AI is transforming business, government and society as a whole. We’re seeing AI applications with 10X to 10,000X increases in productivity! AI will add up to $4.4 Trillion of economic value every year by 2030. Many aspects of business, associations, government and society are being enhanced by this transformative technology.

This fast-paced, dynamic session will focus on proven, practical strategies, tactics, and actionable tools. It will highlight dozens of AI and GenAI apps and case studies focused on improving customer satisfaction, dramatically shortening cycle times, increasing sales and cutting costs. It will highlight benefits for many different functions within an organization: sales, marketing, customer service and finance.

In the US there are nearly 2 million job openings in health care alone. AI can save $386 billion a year if fully implemented in health care alone and while addressing the staff shortage.

Jim’s sessions have been described as “mind-blowing,” “riveting” and “eye-opening.”

The session will explore:

• What are the implications for business leaders?
• Where and how to begin?
• What resources are available to begin your AI journey?

Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) – is the defining reality of modern business. For today’s executives, mastering VUCA is essential to navigating the turbulence and turning uncertainty into opportunity.

The Age of Accelerated Change

We are witnessing the fastest, most disruptive period in corporate history. Markets shift overnight. Technologies leapfrog decades. Consumer behaviors evolve in real time. The scale and speed of change are without precedent:

• On April 3-4, 2025, US markets lost $6.6 trillion in value following President Trump’s announcement of tariffs on 90 countries. Five days later, after the decision was paused, markets rebounded by $5.4 trillion – a staggering single-day recovery.
• On January 27, 2025, China’s DeepSeek unveiled its R-1 AI model, instantly disrupting global tech. U.S. high-tech firms lost $1 trillion in a single day. NVIDIA alone dropped $600 billion, the largest single-day market cap loss in US history.
• It took the airline industry 68 years to reach 50 million users. It took Pokémon Go just 19 days.

These events aren’t anomalies – they’re signals of a world in permanent flux. Leadership strategies must evolve accordingly.

The Executive Imperative in a VUCA Landscape
For C-suite executives, this moment demands more than operational excellence. It requires visionary leadership, systemic thinking, and a willingness to experiment at scale. Key questions every executive team must address:

• How can we adapt faster?
• What systems will allow us to pivot, scale, and sustain momentum?
• How do we build organizational resilience at every level?
• How do we make bold, high-stakes decisions amid uncertainty?
• What kind of leadership is required when there is no clarity?
• How do we lead through crises (economic shocks, pandemics, geopolitical upheaval?
• How do we keep our people engaged, aligned & inspired amid constant change?
• How can we future-proof our business in the face of accelerating disruption?

VUCA as a Strategic Advantage
Leaders who understand the nature of VUCA don't just survive—they thrive. They create adaptive organizations, nurture courageous cultures, and lead with both decisiveness and humility.

In a world where transformation not optional, mastering VUCA is essential. Those who develop the capacity it will outpace disruption—and shape the future of business.

The pandemic has driven a decade of change in just two years. Here are a few examples:

eCommerce
experienced a decade of growth in the first 90 days of the pandemic! You can take the value of Walmart, Best Buy, Target and five other retailers, add them together and multiply by three and it’s just worth Amazon’s market cap.UBS predicts that 100,000 US retail locations will permanently shutter by 2025 as a result.

Telemedicine
experienced 10X the growth rate in the first 15 days. In 2020 Americans made 1 billion medical visits via telemedicine. More than 300 million Chinese use the
Ping

a Good Doctor
app.

Zoom
grew its customer count from 10 million daily users to 300 million downloading the application in the first 90 days of the pandemic. How many companies do you know that grew their customer count by 30X in the pandemic? Zoom is now facilitating 3.5 trillion minutes a year. More than all theinternational long-distance calls of all telcos combined added to all international long distance VoIP calls globally of all providers.

Streaming
(Netflix, Disney+and others) experienced 7 years of growth in the first 5 months of the pandemic.

Tesla
is now worth more than the following 11 traditional car companies combined: General Motors, Ford, Toyota, VW, Honda, Daimler (Mercedes Benz), Subaru, Hyundai, Ferrari, Mazda and BMW. So if you don’t think that electrification and autonomous vehicles are going to change the $10 Trillion a year transportation market, think again.

What are the permanent business changes as a result of COVID?

Future of Work & Hybrid Work: Dell computers says that 60% of it’s 165,000 employees will never come back into the office. They’ll work from home. What are theimplications for commercial real estate?

Mental Health: Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce admitted that 36% of the company’s 50,000 employees were experiencing mental health challenges. And that’s in a company that was growing during thepandemic! In this time of high stress for employees’ mental health and wellness has become very important.

41% of patients skipped care during the pandemic. In China, more than 50% of all medical visits have been virtual during the pandemic  and 300 million Chinese use the app Ping a Good Doctor! These changes raise profound questions and that have critical implications.

Telehealth
In the US, 46% of all medical visits in 2020 used telehealth. And there are now a billion virtual medical visits in the US in a single year.

McKinsey estimates that the telehealth market will be $250 Billion by 2025.

The need for telehealth existed pre pandemic. American Medical Association estimates 40% of emergency room visits & 70% of doctor’s office visits could be eliminated simply by phone calls.

Mental Health
36% of Salesforce’s 50,000 staff report experiencing mental health challenges during the pandemic(and that’s in a company that’s been growing).

Anxiety and depression are widespread. What are strategies to help staff? Patients?

Health care professionals are burnt out and anti-mask, anti-vax protests in front of hospitals have increased employee stress and frustration.

Staffing Crisis
We have a shortage of 108,000 medical professionals in Canada currently, creating anunprecedented staffing crisis. Strategies to cope?

Demographic Shifts
There are more Canadians over the age of 65 than under 14! Who’s going to care for aging boomers?

Millennials and Gen Z’s are now 50% of the workforce. By 2025 it will be 75%. How does organizational culture need to evolve to attract, retain and engage these demographics?

Technology
As our smartphones are getting ever smarter, we are seeing its medicalization. A University of Cambridge developed an app who listens to breathing and coughing and predicts, with exceptional accuracy, whether you have COVID.

Using a high-res image of your retina an AI can predict your gender and age; whether you have high or normal blood pressure; whether you are a smoker; are at risk of a stroke or heart attack. Is our medical system taking advantage of technology advances?What are the implication for the insurance industry?

To sequence the first human genome took 13 years and cost $2.7 Billion; today, it takes 13 hours and costs less than $600. Within five years, it will only take 13 minutes and cost $10.

Select one or two trends from each category and Jim will create a custom keynote focusing on your choices.

Energy Shift: The cheapest form of energy in North America? Globally? Solar.

Mobile First: Mobile first companies have an 825% higher valuation on IPO than those with no mobile enablement.

AI First: Artificial Intelligence is changing everything.

Edge Computing or Internet of Things (IoT) preventative maintenance.

Electrification of Transportation: Tesla is now worth more than the 11 traditional car companies combined. So if you don’t think that electrification and autonomous vehicles are going to change the $10trillion a year transportation market, think again.

Blockchain, Crypto, NFTs, DAOs, Web 3.0 Metaverse.

Permanent Business Changes Because of COVID 

Future of Work & Hybrid Work: Dell computers says that 60% of it’s 165,000 employees will never come back into the office. They’ll work from home.What are the implications for commercial real estate?

Mental Health. Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, admitted that 36% of the company’s 50,000 employees were experiencing mental health challenges. And that’s in a company that was growing during the pandemic! In this time of high stress for employees’ mental health and wellness has become very important.

Work & Workplace Trends:

• Disruption: The Innovation Imperative, Digital Transformation & Accelerating Speed of Change.
• Collaboration & Engagement.
• Mental Health:36%+ of workers are experiencing mental health challenges in the pandemic.
• The Future of Work –Work from Home; Hybrid Work, Rise of Zoom, Teams & video conferencing, Demographic Shifts, Workforce shortages & Rise of the Gig economy.
• Cyber security, malware, data and info security & continuous training.
• Increasing use of AI in work processes.
• Societal/Consumer Trends: eCommerce & mCommerce.
• Transportation ($10 Trillion industry): Electrification: EVs & long-haul trucking, Autonomous Vehiclesc & Rise of Transportation as a Service(TaaS).
• Privacy & Data Security.
• Streaming–Netflix, Disney+.
• Restaurants – Ghost Kitchens.
• Climate Change, Decarbonization.
• Mental Health.
• Tech Trends Driving Disruption:
• Mobile – Smartphones & 5G.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML).
• Cloud Computing.
• Blockchain, Cryto, NFTs, DAOs.
• Edge/Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Devices & Predictive Maintenance.
• Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR).
• Smart: Smart Cities, Smart Buildings, smart manufacturing.
• Big Data.
• Genomic Sequencing.
• 3D printing.
• Robotics & automation in manufacturing.
• Metaverse & Web 3.0.