The Best & Smartest Intern You’ve Ever Seen
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
By C. R.
As I walked into a large meeting room, I expected the usual business update from our CEO, who happened to be in town. Instead, within the first minute it was clear: he was about to give the entire organization an hour-long tutorial on AI.
I speak with him often, and I still remember the day he spent 45 minutes in my office helping me set up my AI account. When he left, alone with my thoughts, the message was unmistakable: He really thinks this matters. And the implication for me was clear: How do I make space in my schedule to get good at it?
This all-hands session was different. He was doing something many chief executives rarely do—he was very publicly giving permission. Permission to take time—work time—out of busy days to use, practice, and get better at AI. Of all the things he could have done while in town, he chose this. Message received.
His point was simple: AI is changing the way we work, and the organizations that learn it early will have an advantage. The important thing right now is to get started.
He also offered us a practical frame I can’t stop thinking about: treat AI like an intern—the best and smartest intern you’ve ever seen. Give it tasks, but don’t hand over your judgment. Check the work. Revise it. And when it misses, use the miss to teach it what “good” looks like in your context.
He talked about how he has used his “intern” for everyday tasks—like locating a store that carries an item his wife had been looking for—and putting it to work as a thought partner to sort through thorny questions. He also said that as he gave his intern more, it struck him as “almost creepy” how good it was.
Then he moved into concrete subjects that included how to set up an AI account, tell AI who you are, and what your role entails, and how to explain your projects and add context—so the prompts you give AI get sharper over time. It was enlightening.
I found myself sitting up straighter. Paying closer attention. Not because of the novelty of the tool being discussed, but because of the leadership that was being demonstrated. Live. In the moment. Real. And unfiltered.
Adoption doesn’t spread by mandate—it spreads when leaders make learning legitimate, give permission, and make it safe to practice in the open.
When leaders make time to learn in public, others follow.
Not because they’re told to — but because they feel allowed to.
Culture shifts the moment permission becomes visible.