To stay relevant in the AI era, Kelli Richards says you need to think critically for yourself and learn to work with AI, because people who can't will get squeezed out. She is a Silicon Valley advisor who says Steve Jobs mentored her from age 16. She shares her career lessons with Jeremy Van Wert.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Kelli says people who can't think critically for themselves and can't work with AI are the ones who will get squeezed out.
- For mid-career professionals, she names curiosity, lifelong learning, resilience and sovereignty over your own life and identity as the traits that matter.
- She describes visionaries as systems thinkers who ask why things have to stay the way they are, and says the cost is often being right years too early.
- Kelli believes the biggest enemy of innovation in a large organization is the status quo, because new ideas can threaten the people in charge.
- After being told she had to leave Apple, she says she had no choice but to get moving and build a consulting practice, and she is still doing that work today.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠHow to stay relevant in the AI era: think for yourself and work with AI
Kelli Richards has a blunt answer to how to stay relevant in the AI era. She says the people who don't know how to think critically for themselves, and can't work with AI, are going to get squashed out of existence, and that it is already happening. Jeremy agrees, and the two of them see an irony in it: if schools stop teaching people to think for themselves, the machines will take over.
Jeremy asks what mid-career professionals should think about over the next 10 years. He notes this stage is dangerous, because big companies are making hard choices about who is valuable, and a valuable employee can be out of work next month.
Kelli lists the traits she thinks matter: curiosity, a willingness to lean into the unknown, lifelong learning and reinventing yourself at points of change. She adds resilience and what she calls sovereignty over your life, your brand and your identity, putting your life at the center of the wheel and your work second.
ᚢAsking Steve Jobs to be her mentor at 16
Kelli grew up in Cupertino when it was still fruit orchards, before it became the heart of Silicon Valley. In high school, she was in Future Business Leaders of America, and her group was asked to find a local businessperson as a mentor. She chose Steve Jobs.
By her account, her mother was a college professor, and Steve spent time at the same cafes and health-food spots her mother did. Kelli walked up to him and asked if he would mentor her. She was 16, and she says he asked a few sharp questions, then told her he didn't have much experience with this but that they should give it a try. She says the relationship rewired how she sees the world. This is Kelli's own account in the episode.
ᚦFrom the music industry to Apple: "The bad news is you're leaving"
Kelli says she wanted to be a record producer since childhood, inspired by the Beatles' producer George Martin. She describes the field as a complete lockout for women, so she pivoted into A&R at Capitol Records, then moved back to Cupertino when someone at Apple said the company wanted to focus on music.
She says she ran that music and entertainment focus largely on her own for the better part of 12 years, building relationships and making sure the technologies were in place. When Steve came back to a company she describes as nearly out of money, she says he told her: "The good news is I'm coming back. The bad news is you're leaving."
She remembers him telling her to start a consulting practice a mile down the road and that he would always be in her corner. She says it was the lowest point of her career, because Apple was her dream and her world, but she had no choice but to get moving. She started finding clients right away and says she has never turned back.
ᚨWhat makes visionary thinkers different, and the curse of the visionary
Jeremy asks what separates the people who build remarkable products and careers from the average person. Kelli answers that they are meta-thinkers and systems thinkers. When someone says that's how it has always been done, they push back and ask why, and they connect dots faster and more deeply than most people. She ties this to the Think Different campaign she says she worked on with Steve.
She calls the downside the curse of the visionary. She says she has always been right about where technology would take society and almost always wrong about the timing, often by 10, 15 or 20 years. Living inside a crystal ball while you wait for the world to catch up, she says, is painful and lonely.
Jeremy says he has felt some of that pain too, and that it was one reason he left corporate life. He and Kelli both describe seeing the world as ecosystems and thinking several layers ahead. If that sounds like you, Jeremy offers ADHD coaching for high achievers built around this kind of mind.
ᚱWhy big companies resist innovation
Kelli says most large organizations are, in her words, concrete about doing things the way they have always been done. Jeremy brings up the innovator's dilemma. A CFO or senior executive at a big company will, he says, squash innovation nine times out of 10, because it threatens their quarterly numbers and could put them out of a job.
Kelli agrees that the biggest enemy of innovation in any sizable organization is the status quo.
ᚲCareer reinvention when you are in transition
Kelli says she takes a bespoke approach with each client and meets them where they are. They are often at a point of change, such as leaving a company, exiting a business or reinventing themselves, and need a navigator to see what they can't see on their own. She describes her role as riding shotgun to prevent or solve expensive problems during strategic uncertainty.
She believes the most common struggles are not being understood and not having clarity about what to do next. She also remembers asking herself after Apple who she was without it, and whether her calls would ever be returned. Jeremy says reinvention can be fantastic and also scary, especially when you wonder where the money will come from.
If you are in a stretch like that, the Mindful Mutiny community offers live Fireside Chats and a course library alongside people asking similar questions. And if you are not sure whether therapy or coaching is the right fit, Jeremy offers a straight read on whether his work suits you.
ᚷWhat Kelli saw in Steve Jobs before the legend
Jeremy asks what Kelli saw in Steve before he became a legend. She says he had a larger-than-life vision that never left him in the 12 years he was outside Apple, and she names tenacity, persistence and the resilience to pivot as qualities every entrepreneur needs.
She says she took many lessons from him over 30 years, including a quick sense of whether someone is worth her time, which she compares to a built-in tuning fork.
ᚹWhere Kelli is focused now
Kelli says she keeps choosing visionary founders, leaders and creatives she wants to serve, and she is now sector agnostic. She works with a limited number of clients a year so she can go deep without burning out.
Jeremy says he values her bespoke approach because every person he works with is different. If you want a private conversation about where you are and what could come next, you can book a consultation with him.
ᚨ Questions people ask
How can you stay relevant as AI changes work?
Kelli says people who can't think critically for themselves and can't work with AI are the ones getting squeezed out. She points to curiosity, lifelong learning, resilience and sovereignty over your own life as the traits that help.
What is the curse of the visionary?
Kelli uses the phrase for being right about where technology is heading but early on the timeline, often by 10 to 20 years before mass adoption. She says it is painful and lonely to wait for the world to catch up.
Why do big companies resist innovation?
Jeremy says a senior executive at a large company will nine times out of 10 squash innovation because it threatens quarterly results and could cost them their job. Kelli agrees and calls the status quo the biggest enemy of innovation.
What should mid-career professionals focus on?
Kelli recommends curiosity, being willing to reinvent yourself at points of change, resilience and sovereignty over your identity and brand. She also suggests putting your life at the center and your work second.