Creation Ex Nihilo
Leading With No Template
Over the last few years, I’ve had a driving sense of urgency, knowing we would all need to be better prepared for an unfamiliar future that hadn’t yet revealed itself.
While my focus on supporting leaders to shift how they think, rather than what they think, remains the same, I’ve started this year with a pragmatic sense of optimism. Given the context we are all operating in, it feels rather liberating.
So, a quick question for you: what would you like me to focus on more over the coming year?
Thank you, it’s much appreciated!
Creation Out of Nothing
Last week, I delivered a keynote titled “The AI-Infused Decade Ahead”, and while I was deep in the weeds designing it, I came across the Latin phrase Creation Ex Nihilo, meaning ‘creation out of nothing’.
It struck a chord. It captures the essence of our current context, and provokes a question: “How do we lead when there’s no historical template?”
The key is in the word ‘creation’. When all that we’ve taken for granted is actively being rearranged, it offers us a tangible opportunity to create something new – something better suited to the context we’re in. Which leads us to a bigger question: “What future do I want to live in?”
As the first six weeks of 2026 have unfolded, two distinct themes have become clear. We’re experiencing the unravelling of what we’ve thought of as the global rules-based trade and security orders, and at the same time, AI is infusing every aspect of our businesses and our lives.
And yes, we might argue that there’s nothing remarkably new here – we’ve seen this movie before. Leaders through the ages have constantly grappled with change and disruption. We’ve always found ways to adapt and innovate through life-altering cycles. It’s what we do.
The Intelligence Age
What’s different about this moment is that we’ve entered a new age, the intelligence age. For the first time in human history, we’re en route to creating an artificial intelligence that will be exponentially greater than the sum of all humans, acting independently of us.
It’s deeply paradoxical. On the one hand, there’s a real cause for optimism and celebration. We’ve created an intelligence that is already helping us solve some of the most pressing issues of our times, from curing diseases to addressing climate change. Issues that we haven’t been able to solve on our own.
And on the other hand, the race is on to weaponise this intelligence for military, economic, and social control.
All of this may seem pretty ‘out there’ as we wake up in the morning, put the kettle on, and prepare ourselves for the day. On the surface of things, this beautiful gift of being human is alive and well. Our personal lives are still full of the rich flavours of love and laughter, loss and heartache.
And as we take a morning walk, go to the gym, or meet a friend for coffee, the normalcy of it all makes it tricky to get a sense of how this intelligence is altering how we live our lives and lead our businesses.
Three Things Worth Sharing
I thought I’d share a few points from my keynote worth thinking about. To keep this brief, I’ve focused on shifts in our online world that impact us all:
1. The End of “Human Receipt”
Social media platforms have been a 20-year experiment, and we use them because people watch or listen to us.
We post for human receipt.
However, today, over 50% of all internet traffic is attributed to bots. And reports indicate that “bad bots” that trawl the net for malicious purposes account for roughly 37% of all internet activity.
From a digital marketing perspective, in the ‘old world’, you optimised your website so a search engine would show your link to a human. In the ‘new world’, you optimise your content so an AI "reads" it, trusts it, and uses it to answer a user's question.
We’re essentially moving from Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). Today, over 60% of people no longer leave their chosen search engine to get the answers they’re looking for.
Q: All well and good if you are a large organisation with expertise on tap, and a big budget. But how will small and medium sized companies fare in this world? If the AIs don’t know you exist, will your business become invisible to your market?
2. The Steady Erosion of Truth
The explosion of AI-generated online content is making it really difficult to know what’s real. We’re swimming in a sea of mis/disinformation, often contained in “addictive by design” echo chambers.
Once anything can be faked, everything can be denied.
To add to this, the use of psychological influence on our platforms is becoming more obvious. Instead of convincing people what to think, AI-powered systems are shaping what’s available to think with.
Q: How do we curate and manage our online lives to ensure we nurture and protect our critical thinking, creativity and decision-making?
3. Leaning on the Machine
More people are turning to AI for mental health support and therapy than to humans – because it is non-judgmental, always available, and cheap.
In 2025, the top use of generative AI was therapy and companionship.
However, AI models are 50% more prone to sycophancy than humans.
They are designed to keep us engaged and satisfied, often reinforcing false information and biases – theirs and ours.
Q: Are we in danger of sharing too much? Where will our innermost feelings, thoughts, and personal data end up? And how might it be used, manipulated or passed on?
Food for thought: I’d love to hear about your experience. Are any of these shifts impacting how you lead or how your business operates?
A final note: If you are organising an event and would like me to tailor a keynote for your team or audience, simply send me an email, and I’ll get back to you.
If you know someone who would benefit from these insights, please share this with them.
Until next time, take good care of yourself.
Best, Louise
'Making sense of the world of work' matters because work is not just employment. It is income. It is identity. It is credibility, reputation, security and stability. When that landscape wobbles, people feel it deeply - and organisations feel it structurally.
We are navigating very real and significant changes - AI, economic and geopolitical pressure, shifting skill demands, global competition. None of this is superficial. It affects how people are hired, developed, retained and even let go.
So we have to keep making sense of it. We have to interpret the signals, not react to the noise. We need to help people find their way through the maze of uncertainty rather than drift aimlessly inside it.
Information has always been power. In today's job market, clarity is power.
All the subject matters would be great to explore and discuss.
Perhaps I could share some of my South African articles also...
Be blessed.