI and the Future of Work

Books about artificial intelligence (AI) in the workforce are rapidly gaining popularity. While AI is reshaping industries and redefining traditional jobs, such as automating routine tasks and decision-making, business leaders are exploring how technology is transforming the workplace.

Readers are turning to books that explain these changes and offer practical advice on adapting skills, embracing innovation, and preparing for the future. Authors are also examining critical questions about job security and the human side of technology. As AI continues to evolve, these books provide valuable insights into navigating a rapidly changing professional world.

🤖 AI Book Spotlight

1. The Delivery Gap:

Why AI Adoption Fails and How Engineering Leaders Fix It

By Brenn Hill

Synopsis

Your team is writing more code than ever. Your incident rate is climbing too. Pull request volume is up. Review quality is down. Senior engineers are spending their weeks proofreading AI-generated output instead of designing systems. The dashboards say productivity is up. The incident rate says otherwise. (Amazon, 2026)

This is the delivery gap: the growing distance between how fast your team can generate code and how fast your organization can verify that code is correct, secure, and aligned with what you intended to build.

The Delivery Gap shows you:

  • The Verification Triangle — Metrics that tell you whether your verification is keeping pace with your generation velocity.
  • Six-tier quality gates — From static analysis through behavioral monitoring, each catching failure classes the tier below cannot see.
  • The Capability Ladder — Seven levels of organizational readiness, from experimentation through full agentic operations.
  • Eight decisions — An implementation sequence with completion criteria, starting from wherever you are.
  • The Conversation — Six questions your leadership will ask about AI governance, and how to answer them with data.
  • Case studies — What Stripe, Spotify, Webflow, Dropbox, and Airbnb actually built (not what vendors claim).

This is not a book about prompting. It’s a book about what happens after the code is generated.

Target Audience: CTOs, VPs of Engineering, Directors, and Engineering Managers responsible for AI adoption.

About the Author

Brenn Hill is a software engineer, engineering leader, and author based in Berlin. He has spent nearly two decades building software and leading engineering teams across America, Europe, and Asia, working across front-end, back-end, DevOps, data science, and data engineering.

He now teaches AI-augmented development practices to engineering teams and builds open-source tools and management frameworks for software delivery in the age of AI. The Delivery Gap is his second book.

2. Finding Direction in the Age of AI:

Finding Clarity, Leadership and Human Connection in a World Moving at Machine Speed

By Michael Earls

Synopsis

The tools keep getting faster. The questions keep getting harder.

Cloud computing reshaped how organizations build. Artificial intelligence is now rewriting how decisions get made, how work gets done, and how quickly a career can become unrecognizable. (Amazon, 2026)

Most leaders have figured out how to keep up. Far fewer can tell you where they are going.

Finding Direction in the Age of AI is a short, direct book about staying human, and staying oriented, while the ground moves. It’s written by someone who has spent more than two decades inside the change: infrastructure engineering, cloud transformation, and enterprise technology leadership.

The questions this book takes seriously:

  • How do you hold on to clarity when information moves at machine speed?
  • What happens to culture and trust when work becomes fully digital?
  • Can AI raise output without hollowing out the parts of work that made it worth doing?
  • What should a leader actually be good at, now that the machine is good at so much?

Read this if:

  • You lead a team through AI adoption and are tired of the hype on both sides.
  • You are a technologist wondering which of your skills still compound.
  • You want a clear-eyed hour of thinking, not a 400-page survey of the field.

It’s a small book for a reason, it’s the kind of book you finish on a flight and think about for a month. Because the real challenge of the AI era is not keeping up with the speed. It’s remembering where we were trying to go.

About the Author

Michael Earls is a technology leader and writer with more than twenty years across infrastructure, cloud, and AI transformation. He’s also the author of Wired for Purpose and The Digital Compass.

Michael has spent more than twenty years inside the change he writes about, and he writes for the people doing the work, not the people describing it from outside.

What Is a Conversation Architect? The Critical New Role in the Age of AI

‘Garbage In, Faster’ is a companion to ‘Connecting Goals to Impacts and Outcomes.’ Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: Garbage In, Faster: Why AI Needs Conversation Architects

By Claude Hanhart

Synopsis: The Alignment Paradox

“AI doesn’t remove the need for human alignment. It amplifies it.”

From the co-author of the #1 Amazon Kindle Bestseller Connecting Goals to Impacts and Outcomes comes a provocative companion: a book exploring why AI makes human conversation skills more essential than ever. (Amazon, 2026)

Across industries, organizations rushed to lay off Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, only to immediately adopt AI. They eliminated the very people responsible for creating organizational alignment and bought a technology that makes alignment more critical than ever.

The result? Garbage in, faster.

Fascinatingly, Garbage In, Faster was written in collaboration with Anthropic’s Claude AI, with the entire manuscript generated in under 60 seconds. However, those 60 seconds only worked because of the hours of structured conversation that preceded them and the twenty years of expertise behind those conversations. In short: the process of writing this book proved its thesis.

What You’ll Learn

  • The Diagnosis: Why “agile is dead” is the wrong conclusion, and what actually failed.
  • Communication Debt: The invisible liability quietly destroying your organization.
  • The AI Multiplier: Why AI multiplies clarity and confusion equally and how you choose which one wins.
  • Syntax & Infrastructure: How VERB + NOUN syntax creates infrastructure for both humans and AI.
  • Context Engineering: Why “context engineering” is just Structured Conversations by another name.
  • The Unautomatable: The five conversations AI can never have for you.
  • The New Role: How to become a Conversation Architect, the role organizations need most right now.
  • Actionable Steps: Five conversations you can have on Monday morning using no new tools.

Who This Book Is For

  • Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches wondering what comes next in their careers.
  • Product Managers whose AI tools produce beautiful, meaningless artifacts.
  • Executives who invested in AI but aren’t seeing the promised results.
  • Anyone who suspects that better conversations might actually be the answer.

Note: This is a companion to Connecting Goals to Impacts and Outcomes: Harnessing Structured Conversations for Customer-Driven Value Delivery. While that book provides the complete toolkit, this one is the vital argument for why that toolkit is now existential.

Structure the Conversation. Deliver the Outcome.

About the Author

Claude Hanhart is a Product Strategist and Agile Coach with over 10 years of leadership experience driving groundbreaking product strategies and agile transformations. His approach centers on fostering innovation rooted in business objectives, customer experience, and market leadership using tools like Generative AI, OKRs, and Behavior-Driven Development (BDD).

Claude brings a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective to modern product challenges, holding an MA in Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and Languages from the University of Berne in Switzerland and an MA in Geography from the University of Minnesota. Multilingual in German, Swiss German, and French, he thrives in international collaborations.

Structured Conversations represents Claude’s commitment to bridging strategic thinking with practical implementation. Currently based in New Jersey with his wife, Claude finds that their three energetic dogs serve as daily reminders of the importance of clear communication and patient guidance, principles that translate beautifully into his professional coaching work.

Are you leveraging AI to speed up your work, or are you just accelerating the chaos?

‘Valet’ by J.P. Lacrampe: The Whimsical Robot Novel You Didn’t Know You Needed

‘Valet’ is the new novel by J.P. Lacrampe. Photo: Simon & Schuster

Book Spotlight: Valet: A Novel

By J.P. Lacrampe

Synopsis

Cy wants nothing more than to be useful, raise his utility score, and receive the next update for his operating system. But that’s easier said than done when he’s tasked with helping his owner’s thirty-five-year-old son “get out of his funk.” (Simon & Schuster, 2026)

Grayson is nothing like his go-getter, CEO sister Charlotte. He didn’t inherit the family robotics company when their dad passed last year, he doesn’t have a master’s degree, and he just can’t seem to figure out the San Francisco dating scene. He’d rather eat synthesized mozzarella sticks and make pottery at his studio, Kilning Time.

When Grayson learns of Charlotte’s plan to sell the company to a tech conglomerate, he panics. It’s not just the family business at stake, it’s all the technology—like Cy—their dad invented over the years. So he does what anyone would do: he steals the flash drive with his father’s most important work stored on it and plans a corporate takeover. If only he knew what that meant.

To make matters worse:

  • A fellow VALET deserts his owner and asks Cy to help him hightail it out of town.
  • Grayson’s first real date—and her dog—keep showing up at inopportune times.
  • The behemoth tech company wants this deal closed yesterday.

Grayson, Cy, and their trusty golden retriever, Sasha III, must go on the lam until they figure out exactly what to do, and whom to trust.

A hilarious, madcap adventure that is as tender as it is insightful, Valet asks not just what it means to be human, but what it means to be family.

Read This If You Love:

  • Vibe: A whimsically speculative ode to Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster.
  • For Fans Of: Kevin Wilson (Nothing to See Here) and Andrew Sean Greer (Less).
  • Core Tropes: A helper robot, his thirty-five-year-old ward, and a madcap adventure to save the fate of a family empire.

“Valet is a hilarious and bracing examination of the near future, where Cy, a techbot servant, must navigate the complexities of humans to maintain his utility score. What makes this such a winning and openhearted novel is that J.P. Lacrampe goes beyond the initial premise by looking at the universal anxiety of family, of being tied to people with whom you will rise and fall, either toward a new update or into obsolescence.” — Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here and Run for the Hills

About the Author

J.P. Lacrampe received his MFA in creative writing from Saint Mary’s College. His short fiction has been published by Glimmer Train, McSweeney’s, Instant City, and in Howl: A Collection of the Best Contemporary Dog Wit. He is a teaching professor at Santa Clara University, where he teaches courses in composition, fiction, and screenwriting.

The Future of Music Ownership: Inside Paul ‘PK’ Kemsley’s New AI Music Company

Artist Included launches artist-first AI music company focused on creator ownership and ethical re-recordings. Photo: Artist Included, used with permission.

A New Era for Iconic Music: Artist Included Launches Ethical AI Platform with Re-Recorded Culture Club Classic

A new artist-first music and technology company, Artist Included, has officially launched with a mission to help iconic artists reclaim creative participation, ownership, and long-term value in their music. Co-founded by entrepreneur Paul “PK” Kemsley and entertainment attorney and film producer Jeremy Rosen, the company uses ethical, artist-approved voice AI to create a new model for legendary acts to reimagine classic recordings and own new master tracks for today’s market. (Miller PR, 2026)

Celebrating a Legend: A New Take on “Karma Chameleon”

To mark its debut, and coincide with Boy George’s 65th birthday, Artist Included partnered with BMG to release a fresh recording of Culture Club’s iconic hit, “Karma Chameleon.”

“Revisiting ‘Karma Chameleon’ in this way was emotional and creatively inspiring. The goal was never to replace the original — it was to celebrate it and let the song keep evolving for new audiences.”

— Boy George

Clarification on the tech: This is not a synthetic AI track. Boy George recorded brand-new vocals in the studio. Ethical technology was used solely to support and enhance the final master, ensuring the technology serves the creator rather than replacing them.

Unlocking Value Across the Board

The “Karma Chameleon” release is the first of many planned projects spanning catalog artists from the 1960s through the 2000s. Artist Included helps creators unlock revenue streams that historically bypassed them, including:

  • Digital & Physical Formats: Streaming platforms, exclusive vinyl releases, foreign-language versions, remixes, tokenization, and Dolby Atmos.
  • Media & Sync Licensing: Film, TV, advertising, gaming, and trailerized formats.
  • Direct Engagement: Brand partnerships, sponsorships, and direct-to-fan campaigns.

Industry Leaders Weigh In

The company’s ethos centers on flipping traditional music economics back in favor of the original creators.

  • Paul “PK” Kemsley, Co-Founder & CEO:

“For decades, artists created the soundtrack to our lives while much of the long-term value moved away from the original creators. Artist Included was built to help reverse that dynamic. This is not about replacing artists or exploiting old catalogs — it is about helping artists create new ones. Used responsibly, AI can become one of the most powerful creative tools the music industry has ever seen.”

  • Jeremy Rosen, Co-Founder:

“The future of AI in music must put artists at the center — creatively, ethically, and economically. Artist Included is building a model where artists control and participate directly in the future value created from their music, voice, brand, and legacy. All ego aside, we are shifting the narrative from piracy to partnership; a timely AI reframe.”

Heavyweights Backing the Movement

Artist Included has built a powerful network of entertainment veterans, technology partners, and prominent investors to support its scale:

CategoryPartner / Key Executive
Board LeadershipRobert Earl (Founder of Planet Hollywood) as Chairman of the Board.
Technology PartnerSyntiant (Developed the artist-approved vocal AI platform powering the recordings).
Strategic InvestorsMike Walsh (Uber/Salesforce seed investor), Doug Raetz (Co-President, Cresset Sports & Entertainment), and Red Light Management.
Executive LeadershipKurt Busch (Syntiant CEO), Antony Antoniou (Capital Strategy), Rob Guthrie (Music Publishing Exec), and Patryk Strojny (Former McKinsey Exec).

Looking Ahead

At a moment when AI is reshaping the global landscape, Artist Included offers a transparent, consent-first alternative built on full rights clearance and shared economics. Additional artist partnerships, new releases, and strategic announcements will be unveiled in the coming months.

Photo: Artist Included

Book Review: ‘Natural Intelligence & the Logic of Consciousness’ by Antonio Damasio

Antonio Damasio explores consciousness and interoception in his new book ‘Natural Intelligence & the Logic of Consciousness.’ Photo: Penguin Random House

Book Review: ‘Natural Intelligence & the Logic of Consciousness’

By Antonio Damasio

Synopsis

Throughout his illustrious, decades-long career, Antonio Damasio has been at the leading edge of science’s enduring quest to unravel the mysteries of the human mind. Now, drawing on a lifetime of groundbreaking research as well as the newest findings of neurobiology, Damasio seeks to move the debate about the origins of consciousness from the world of high-level cognition and abstract reasoning into the wondrous realm of interoception—the human body’s own internal monitoring system.

A probing synthesis of neurobiology, evolutionary science, and philosophy from one of the most notable leaders in his field, Natural Intelligence & the Logic of Consciousness offers readers a scientifically rigorous and profound re-examination of what it means to be alive and aware. (Penguin Random House, 2026)

It will be released on September 15 and is available for pre-order.

Book Contents

  • Beginnings
  • Part I: The Problem of Generating Consciousness and a Sketch of Possible Solutions
  • Part II: Deeper Into the Solution
  • Part III: Now That We Know
  • Part IV: Afterthought

Review

Antonio Damasio’s Natural Intelligence & the Logic of Consciousness is a fascinating exploration of one of humanity’s oldest questions: What gives rise to consciousness? Building on decades of pioneering research in neuroscience, Damasio challenges conventional theories by arguing that consciousness begins not with complex thought or language, but with the body’s internal regulation system, known as interoception.

The book’s central insight is that homeostatic feelings—such as hunger, thirst, pain, comfort, and well-being—form the biological foundation of subjective experience. Rather than treating consciousness as an abstract cognitive achievement, Damasio presents it as an evolutionary solution that helps living organisms survive and thrive. This perspective offers a compelling bridge between neurobiology, philosophy, and evolutionary science.

Beyond explaining the origins of consciousness, Damasio broadens the discussion to examine whether simpler life forms, such as plants and bacteria, exhibit primitive forms of sentience. He also explores how homeostasis influences human culture, politics, religion, and commerce, while thoughtfully considering the promises and limitations of artificial intelligence.

“…there is no guarantee that AI tools will remain as docile servants in the hands of their human owners. The possibility of their gaining independence, even if only momentarily, is certainly a reason for worry.”

His analysis raises important questions about whether machines can truly replicate conscious experience or merely imitate its outward appearance.

Key Chapter Highlights

  • Chapter 9: Examines how feelings developed before words and numbers, and how consciousness developed early to help guide evolution. Even though most homeostatic regulation occurs nonconsciously, some of it remains under our conscious control.
  • Chapter 11: Breaks down the core science behind consciousness—specifically interoception, or the ability to sense, interpret, and integrate signals from inside your body.
  • Chapter 18: Explores the science behind pain and nausea. Damasio explains how nausea serves as another vital bodily alert system designed to prevent damage from ingesting toxic molecules.
  • Chapter 22: Outlines his theories regarding artificial intelligence. Damasio posits that AI is fundamentally neutral to good because it stems from human innovation, but cautions that if the humans behind its creation have malicious intent, the technology will reflect those motives.

Final Verdict

Although the scientific concepts occasionally demand careful reading, Damasio’s arguments remain engaging, logical, and thought-provoking. Readers interested in neuroscience, cognitive science, philosophy of mind, or the future of AI will find this book both intellectually stimulating and deeply rewarding.

Natural Intelligence & the Logic of Consciousness is a profound, accessible examination of the relationship between body, brain, and awareness that challenges readers to rethink the very nature of intelligence. Damasio delivers a compelling argument that feeling is the logic of consciousness. For anyone seeking to understand the deep biological origins of human experience, this is a definite must-read.

“Poets understood, long before neurobiologists ever could, that the glories of passionate love and the sufferings of love gone astray could be legitimately described in physiological terms, even though the physiological details are not exactly the same.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

About The Author

Antonio Damasio is University Professor, David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Philosophy, and director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Damasio is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the author of Descartes’ Error, The Feeling of What Happens, Looking for Spinoza, Self Comes to Mind, The Strange Order of Things, and Feeling & Knowing, all of which have been published in translation and are taught in universities throughout the world.

** Thanks to Michael Goldsmith and Penguin Random House for the gifted ARC for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Mo Rousso’s AI for Small Businesses: The Ultimate Leadership Roadmap

‘How to Build an AI-Powered Business’ is Book 2 in the AI for Small Businesses series of books by Mo Rousso. Photo: Amazon

📚Book Spotlight: How to Build an AI-Powered Business Without Losing Control, Trust, or Your Mind (AI for Small Businesses Book 2)

By Mo Rousso

AI is already changing how decisions are made inside your business, often without your explicit consent.

Teams are using artificial intelligence to draft plans, analyze data, shape customer communication, and move faster than ever. While productivity might be up, accountability is becoming less clear. Many leaders feel pressure, noise, and a creeping loss of control, even when results look fine on the surface.

This book explains why.

How to Build an AI-Powered Business Without Losing Control, Trust, or Your Mind is a practical leadership guide for executives, founders, and managers navigating artificial intelligence in real organizations. This is not a technical manual; it’s a leadership and management book focused on decision rights, accountability, trust, and organizational discipline.

In this fully revised Second Edition, Mo Rousso shows leaders how to use AI as a business tool without surrendering judgment or culture.

What You’ll Learn

Each chapter includes real-world business case examples that show how AI adoption succeeds—or fails—in everyday companies, from operations and sales to leadership teams and customer service. By reading this guide, you will learn how to:

  • Define clear decision-making authority between humans and AI
  • Prevent artificial intelligence from quietly eroding accountability
  • Build guardrails that scale across teams and departments
  • Improve operational throughput instead of creating more noise
  • Protect customer trust while increasing speed and efficiency
  • Lead calmly and decisively in an AI-driven business environment

This Book Is Ideal For:

  • Business leaders and executives looking for strategic direction
  • Founders and entrepreneurs scaling their companies
  • Managers responsible for AI adoption and implementation
  • Organizations integrating AI into daily operations
  • Anyone interested in the intersection of artificial intelligence, leadership, and management

AI will continue to accelerate. Tools will keep changing. Leadership responsibility does not disappear. This book helps you stay in control when AI is everywhere.

Get your copy today!

About the Author: Mo Rousso

Mo Rousso’s clients know him as the catalyst for change, transforming potential into measurable growth. During his journey as a founder and CEO, he’s faced the same scaling challenges you’re grappling with. He doesn’t just talk about overcoming obstacles, he helps you break through them using proven business frameworks and a relentless commitment to building exceptional teams and cultures.

Having built and scaled multiple companies, Mo understands the roadblocks and frustrations firsthand. He’s leveraged frameworks like Scaling Up and Metronomics to create a business acceleration system that delivers exponential growth and lasting transformation. His journey is proof that when leadership, teamwork, and culture are aligned, businesses not only overcome obstacles, they thrive.

His business books will give you the clarity, confidence, and strategy to embrace AI without fear or confusion. He strips away the tech jargon and delivers real-world insights through engaging storytelling and practical, step-by-step guidance. Whether you’re a skeptical traditionalist or a forward-thinking entrepreneur, Mo shows you how AI can streamline operations, boost efficiency, and drive growth, all without losing the personal touch that makes your business unique.

If you want to stay competitive, work smarter, and future-proof your company, this series is your ultimate roadmap to success.

Also in the AI for Small Businesses Series:

  1. Let AI Do It
  2. How to Build an AI-Powered Business Without Losing Control, Trust, or Your Mind
  3. Freedom Machine
  4. Zero to AI Hero

‘The Focused AI Captain’: A Leader’s Guide to Successful AI Transformation

‘The Focused AI Captain’ by FocusFirst founder René Esteban. Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: The Focused AI Captain

How to Navigate the Storm, Empower Your Crew, and Deliver Real Value

By René Esteban

Master the Art of Leading AI Transformations for Lasting Business Success

Only 5% of enterprise AI initiatives succeed. Are you ready to be among the elite few who truly transform their organizations?

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses face a common enemy—AI initiatives that fail to deliver real impact. Millions are spent on pilots that never scale. But the true obstacle isn’t the technology itself; it’s how organizations are structured, aligned, and led. (Amazon, 2026)

In The Focused AI Captain, René Esteban, CEO of FocusFirst, reveals why most AI transformations stall and what leaders must do differently to succeed. Grounded in real-world enterprise experience, this book provides a clear, practical roadmap to turn AI ambition into measurable business results.

What You Will Learn

Inside, you will discover how to:

  • Master the 10-20-70 Rule: Allocate resources effectively and maximize AI ROI.
  • Apply the 3D Framework: Learn to Diagnose challenges, set Direction, and Deliver results.
  • Bridge the Trust Gap: Turn employee skepticism into active AI adoption.
  • Move Beyond Pilots: Confidently scale your AI initiatives across the entire organization.

Who is this book for? This book is written for CEOs, executives, and decision-makers who refuse to let their organizations fall behind in the AI revolution. Whether you’re leading a large-scale transformation or preparing your team for the next wave of AI adoption, you’ll gain practical frameworks, leadership insights, and execution tools you can apply immediately.

Get your copy now and start leading your organization to AI-driven success.

About the Author

René Esteban brings unwavering passion to making big goals tangible and inspiring people to achieve them.

As the Founder and CEO of FocusFirst, a Keynote Speaker, and a Senior Advisor to top executives, he has made it his mission to accelerate transformations in organizations. He firmly believes that complex change succeeds best through a clear focus on a single goal, excellent communication, and the active involvement of all stakeholders.

René began his career at Merck, where in his mid-20s he led the global build-out of the e-commerce division, today a billion-dollar business. This experience taught him that successful transformations depend not only on the right strategies, but critically on early and open communication with key stakeholders. His insights led to the development of the award-winning PEAK Method, through which FocusFirst has already guided more than 250 transformations.

René is a passionate entrepreneur with several companies alongside FocusFirst. He cherishes inspiring moments of exchange over Italian wine and loves traveling the world with his family – especially to Italy.

‘CRAFT Thinking’: The Practical Playbook for Everyday AI Work

‘CRAFT Thinking’ is the new book by Philip Topham. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Book Spotlight: CRAFT Thinking: A Playbook for Clear Thinking and Better Decisions with AI

By Philip Topham

Get clearer thinking and better decisions with AI without becoming a prompt engineer.

CRAFT Thinking gives you a simple, five-step method that sharpens how you think, improves the questions you ask, and helps you get consistently better results from any artificial intelligence tool. It’s practical, repeatable, and built for everyday work, not technical experts. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)

The CRAFT Chain Reaction:

  • When your thinking improves, your prompts improve.
  • When your prompts improve, your decisions improve.

Whether you lead a company, manage a team, or simply want to do better work with AI, this playbook gives you the structure to turn uncertainty into clarity and AI conversations into meaningful insight.

The Bottom Line: > AI won’t make your work smarter. Clear thinking will, and CRAFT shows you how.

Get your copy today!

About the Author

Philip Topham

Strategic AI Advisor, Speaker, & Creator of the CRAFT Thinking™ Method

Philip Topham is a strategic AI advisor, speaker, and creator of the CRAFT Thinking™ method, a framework designed to bring clarity, intentionality, and better decision-making into the AI era.

With a career spanning corporate leadership, startup ventures, and board advisory, Philip combines the rigor of an engineer with the insight of a relationship-focused strategist. He’s earned two U.S. patents, contributed to peer-reviewed research, and worked across industries from health tech to clean tech to biotech. What sets him apart is not just his technical depth, it’s his shift toward human-centered leadership.

After stepping away to be a stay-at-home dad, Philip returned with a deeper understanding of what it means to lead with care and purpose. He brings that mindset into his work today, helping leaders think with AI, not just use it, so their organizations can grow wisely, inclusively, and sustainably.

Philip serves as co-chair of the National AI Special Interest Group for the Private Directors Association, and publishes regularly at SavionAI: The Shift.

“AI should serve all of humanity—not just the elite. And it’s our shared responsibility to build companies and institutions worthy of that promise.”

AI Made Simple: The Beginner’s Guide to Reclaiming Your Time

‘AI for Boomers’ is a straightforward and helpful guide to AI for beginners. Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: AI for Boomers

By Andrew Robbins & Noah Kruthaupt

Think AI is Rocket Science? Think Again.

What if we told you AI is completely non-technical and the easiest tool available to improve your quality of life?

If you aren’t comfortable with technology, or you think artificial intelligence sounds like a daunting math problem, consider this your simple, stress-free roadmap. Written by the younger generation for those who want to reclaim their time, this guide teaches you how to use a powerful tool you simply type or talk to. (Amazon, 2026)

No jargon. No homework. Just a basic method to make AI your personal assistant, giving you more understanding of and control over your:

  • Home Life
  • Health
  • Wealth
  • Security
  • Independence

You haven’t missed the memo; the instructions up until now have just been completely missing or buried in confusing tech-speak. You are sharp and capable, but you’re likely tired of wasting time on monotonous tasks and complicated technology.

Real Solutions Are Simple

AI isn’t just for tech companies. Here is how it can solve everyday headaches right now:

  • Instantly Cut Through Confusion: Turn any complicated bill, medical form, or long legal letter into one simple next step.
  • Protect Your Money & Safety: Learn to spot fake voices, images, and sophisticated scams before they ever reach your wallet.
  • Master Your Wellness: Take pictures of pill bottles for a clean medication list, or turn vague symptoms into clear questions for your doctor.
  • Communicate with Confidence: Get help drafting firm but respectful emails, or translate slang from younger family members.

The Promise: Authors Andrew Robbins and Noah Kruthaupt are part of the generation that built these tools. Their promise to you is simple: If you can type or talk, you can use AI to reclaim your time, protect your money, and secure your independence.

Inside the Book, You Will Instantly Learn:

  • The “Calculator for Words” Secret: Use AI as your personal calculator for words, guaranteed to clarify any messy or confusing information.
  • The 92:8 Principle for Time: Learn the simple rule for delegating 92% of your necessary-but-draining tasks to AI.
  • The HAT Method for Talking to “The Robot”: A simple, three-step method for structuring your requests that forces the AI to give you the best answers.
  • The #1 Defensive Habit: Proactively use AI to spot advanced scams, transforming your phone and inbox into a safe, reliable defense system.
  • The Curious Growth Strategy: Use AI as your cognitive coach to instantly summarize books, test your knowledge, and plan your personal growth.

“But Is This a Complicated Tech Book?”

We understand that feeling. This book assumes absolutely zero tech background and is made purely for your self-growth:

  • 🛑 You Can’t Break It: You are learning a compounding skill, the only result of a “mistake” is just getting a better answer next time.
  • 💻 No Coding Required: If you can send a text or write a note, you have all the skill needed. This guide focuses only on the three essential skills to get the biggest return.
  • ⏳ Low Time Commitment: This guide is organized for quick, practical wins, not deep technical theory.

Live Life on Your Own Terms

This book simply gives you an easy-to-use tool to thrive in the modern world. You’ve earned your independence, don’t waste it on busy work. It’s time to let a machine handle the boring, draining tasks so you can stay in the driver’s seat.

Secure your copy today and rest easier with a new tool that keeps you capable, connected, and independent.

Meet the Authors

Noah Kruthaupt

Noah is a student business owner, founder, and AI professional focused on helping people understand and apply artificial intelligence in practical, real-world ways. While studying business and entrepreneurship, Noah began working directly with organizations, educators, and everyday adults who were being asked to use AI without ever being taught how to think about it. He saw the same pattern repeatedly: powerful tools, unclear guidance, and growing confusion, especially among experienced professionals and leaders who didn’t grow up with this technology.

Andrew (Andy) Robbins

Andy is a founder and AI professional who specializes in building practical, custom artificial intelligence solutions for real-world use. With a background in technology and systems development, Andy works at the intersection of AI capability and business operations. His focus is on designing solutions that help organizations use AI responsibly, efficiently, and in ways that fit their existing workflows without unnecessary complexity or disruption.