What happens when strategy outpaces certainty?
AI is accelerating every corner of business but few leaders feel equipped to make confident choices in such a volatile landscape. The real challenge? Building sustainable AI capability while navigating the unknown.
In a recent episode of The BIG Strategy Podcast, Strategy and Operations Manager Ethan Lavin, offers a masterclass in navigating career pivots, strategic decision-making, and AI implementation. His journey from studying German economics to shaping AI-driven operations demonstrates what it takes to build adaptive leadership capabilities in an era of technological transformation.
Ethan doesn’t just follow trends, he anticipates them. And in doing so, he provides a blueprint for every executive and strategist asking the essential questions: How do I position my organization for AI-driven growth? What leadership capabilities matter most in an automated world? And how do I make strategic bets without perfect information?
The Foundation: Movement Over Perfection in Strategic Decision-Making
Ethan Lavin’s career trajectory from German economics to the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, to launch SumUp in the U.S., and now driving AI operations at Athena Intelligence illustrates a fundamental principle of modern leadership: there is no perfect strategic playbook.
“The best decision is the right one. The second-best decision is the wrong one. The worst is no decision.” – Ethan Lavin
This foundational insight has profound implications for executives navigating digital transformation. The ability to make calculated decisions with incomplete information often determines competitive advantage. For business leaders, Ethan’s message is clear: strategic agility and decisive action trump perfect planning in uncertain environments.
Strategic Asset: Cross-Functional Communication as Competitive Advantage
One of Ethan’s most valuable strategic strengths is his ability to translate across boundaries: linguistic, functional, and cultural. “Software development is a foreign language,” he notes. And being able to “speak” between teams whether it’s engineers, product leads, or international stakeholders is a high-value asset in today’s hybrid workplaces. In an AI-assisted world, human skills like empathy, communication, and cross-domain fluency become differentiators rather than commodities. Leaders who can synthesize complex technical concepts for diverse stakeholders will drive organizational transformation more effectively.
See also: Why Human Skills Still Matter in the Age of AI via Harvard Business Review
AI Integration: From Tactical Tools to Strategic Transformation
Like many, Ethan’s initial encounters with generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude were modest, generating cover letters and cleaning up copies. But things shifted quickly.
While working at Impossible Foods, Ethan began integrating large language models (LLMs) into strategic workflows synthesizing research, generating reports, and estimating market opportunities.
“There are so many manual parts of my day that could be automated. That was step two in my AI journey.” – Ethan Lavin
The time savings were immediate, but more importantly, they unlocked mental bandwidth for high-leverage thinking. This progression from tactical automation to strategic enablement represents the maturation path every organization must navigate in their AI transformation journey.
Beyond Dashboards: Building Intelligent Operations
Traditional Business Intelligence dashboards think Tableau, Power BI are static. They offer metrics, not momentum. Ethan describes them as “fuel gauges”, they tell you what’s left, not what to do next.
At Athena Intelligence, he’s now working on AI agents and intelligent digital coworkers that don’t just show data, but act on it.
- They can execute entire workflows.
- They reason and adapt.
- They learn from user interactions.
This shift toward agentic workflows represents the future of organizational intelligence: moving from data consumption to automated strategic execution.
Related read: McKinsey: The Economic Potential of Generative AI
Strategic Framework: AI Adoption for Leaders
Ethan’s analytical approach to evaluating new technologies offers a practical framework for executives:
- Does it deliver value today even marginally?
- Can you see it becoming a generalizable, horizontal tool?
- Is the leap of faith small compared to the potential upside?
This mirrors proven strategy principles: adopt when there’s a clear signal of scalable value, not just technological novelty. For leaders managing AI transformation, this framework helps distinguish between experimental investments and strategic bets.
Career Strategy: Positioning for the AI-Driven Future
Despite lacking a computer science degree, Ethan successfully transitioned into AI leadership through strategic positioning. His entry into Athena Intelligence came through a cold LinkedIn message backed by well-researched insights about real user problems.
His playbook for career transitions offers lessons for executives navigating industry disruption:
- Ask intelligent questions that demonstrate deep market understanding
- Reach out with strategic intent rather than generic networking
- Connect existing strengths to emerging organizational needs
- Demonstrate curiosity about solving real business problems
The Human Advantage: Reallocation, Not Replacement
Addressing concerns about AI displacing human roles, Ethan offers a pragmatic perspective, a reallocation story. While some repetitive analytical functions will shift, the real opportunity lies in freeing human capital for creativity, strategic thinking, and relationship building.
AI amplifies human value when deployed strategically. The most relevant leaders of the future will be those who understand both technological capabilities and the human context they serve.
Executive Takeaways for AI-Driven Growth
Ethan’s insights translate into actionable principles for executive leadership:
- Decision Velocity as Competitive Advantage. In uncertain markets, the ability to make calculated decisions quickly often matters more than perfect analysis. Build organizational capabilities for rapid strategic iteration.
- Cross-Functional Translation as Leadership Superpower. Leaders who can bridge technical capabilities with business strategy will drive transformation more effectively than purely technical or purely business-focused executives.
- AI Integration Through Value-First Thinking. Begin AI adoption with clear use cases that deliver immediate business value, then scale successful patterns across the organization.
- Human-AI Collaboration as Strategic Design. Design AI implementations that amplify human strategic thinking rather than simply replacing manual tasks. The goal is enhanced decision-making, not just efficiency.
- Adaptive Learning as Organizational Capability. The best preparation for technological disruption is building a culture of continuous learning and strategic experimentation.
The Strategic Imperative: Movement and Momentum
As Ethan concluded:
“The arc of your career bends toward actually working out. You just have to keep making decisions.”
This principle applies equally to organizational strategy. In business, in AI implementation, in competitive positioning, the greatest risk is strategic paralysis, not imperfect action.
For executives leading through technological transformation, Ethan’s journey provides a clear blueprint: combine decisive action with strategic learning, build capabilities that bridge human insight with technological leverage, and maintain momentum even in uncertain environments.
Whether you’re evaluating AI investments, navigating organizational change, or positioning for future growth, this conversation offers practical frameworks for strategic success in an AI-driven business landscape.
Ready to transform your strategic approach to AI? Connect with Ethan Lavin on LinkedIn, explore Athena Intelligence‘s approach to intelligent automation, or dive deeper into AI leadership strategies through The BIG Strategy Podcast or visit www.biginnovates.com. The future belongs to leaders who act strategically while others wait for certainty.
