Mohaimina Haque, CEO at Tony Roma’s. Attorney & General Counsel. Immigration, Business Law expert. Adjunct Law Professor.
It was 7 p.m. on a winter evening in my home office and my computer screen was lighting up like a Christmas tree with emails—students awaiting Zoom links for tomorrow’s law school lecture, urgent contract renewals, a mountain of cases requiring delegation to my firm’s associates and paralegals. With plans to attend the World Economic Forum at Davos in just a few days, my to-do list seemed insurmountable. That’s when my husband, who has mastered the art of living with an ever-busy executive, did something unusual: He forwarded me a recipe.
It wasn’t just any recipe but rather a “hidden gem” of Sicilian pasta with lentils. In my world of perpetual motion, where dinner usually takes a backseat to business demands, this simple act triggered an unexpected revelation about modern leadership and AI integration.
Instead of dismissing the culinary detour, I approached it like a business problem. Just as I teach my law students to think laterally and guide my restaurant franchisees to optimize operations, I turned to Meta AI with a specific challenge: Transform this traditional, time-intensive recipe into an Instant Pot meal that wouldn’t require continuous stirring.
The result was a masterclass in AI’s transformative potential. The AI didn’t just convert cooking times; it suggested substitutions for ingredients I didn’t have on hand, precisely calculated pressure cooker settings and delivered results that would make any Sicilian grandmother proud.
This kitchen experiment crystallized what I have been observing across my varied roles: AI isn’t just another tech tool; it’s the executive’s secret weapon for multiplicative productivity.
AI In The C-Suite: 3 Ways To Harness The Potential
As I see it, there are three things AI can help leaders do at work:
Time Alchemy
Just as AI transformed a two-hour stovetop vigil into a hands-free 30-minute masterpiece, it can metamorphose your team’s productivity. It used to take my associates days to draft preliminary case reviews, but now they use AI to get the process started, and it only takes them a few hours to review and fact-check AI’s summary.
Precision At Scale
The AI didn’t just guess at pressure cooker conversions; it provided exact specifications. Similarly, in business, AI tools can analyze thousands of contracts, finding patterns and potential issues that human eyes might miss after hours of review.
Adaptive Intelligence
When I mentioned missing ingredients, the AI didn’t just say “sorry.” It provided viable alternatives. This mirrors how modern AI can help businesses pivot during supply chain disruptions or market shifts.
From Kitchen To Boardroom: Implementation Playbook
The transformation begins with a mindset shift. Organizations can embrace this evolution by practicing the following:
Command Engineering Excellence
Train your teams not just to use AI but to command it effectively. The difference between a basic prompt and an expertly crafted one can be as dramatic as the difference between fast food and fine dining.
First Draft Revolution
Stop wasting human potential on first drafts. Whether it’s emails to the board, preliminary market analyses or initial project proposals, AI can create the foundation that human expertise can then perfect.
Time Liberation Strategy
Use AI to create what I call “executive white space”—periods of freed-up time that can be reinvested in relationship building, strategic thinking and innovation.
Later that evening, as I savored the perfectly cooked Sicilian pasta, I couldn’t help but smile. The true power of AI isn’t in replacing human intelligence—it’s in amplifying it. Whether you’re running a law firm, teaching future leaders, managing international franchises, or yes, even cooking dinner, AI isn’t just changing the game, it’s creating an entirely new playing field.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Read the full article here
