273 - Future-proofing your organization through continuing AI literacy

Most companies do a few AI trainings, run some pilots, and then stall. In this episode, host Susan Diaz argues the only real future-proofing strategy is continuous AI literacy. She breaks down what “continuous literacy” actually includes (skill, judgment, workflow, norms), the predictable failure modes of the AI literacy divide, and a simple flywheel you can run monthly so capability keeps compounding.

Episode summary

Susan opens with a familiar pattern: a burst of AI excitement, a deck called “AI Strategy 2025” a few clever workflows… and then reality hits. Tools change. Policies shift. Vendors overpromise. Early adopters keep learning. Everyone else stalls.

Her reframe is blunt: AI is not a project or a software rollout. It behaves like a language. Best practices change fast. What was smart six months ago can become a bad habit in the next six months.

So future-proofing isn’t about predicting what AI will do next. It’s about building an organization that can keep learning without burning people out or gambling with risk. That’s what continuous AI literacy is.

Key takeaways

Continuous AI literacy has four parts:
Skill: how to use AI.
Judgment: whether you should use AI.
Workflow: where AI fits into the process.
Norms: what’s safe, allowed, expected (guardrails + governance).

If training only focuses on skill, you get chaos.
If it covers all four, you get adoption velocity without panic.

The AI literacy divide is already here.
A few people sprint.
Most people watch.
Leadership tries to govern what they don’t fully understand.
HR is stuck between “train everyone” and “we have no time”.

That divide creates three predictable outcomes:
Shadow AI (people use tools quietly because they fear bans).
Innovation theatre (lots of activity, little operational change).
Champion burnout (early adopters carry the organisation and get exhausted).

To future-proof, you need a continuous literacy flywheel.
Not a one-off workshop.
A system.

Susan’s flywheel starter kit (run it monthly/quarterly):

1. Build the floor: minimum viable competence for everyone (basics of prompting, privacy, verification).

2. Role-based lifts: train people to do their jobs better with AI (sales, HR, marketing, ops), not “AI training” in the abstract.

3. Protect and pay champions: office hours, workflow library, recognition, and compensation so they don’t become unpaid internal consultants.

4. Package workflows: move beyond prompting into templates, SOPs, and personalized tools (repeatable cognitive automation).

5. Measure better metrics: stop obsessing only over time saved. Track quality, speed to opportunity, risk reduction, and learning.

6. Refresh the loop: update what changed in tools/policy, what workflows are now standard, and what failure modes to avoid. Repeat.
   
   

How you know it’s working:
You’ll hear the language change.
Less “AI is scary.”
More “Is this a good use case?” “What’s the risk?” “What’s the verification step?”
AI becomes boring in the best way.
Standardized quality improves.
Handoffs improve.
Fewer heroics.

A simple rubric for “good AI use”:
Is it safe (data + context)?
Is the output verifiable?
Is a human accountable?
Is it repeatable enough to operationalise?

Timestamps

00:02 — The pattern: training + excitement + pilots… then stall
00:28 — Vendor “agents” promises and why reality disappoints
01:09 — The only real future-proofing strategy: continuous literacy
02:06 — Reframe: AI is a language, not a project
03:50 — What continuous literacy means in practice
04:11 — The four parts: skill, judgment, workflow, norms
05:40 — Why skill-only training creates chaos
06:05 — Culture as the OS: why literacy won’t stick without safety
06:35 — The literacy divide: power users sprint, others stall
07:36 — The three outcomes: shadow AI, innovation theatre, champion burnout
08:24 — Continuous literacy as a flywheel (system, not workshop)
09:02 — Step 1: build the floor (minimum viable competence)
09:58 — Step 2: role-based lifts (train jobs, not “AI”)
10:47 — Step 3: champions, guardrails, office hours, and compensation
11:27 — Step 4: workflow packaging (templates, SOPs, personalised tools)
12:21 — Step 5: better metrics beyond time saved
12:50 — Step 6: refresh the loop and repeat
13:49 — How you’ll know it’s working: language shifts, “boring wins”
14:57 — A simple rubric: safe, verifiable, accountable, repeatable
15:42 — A practical start: 60 minutes of literacy review weekly
16:39 — Close: tools expire, literacy compounds

 

If you want a future-proof organization, don’t build a crystal ball.
Build a loop.

Start this week with:

1. 60 minutes of literacy review (what changed, what worked, what failed).

2. Pick one workflow to package into a template or SOP.

3. Schedule office hours so learning stays alive.
   
   

Tools will expire.
Literacy will compound.