Tsedal Neeley is the Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration and Chair of the MBA Program at Harvard Business School. She’s also a board director, bestselling author, and one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices on leadership and the future of work.
Recently, she shared a simple but profound reminder:
Everyone should develop at least 30% fluency in AI, data, and digital transformation.
Not mastery. Not a PhD. Not coding fluency. Just 30%.
Enough to know what AI can do. Enough to know what it cannot.
That’s where it clicked.
Because most leaders I meet want certainty. They want control. They want the whole playbook before they move. But the truth is—you don’t need the whole thing. You need just enough fluency to ask better questions, to see possibilities, to make smarter decisions.
Neeley broke it down beautifully:
- Understand the basics—machine learning, algorithms, data privacy.
- Commit to learning continuously—technology won’t wait.
- Learn to collaborate—with people, and with machines.
- Transform your mindset—innovation comes from curiosity, not fear.
Simple. Clear. Demanding.
But here’s the line that stayed with me: Humans with AI will do better than humans without AI.
It’s not us vs. the machines. It’s us with them.
And that’s the deeper lesson. Because this isn’t just about technology. It’s about how we grow.
Brands need the same fluency. But not in data or algorithms—in culture. In belonging. In human identity. A brand fluent in culture thrives. A brand blind to culture fades.
So yes, learn AI. Learn data. Learn the digital basics. Get your 30%.
But don’t stop there. Build your cultural fluency, too.
Because the future won’t just belong to those who understand the machines. It will belong to those who understand people.