It was energizing to welcome Allie K. Miller to Apollo for the latest in our AI
By Matthew Breitfelder · October 21, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
It was energizing to welcome Allie K. Miller to Apollo for the latest in our AI Roundtable series, where our team learns from some of the most innovative AI thinkers in the world.
Allie challenged our thinking on using AI as a tool. The most growth-minded companies she advises are treating AI as an operating system, focused not only on productivity but on new business lines and growth.
A few ideas that will stay with me:
Move upstream. Instead of asking AI to complete 25 steps, give it the goal and the why behind the goal, and the standards you'll measure it against. That takes some humility: maybe the way we've always done something isn't the best way.
Speed of iteration is a moat. Rather than broad pilots, find the small frontier teams and true super users who are already sprinting ahead, and build the incentives for them to share what they've learned.
Protect how early-career talent learns. Keeping some productive struggle in the learning process builds judgment and resilience, and more face-to-face time with clients may be an advantage.
Her closing coaching for leaders was simple and powerful: think in systems, not buckets; recognize that the word of the year is proactive; and be empathetic, because "all the AI in the world cannot solve people problems."
Thank you, Allie, and the Open Machine team for such an interactive and practical conversation.
#AITransformation #FutureofWork #Leadership #HighPerformanceCulture