Integrating Emotional Intelligence in an AI World

Transcript

Russ Kliman: [0:05] Business schools are really providing a great foundation of what I would call "technical skills," so in terms of the business foundations and business capabilities.

[0:22] Where they can really extend or enhance their experiences with their students and really better prepare themselves is looking at some of the softer components from a standpoint of emotional intelligence, and other capabilities that can really help students be successful when they come into the business challenges.

[0:37] They can lean on the disciplines, but then also really branch out in terms of helping collaborate and integrate within the environment or the culture.

[0:45] The scenario based planning is a real great way to create those opportunities for more softer-skill-type experiences. Co-ops and other types of internships is another opportunity where schools can really focus on helping students and encouraging students to do things like that.

[1:00] When you have that opportunity to really integrate within business and you can see where both the technical and business disciplines apply, but also recognizing that there's another element to the discipline in terms of being successful in business, I think those are the best opportunities.

[1:14] The best opportunity for business schools is to expose industry into what they have to offer. By doing so, it really opens the imagination of industry, and how they might take advantage of those capabilities that the business schools can offer.

[1:28] That's one of the biggest challenges and the biggest opportunities, is really providing that insight into industry and in terms of what business schools can offer and the benefits they can bring.

[1:37] Artificial Intelligence is really impacting what I would call the entire value chain of business and financial services, whether it's in the back-office environments, whether it be audit and accounting and compliance, all the way up to the front office's experiences of customers experiencing particular products or services.

[1:53] The more students understand that it's not a replacement of the human component, but it's an adjunct to and it provides additional value, it's a real critical element. How do you leverage those technologies that it creates increased value and apply it in a different way to create greater monetization?

[2:10] Business schools need to recognize that it's not a technical discipline, but it's a technology that's going to impact all different disciplines across the continuum of business value. Understanding how those technologies will come into play and how those will impact the various disciplines is really critical to success.

[2:28] Incorporating that within core curriculums and helping students both understand how that technology is influencing the nature of work and the day to day operations is a critical success factor.

Filmed at AACSB Co-Lab: Connecting Industry With Business Schools, May 2019.