From FOMO to FOLO
Leading Without Losing Our Humanity
FROM THE DESK OF OUR CEO | SEPTEMBER
There may not seem to be much difference between FOMO - Fear of Missing Out - and FOLO - Fear of Losing Out.
But for me, this summer, there was.
A Different Kind of Summer
Summer is our annual hiatus for R&R: a chance to reset, review and recharge. A healthy switch-off, a mid-year stocktake, and then, when we return to “the office” and reconnect as a team, there is usually that wonderful fresh energy of “Right, let’s go!”
This year, for me it was different.
I found it harder than usual to abschalten - to properly switch off - and pull the social media plug. Normally, during my review time, I’ll happily explore what’s new in the market: What could our business benefit from? What could we do differently? Better? Faster?
This year, however, my inbox seemed to have increased 100-fold overnight.
Invites. Offers. Free trials of AI tools. “No gain, no pay.” New platforms promising to transform everything from marketing to billing to recruitment. Many bogus, some real.
My spam filter was working fine - but somehow these messages were outsmarting it!
And gradually, something else crept in.
FOLO.
I started thinking: If we’re not using ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini - or AI tools like Perplexity or Cursor - are we falling behind?
Over one billion of people are using AI, are we missing out on business?
What are our competitors doing that we aren’t?
Are we moving fast enough?
The Fear Of Losing Out began to take hold.
From Maui Waves to AI Waves
Getting back to work, the beautiful ocean waves of Maui were rapidly replaced by crashing waves of information and FOLO panic.
And instead of returning refreshed, I found myself thinking:
Are we doing enough?
Are our competitors ahead of us?
Are we about to become irrelevant?
For a moment, I could see our business being swept away by a wave of technology.
We have grown up with ever improving technology, but never as fast as this one.
Then came the reality check.
Basic Business Principles
Thankfully, these moments are now relatively short-lived. A few deep breaths, a step back, and - most importantly - a conversation with trusted colleagues.
“What are you seeing out there?”
Some shared my FOLO feelings. Others had a much more measured perspective.
Talking about it brought me back to something rather fundamental.
Basic Business Principles.
Who are our clients, partners and markets?
Who do we serve?
What do our clients and partners actually want and expect from us?
How do we reach them?
How do we communicate with them? And perhaps most importantly, What is it about the way we work that creates value that technology cannot simply replicate? There is no question that AI can make many processes faster, more efficient and more scalable. We should absolutely be exploring those.
We need to be learning and adapting to new processes. We need to be curious about what else we can be experimenting with. We need to explore where AI can improve decision-making and free people to spend more time on work that matters. But there is another leadership question we need to ask. As we introduce more AI into our organisations, what are we developing in our people - and what might we inadvertently be developing out of them - what do we need to remain vigilant about? I recently came across research suggesting that younger employees rather dial in with coaching bots for their reflection and debriefing than speaking with a human coach. That stopped me. Are we shaping our future leaders to become walking robots, with little individuality of thought and creativity, intuition and people skills?
OR
Are we helping them how to interpret information, challenge our assumptions, listen, connect, exercise judgement and understand the human beings around us?
And these capabilities aren’t developed simply by having faster or better technology.
They are developed through experience, conversation, reflection, challenge, intuition, empathy and human connection.
Getting Ahead Without Losing Ourselves
Perhaps the leadership challenge isn’t AI versus humans. Perhaps it is: How do we use AI to become better at being human? That is the question I’m taking forward. I’ve stepped off the AI-FOMO/FOLO bandwagon - not because I believe AI isn’t important, but because I no longer want fear of losing out to drive our decisions. We’ll continue to explore new technology, introduce efficiencies, learn rapidly and adapt our business model. But we’ll also hold firmly onto something we believe is fundamental: People develop through helping people. For us, that means continuing to put human coaching, connection and conversation at the heart of leadership development - while using technology intelligently around it. Because the future may belong to those who move fastest.
But perhaps it will belong even more to those who can move fast without losing their humanity.
And that, for me, is a much more interesting leadership conversation.
If this is a conversation your organisation is having too, I’d love to hear how you’re navigating the balance between AI, efficiency and the very human business of developing people.
Warmly,
Cellene Hoogenkamp
CEO & Founder
