Workshop - Second Nature: What Ecosystems Can Teach Us About Leading Through AI

No one has the AI playbook yet, and most leaders are still running habits built for a stable, predictable world. In this hands-on workshop designed for organizational leaders, Modus Digital’s Jay Erickson and Emily Kagan take their cue from nature. A starling murmuration has no choreographer, and a beehive has no CEO, yet both adapt and coordinate by following a handful of simple local rules. Over two hours, participants will name the patterns that wear teams down during AI adoption: performing certainty, falling back on familiar thinking under pressure, and burning out the people who translate AI for everyone else. Then they’ll practice a better set of simple rules for leading through change. In the spirit of “less decks, more doing,” you’ll work through it in the room with peers who are willing to admit what they don’t know yet, and you’ll leave with new mental models and language you can bring back to your team.ABOUT THE FACILITATORS:Jay Erickson Jay is Partner and Chief Innovation Officer at Modus Digital, a leading digital consulting firm. He is also, along with Emily Kagan, co-host of the Wild Talk podcast as well as a poet and musician. A lifelong convener and creator, he blends digital innovation with soulful leadership. From Fortune 500 companies to startups, he builds tools and communities that help people collaborate and thrive.