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This Month’s Big Theme: AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Work
Every leader now agrees AI matters. The real question is how it changes the way we work, hire, and lead.
Some CEOs are forecasting three-day workweeks, others are embedding AI into training and certification, while many employees are simply adopting AI on their own.
From our monthly community call this month to the latest headlines, here’s what we’re learning about where AI is actually moving the needle.
Companies In the News
Zoom – Shrinking the workweek
CEO Eric Yuan predicts AI will cut the standard workweek down to three days. His view: automation will take on repetitive tasks, freeing people for higher-value work.
Walmart – Training at scale
Chief People Officer Donna Morris announced a partnership with OpenAI to launch a customized AI certification program for U.S. employees, rolling out in 2026. It’s part of Walmart’s nearly $1B commitment to workforce skills training, embedding AI fluency into career paths.
Yahoo Japan, Fiverr, and Employees Everywhere
AI adoption looks very different depending on where you sit:
Yahoo Japan is requiring all 11,000 employees to use AI daily.
Fiverr is rebranding around “AI-First” and returning to start-up mode.
Meanwhile, surveys show over half of employees (mostly Gen Z) are already using AI on their own, often without leaders knowing.
The spectrum of adoption (from mandated, to branded, to underground) shows just how uneven and experimental AI is inside organizations today.
Podcast Highlight: How Destination Pet’s CEO Made AI a Daily Co-Pilot
Jennifer Strickland Fowler admits she was once skeptical: how could AI help a relationship-based business like pet care?
A year later, her exec team uses AI daily for recruiting, vendor analysis, and board briefings. Jennifer now calls AI her “co-pilot”, a thought partner that frees staff to spend more time with pets and pet parents. The ROI isn’t just efficiency; it’s creativity, innovation, and better customer experiences.
AI First Community Call Recap
This week we met with our AI First Community and discussed the topic of what’s really moving the needle with AI. The question is no longer “how do we use AI?” but “what does work look like when AI is embedded everywhere?” We centered our discussion around the following topics:
From Pilots to Transformation
The viral MIT claim that “95% of AI pilots fail” sparked good debate. As Adam explained on our community call, the definition of “failure” was narrow, with the focus on impact on P&L in six months or less. That overlooks what’s really happening: AI is uplifting everyday work in ways that doesn’t fit neatly into a “pilot.”
For leaders: Stop thinking of AI as a series of pilots. Treat it as a utility embedded across workflows and decisions. That shift requires a CEO mandate, change agents inside the org, and a focus on outcomes that matter, not one-off experiments.
Jobs, Layoffs & the AI Economy
Headlines from Accenture, Lufthansa, Walmart, and others point to AI as a driver of job cuts. The reality is more complicated. Macro forces still play a bigger role, but AI gives CEOs a rationale (and an opportunity) to do more with less.
For leaders: The challenge isn’t just cost. It’s culture. Do you message AI as a replacement, or as a tool to make work more meaningful? Some CEOs are mandating AI fluency and ranking employees on usage; others are using it to defer hiring and redeploy talent. Your stance will shape trust and adoption for both the short and long term.
Other AI News to Check Out
OpenAI introduced Pulse, a new mobile-only feature for Pro subscribers. Every morning it delivers 5–10 personalized briefs based on your chat history, goals, and feedback. It’s an early glimpse of truly agentic AI—tools that don’t just wait for prompts but proactively surface insights.
Why it matters: Leaders should start thinking about how proactive AI could reshape decision-making and daily work rhythms.
Indeed released its first GenAI Skills Transformation Index, showing which job skills are most likely to be reshaped by AI. The report helps leaders see where roles are vulnerable and where new opportunities are opening.
Why it matters: Use this as a signal for workforce planning, training, hiring, and role design should evolve in step with shifting skill demand.
OpenAI just made a major leap into video with Sora 2, letting users generate short, high-fidelity clips with sound. The launch includes a social-style app where you can swipe through an AI video feed and remix content.
Why it matters: Creative teams can prototype in minutes which will also mean that companies will need clear policies on likeness, rights, and moderation.
Watch this video to learn more:
From the Forum3 AI-First Resource Hub
Fresh additions this month to help you and your team put AI-First into practice:
Podcast: Destination Pet – How a skeptical CEO turned AI into her team’s daily co-pilot
Community Call Recap: Full notes and insights from September’s discussion on pilots vs. transformation and early signals from agentic tools.
Video Library: New clips from Adam & Andy’s archive - short, practical takes every AI-First leader should watch.
Access the Resource Hub here:
Mark Your Calendar
Our next AI-First Community Call is happening October 28th. Join us for fresh insights, live Q&A, and shared learnings from leaders going AI-First.
And thanks so much for being a part of our community! Drop us a note with your thoughts, we’d love hearing from you.
Until next time, stay inspired!
Adam, Andy & The Forum3 Team