Fred Voccola: A.I. Is the Workforce’s New Digital Colleague

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
So for more on these AI-led transitions in the working world, we're joined by Fred Voccola, the chairman and CEO of Simpro Group. Thanks for joining us today, Fred. Now, to start off our discussion, about a month ago, we did focus on AI creating more demand for skilled trades rather than replacing them. And so how does that view now fit with the broader concern that AI is driving? I mean, a substantial amount of layoffs and more lean teams.
Yeah.

**Fred Voccola** (0:25)
So it's interesting. There's a lot of debate and a lot of data that can be misinterpreted regarding AI's impact on job loss. What AI is effectively doing is allowing digital workers or very specifically skilled workers that are very expensive to be done by machines opposed to people.
So in certain areas, we are seeing AI augmenting and to some extent, replacing workers. The good news so far is it's more augmentation than replacement because there is a shortage of skilled workers around the country and around the world. But make no mistake, AI is definitely driving substantial changes in the labor market that are showing early signs of leading to job displacement.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:15)
Okay. And also back in July, you did mention the real AI bottleneck is operational capacity, not necessarily technology. So now today, in your opinion, are most companies still, say, underestimating some of these opportunities and underestimating, like, where to best put some capital to obviously build into AI?

**Fred Voccola** (1:31)
Yeah, we're still seeing that. I mean, I'm lucky enough that I get to talk with organizations from Fortune 100 companies to small to mid-sized businesses, universities, etc. And we're still seeing the same trend. AI is still considered technology. And the people and organizations who are successfully obtaining value from AI are no longer thinking about it as technology, they're thinking about it as another type of worker.
An AI worker or a digital worker which can augment and sit side by side by a human worker. And that's a difficult concept for many to grasp. So most still have not gotten there. Those that have are seeing incredibly exponential valuable results.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:17)
Okay. And so what does an entrepreneurial mindset look like in today's workplace and why is it becoming even more valuable today?

**Fred Voccola** (2:25)
Yeah. An entrepreneurial mindset is one where everything is questioned. There's no such thing as it's done this way because entrepreneurs by definition are comfortable with change, they pivot, they really focus on outcomes.
And the workers, whether you're a factory floor worker or the CEO of a company or a nurse or a doctor or anyone, an entrepreneurial skill set is one that demonstrates those traits. And someone who can demonstrate those traits works optimally with AI. Because working with AI is all about designing and understanding the desirable outcome and trying to push as much work to the machine so the human can focus on designing the desirable outcome and measuring what the machine produces. So entrepreneurial workers are the most important aspect of any organization in the world in the AI era.

**SPEAKER_1** (3:23)
Okay, and AI, of course, has, as you've mentioned, really increased demand for certain workers while reducing the need for, say, others. But as far as business leaders, what should they be doing right now to prepare their teams for this broader and very much ongoing shift?

**Fred Voccola** (3:38)
Yeah, it's difficult. I mean, there's a whole number of things that organizations can do. From flattening organizational structures to ensuring that leaders are entrepreneurial. For a long time, something existed that, in my book, I refer to it as the deep state of business. And that's the mid-market or the middle managers that are the bureaucracy that thrive on their knowledge within an organization and how to get things done.
Today, that bureaucracy is overhead that needs to be eliminated. AI allows that to happen. So, restructuring organizational structures to be less hierarchical, more direct workers for every manager, every director, every VP, and most importantly, the leaders need to be entrepreneurial that are hands dirty.
Not just knowledgeable about the business, and not even somewhat hands-on. Everyone must be doing and contributing to the work. It leads to incredible efficiency, and it leads to incredible learning cycles, turnaround times, and overall output improvements.

**SPEAKER_1** (4:46)
Okay. A few years from now, what do you believe that will distinguish the companies that successfully embrace AI from those that say fall behind?

**Fred Voccola** (4:55)
First off, we'll be here.

**SPEAKER_1** (4:58)
I hope so.

**Fred Voccola** (4:59)
We laugh, but those who embrace AI will be here. They will be dominant organizations. Those who are slow to embrace the proper and the relevant deployment of AI within their organization, they probably won't be here. It's just simple math.