I stare at this screen, a jumble of thoughts and a swirl of emotions giving me pause. I’m not often knocked off of my intentions. Just the opposite really. I’m a bulldog, what’s the problem, let’s get it solved. 

Yesterday, I was stopped in my tracks. Details are still emerging. One dead. 21 injured. 15 of the injured are in life-threatening conditions. Another mass shooting.

I live in Denver. We have had our share of senseless violence. So have you. Schools. Malls. Churches. Concerts. And now, a parade. A team won a Super Bowl. A city celebrated. Evil showed up.

I’m a Denver Broncos fan. The Kansas City Chiefs are division rivals. No fan would wish this upon their rival. No person should ever wish this upon another.

Today, a father weeps. A mother is immobilized by grief. For some, Valentine’s Day is forever tarnished by loss. 

I don’t know the victims. I do know it could have been my sons.

I am so very tired of it.

And then I have to ask. 

What will you do about it? 

What can I do about it?

I was prepared to write about AI and our ability to use it to promote revolutionary change that expands the fabric of social change. 

Maybe I still am? Perhaps someone reading this will figure out how AI can help us prepare better, police better and respond better to reduce the number of mass violence incidents. Wouldn’t that be outstanding! 

Is it you? Are you that innovator? Do you have an idea of how technology can save more lives, preferably before they need saving? 

I hope so. So do the families of yesterday’s tragedy. And when I do write about AI and change, I will introduce you to friends who are making some headway.

But you and I can do something today and tomorrow and in days after that needs to happen before AI can make any real difference. 

Stop Calling People Leaders Who Don’t Do This

I’m sure sociologists and psychologists and other human service professionals can tell us when things took a downturn in US history and mass violence escalated and why it happened. 

I have an idea too. I can trace my insight back to the start of the agricultural age and carry it forward into the history of our great nation. But we don’t need a history lesson, we need a human lesson.

And it’s etched into the very day, a Valentine’s Day, that just rocked Kansas City.

Can we build community? 

You control this. You decide this. So do I. 

Yes, in our business, we have massive pressure to hit numbers. Yes, we are overwhelmed by the sheer madness of keeping up with technology, with the threats to our company, and with competitive practices in our industries.

You get it. I get it.

But everyday, your employees either feel together or isolated. They feel supported or vulnerable. They are encouraged or judged.

Just this week, I had to intervene and bring peace to a conflict between peers. The misunderstanding was getting out of hand. 

Because, so quickly, people who should be advocates for others become adversaries.

“Hey Scott,” someone says. “You can’t change human nature.”

Well, you can call out the best in human nature, because it is pretty incredible. 

I don’t marvel at the “leader” who was able to secure a position, who performs competently, and who executes decisions that others carry out. I’ve seen the bodies littered behind them. 

Leaders worthy of our admiration not only build their own team, they equip every other leader to build community within their own teams. 

I used to have a rule in one of the organizations I led. No project without a team. No team without a leader. No leader without a coach. 

Why? Because no one should ever work alone. Or live feeling alone. Or be alone in their struggles and challenges. Ever.

I despise the phrase soft-skills. There is nothing soft about them. They are hard work. It takes time and energy to work with people. None of us like the idea that we are babysitting adults. All of us wish, at times, that we could just do our job and get on with it.

And we are all the poorer when that happens. 

Leader. It’s time to love our staff meetings again. Time to turn our standups, updates, quarterly check-ins, 1:1s and every other formalized interaction into people-building moments. 

What you do with people makes a difference. Rise above the system. The system sucks, and it sucks people into desperate acts and devastating decisions. 

I’m seeing firsthand how our use of AI is promoting radical benefit to people. But the one key word in that last sentence isn’t AI. It’s “our.”

Until we promote community - until we are truly in life/business together - AI and any other technology will be as harmful/destructive as it is beneficial/revolutionary. But more than that - the person who reports to you will be lost or found, alone or with.

I love you. If you work with me, you know it. I started CIO Mastermind because tech leaders felt isolated. I keep it going because tech leaders need to be together and they need to know how to keep their teams together. It’s why we call our company a learning community.

And the one thing that surprises guests of our groups is how much our members sincerely seek to help each other: “I was surprised at how vulnerable they were with each other.” I hear it frequently. It’s because they feel safe together.

That’s your job as a leader. Ensure that people are safe together. It is royal work. It is noble. It is you. It’s not an HR thing. It’s your thing.

I’m still emotionally moved. Kansas City, you are my friend. Be strong. 

We may or may not have rooted for you in the big game. But we root for you now.

That may sum up the entire message of this article. Maybe we just need to lead out and show what it means to root for each other.

Will you do that?

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