Ex-Jindal Steel exec: CEOs must use AI before grading staff on it

The commentary traces the author's path from initial delegation instincts to personal experimentation. When he first saw ChatGPT in December 2022 as Jindal Steel's chief growth officer, he considered handing it to his IT department or an outside consultant, then chose to learn it himself after recalling a mentor's advice about mastering valuable skills. Early use was minor, like drafting emails, until he shifted to having AI interview him as a thought partner. A demonstration for Chairman Naveen Jindal, using the CRIT framework on the annual strategic plan, led to a partnership with Google to spread adoption across the company. The author says the more he learned about the technology, the less the technology itself mattered compared with winning over people, which is why he frames adoption as a leadership problem and later left Jindal Steel to write a book and build a company around that idea. His current concern is that companies are beginning to tie raises and promotions to AI skills while the executives setting those standards may not use AI strategically themselves, and he suggests inspecting how teams used AI in solving problems rather than counting weekly usage.