Three out of four top business schools are teaching generative AI as subject matter, according to reports from the Graduate Business School Roundtable, but only one in five offers dedicated coursework on the subject of generative AI. Over the last two years, ChatGPT and other LLMs (large lnaguage models) like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini have been impacting every aspect of business – and MBA programs are taking notice. ADP Research reports that 85% of workers believe that their jobs will be impacted by AI in the next three years – especially for Gen Z. The recently recognized top MBA Program in the world is leading the way in career-minded instruction for students, with ten key skills around Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Re-Imagining the MBA, with AI in Mind
The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) has been recognized as the top MBA program in the world, according to Poets and Quants. Recognized for watershed efforts in the pursuit of AI technology and teaching, Switzerland’s IMD has re-imagined the curriculum around how human beings interact and interface with AI, LLMs and other related technological systems.
“We reorganized everything,” Omar Toulan, MBA dean at IMD, says. What helps students most, when it comes to preparing for a world where AI is at the center of commerce? At the top of Toulan’s list, for critical human-centered skills, is strategic leadership communication.
“I have yet to see an AI system that can be an effective leader. [With AI programs, like ChatGPT] you still need someone in the room to use judgment in making the final decision and motivate people to implement it, someone with the intelligence and the courage to make difficult decisions.”
Toulan goes on to list the critical skills that an MBA (or maybe anyone) needs to dominate in today’s job market:
The 10 Fundamental Skills Needed for Working with AI
- Systems Thinking: Understand complex systems and how different components interact
- Pattern Recognition: Hone observation skills based on patterns extracted from data and learn to recognize irregularities.
- Structured Problem-Solving: Approach problems systematically, utilize tools and techniques to break down complex issues and find effective solutions
- Decision Making: Know how to make sound decisions based on data
- Visioning & Scenario Planning: Learn to anticipate and evaluate future trends and challenges in order to develop relevant solutions and plans
- Divergent & Convergent Thinking: Enhance creative problem solving abilities, build on the insights and ideas generated to develop feasible solutions
- Quantifying Strategies: How to use data and analytics to back up your strategic thinking
- Asking Good Questions: In today’s data-intensive world it’s critical to know how to ask the right questions to find the information you need to make informed decisions
- Storyboarding & Storytelling: Present information and communicate your ideas clearly and evocatively through visualization and compelling narratives
- Strategic Presence & Presentation: Learn to present ideas confidently and persuasively to influence stakeholders and drive action
As MBA applications and enrollment surge, it’s important to consider how programs integrate AI, digital technology and future-forward instruction. For Gen Z careerists, and hiring managers, notice that the list of AI-centric skills looks surprisingly human-focused. While LLMs are at the center of commerce, it seems that effective strategic leadership skills are at the center of the world’s highest-rated MBA.
The dean says that the program is using AI to evaluate and improve their new curriculum – combining human and AI input to provide feedback to students. “The goal of introducing these 10 key skills,” former McKinsey consultant Toulan says, “is to develop a sustainable system that provides feedback constantly for the students.”
AI amplifies our ability to communicate, accelerating processes and offloading many time-consuming tasks. Advancing your career, as you work with AI, means advancing your communication skills. Our ability to interface effectively with AI begins when we recognize the importance of strategic human connection – a core component of top MBA programs for decades. For schools that want to amplify their impact in working with artificial intelligence, it seems that strategic communication skills are always in style. Ironically, working effectively with AI involves a deeper understanding of the human operating system. Learning to communicate with AI begins with how we communicate with one another – an educational experience that makes students of us all.
Looking to add to your skills around AI? For more information on the best affordable online MBA programs of 2024, check out this recent article on Forbes.