The AI Booster. Believe It or Not

March 5, 2026

AI has changed the way work is done. It’s also upset the typical corporate ladder and making your way to the top is either harder or easier, according to ZDNet’s article: “AI Is Disrupting The Career Ladder – I Learned 5 Ways To Get To Leadership Anyway.” Mark Samuels shares tips he’s acquired and implemented to make it into leadership positions. His biggest claim is that proving you’re ready for responsibility is the way to climb the ladder.

He also explains that taking unusual opportunities, demonstrate commitment, staying humble, supporting the next generation, and demonstrating a hands-off style is the way to the top. I paused here and thought nab out this for a few minutes. Why? Because Samuels’s tips sound like the old way of making it to the top. He forgot to add important information about brown-nosing and being in the right place at the right time.

This advice is as old school as the Roman Empire. Taking unusual opportunities is probably the most risky, especially when it might be dangerous. Yes, it’s important to take risks but you need to weigh the consequences. Don’t just do dumb stuff. There is proper advice about how to take unusual opportunities

Barry Panayi, group chief data officer at the insurance firm Howden] shared:

“As he climbed into senior positions, Panayi told ZDNET, he looked for opportunities outside his comfort zone to prove his leadership credentials. One of Panayi’s most crucial development opportunities was taking on non-executive positions — with UK energy regulator Ofgem since 2020, and media company Reach since 2021. ‘Those positions really gave me perspective, because I was quite narrow,’ he said. ‘All I’d ever done was data. I felt like I wasn’t rounded enough, and being around the board table, contributing as a board member, forced me to consider other things.’”

Do step outside of your comfort zone. That’s something that can never be replaced by AI.

Whitney Grace, March 5, 2026

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under AI, Business strategy, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.