You don’t have to be an executive at a technology company to know and feel intuitively the impact of the proliferation of artificial intelligence. I currently serve on the boards of two micro-cap-as-a-service companies, but have spent more than 25 years on corporate boards in industries such as commercial music education, musical instrument manufacturing, and local banking. I have seen how AI has disrupted nearly every company in every industry.
The two companies I currently serve on the board of directors are young, agile companies based in the Pacific Northwest. One of our founders and CEOs is a Gen Xer, and the other is a Millennial. In both boardrooms, the steady, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes menacing beat of AI can be heard.
Almost 30 years ago, Harvard Business School professor and author Clayton Christensen wrote the business bible The Innovator’s Dilemma, which introduced the term “disruptive innovation.” When Christensen first coined the term, he was explaining why successful companies, even if they listen to their current customers and do everything “right,” often fail when faced with disruptive technologies and innovations that create new markets or displace existing ones.
I read Christensen’s book as a new executive at Dell when it was published in 1997. Dell Computer Corp. (now part of Dell Technologies Inc.) was a major “disruptive” force in the personal computer industry. Having experienced that revolution, I began to understand how important it is for me, as a board member, to understand as much as possible the challenges posed by AI and fulfill my duty of care.
I began looking for continuing education courses to help me better absorb what I saw in board materials and heard in the boardroom. This includes learning a dizzying array of new terms and old terms with new meanings, such as:
- LLM, or Large Scale Language Models (as a lawyer, I had to retrain my brain to not automatically think of a law degree)
- Agents (AI systems that can autonomously plan, reason, and execute tasks across a variety of applications, rather than someone helping you land a book publishing deal)
- Hallucinations (not a drug-induced dream state, but when date or architectural constraints cause the LLM to produce answers that are factually inaccurate or illogical)
I discovered a course offered by Stanford Business School called “AI-Driven Leadership: Strategies for the Future.” The course began in early January 2026 and continued until March. This online course attracted students from across industries and around the world, primarily at the vice president level.
As far as I know, I was the only student who was a company executive but did not work for a company. There were times when I was at sea and lost track of what it was like to be an executive and deal with issues 24/7. And the business world has changed a lot in the 14 years since I last held an executive role.
When I was General Counsel at Starbucks from 2002 to 2012, I had never heard the term “artificial intelligence.” However, in many assignments at Stanford, students were encouraged to comment on other students’ work. In answering the case study assignments, I drew on my ancient business experience while also acting as a sponge for the real-world complexities faced by my fellow students who are tackling and benefiting from AI challenges.
AI may be a new technology, but good leaders are good at change management, something that surprised me. In my 10 years of founding and leading global organizations, I have navigated many changes. Many of the themes presented by the Stanford Business School professors sounded surprisingly familiar.
For AI to grow within an organization, leaders must set the right table. You need to build a compelling case for change that is not just profit-centered, but also encourages most employees to embrace change. If employees don’t believe, they will be afraid and sabotage management’s efforts.
Understanding human nature, knowing how to motivate people, and being transparent are the leadership qualities needed for AI to thrive. Is there freedom to fail and appropriate guardrails? Are there feedback loops? How good is the data? Are data scientists and engineers talking to each other?
What about engineers and sales force? How are support functions such as legal, human resources, finance, corporate communications, and marketing optimizing for or resisting AI? What organizational design is needed to reap the full benefits of AI?
Bottom line: HR issues are often more important than the most sophisticated or innovative coding.
The Stanford course also sensitized me to think more creatively about how AI could make me a better board member. As a director of a publicly traded technology company, I provide strategic oversight, check the organization’s performance, and help ensure effective governance.
As a director serving a digital learning platform company, I understand that these responsibilities require me to regularly review complex information, monitor industry developments, and prepare thoughtful questions for management. As the education technology sector evolves, especially with the explosive development of AI, creator economy business models, and digital learning platforms, large amounts of information need to be efficiently processed to make informed strategic decisions.
Generative AI offers great potential to support this work by improving the efficiency and quality of some repetitive tasks in board members’ workflows. As part of my homework, I decided to focus on three specific board tasks that could be made more efficient and effective through GenAI.
The first was to review the board packet and supporting materials prior to the meeting (using appropriate security protocols). The second was to monitor industry and strategic trends that could impact the company’s long-term direction. The third task was to prepare for the board meeting by developing questions and discussion points for management.
We then concluded that if we could rank these GenAI opportunities, prioritize board packet reviews, and better tackle the task of reading and understanding the 100+ pages of board materials we frequently receive, we could most quickly improve our ability to add value on the board.
Although we have not yet formally proposed these ideas to the board, we are excited about their potential. Although it was painful at times and I didn’t always enjoy being a student with homework and deadlines, I believe in continuing my education. There is always room for further advances when it comes to AI.
US Army Airborne Veteran paula boggs After 10 years as Chief Legal Officer of Starbucks Corporation, he is now a musician, speaker, and author. She writes about leadership, legal ethics, and the legal profession for Good Counsel.
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