01-34 GENERALS SPRING25 PT - Flipbook - Page 22
INNOVATION
The innovation mindset:
Changing how we lead, train, and learn
The firms that embrace
AI now—investing in both
technology and workforce
development—will be the
ones defining the future of
construction.
22 the generals • SPRING 2025
For AI adoption to be successful, we must
rethink how we lead, train, and learn.
Leaders must do more than implement
AI—they must model the behavior shifts
that are critical for success. This means
encouraging experimentation, fostering
curiosity, and helping teams learn to
trust AI’s insights while applying human
judgment. Leaders must evolve and work
alongside their teams to guide them
through training. Traditional workplace
training emphasized memorization,
learning established processes, and
prede昀椀ned methodologies.
However, with AI, training and
education is less about process and far
more about learning to collaborate with
it and focus on people’s ability to think
critically, interpret data, and ask the right
questions.
Training and educational programs
must also adapt. Instead of rigid
instruction, we need to focus on building
the skills needed to navigate and utilize AI
e昀昀ectively, such as:
Asking better questions to re昀椀ne AI
results.
How to leverage AI for problem-solving
in scheduling, risk management, and
budgeting.
How to interpret AI-generated insights
instead of accepting them at face value.
Identifying bias and uncertainty in AI
outputs.
Maintaining strategic human oversight.
Many 昀椀rst encounter generative
AI without formal instruction,
experimenting on their own. Naturally,
early results are often disappointing.
This happens for several reasons: the
AI has not yet learned anything about
the individual’s expertise, style, or
desired outcomes, and the user is still
learning how to guide it e昀昀ectively. It’s
like an apprentice learning to operate
an excavator —clumsy at 昀椀rst, but with
practice, they learn how to manipulate
the machine to operate faster, safer and
with more precision.
This is a critical turning point in the
THEGENERALS.NET
