Is AI Leadership Drift Stalling Your Progress?

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Organizations often blame employees when AI adoption stalls, assuming resistance stems from fear or lack of skills. Research across 23 interviews and three leadership workshops in 11 European IT services firms points to a different obstacle: senior leaders. 

Executives often recognize privately that AI requires fundamental changes to pricing, staffing, and business models, yet abandon those positions during group discussions. The authors call this pattern “AI leadership drift,” where reassuring narratives replace difficult strategic decisions. 

To counter it, leaders should ground discussions in their own data rather than industry hype, study how comparable firms are responding to AI, tie every AI initiative to a strategic question with a review date, and assign someone responsibility for keeping uncomfortable issues on the leadership agenda.

Read the entire article here.

Top 9 Global Small Business Trends To Watch in 2026

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According to Upwork, the top 9 global small business trends in 2026 involve AI adoption and automation, e-commerce and omnichannel growth, hyperpersonalization, cybersecurity, social media marketing, sustainability, remote and hybrid work, subscription-based revenue models, and building flexible teams with freelancers.

Discover the highlights (details) of global small business trends in 2026.

Today in Global Small Business: When AI Builds Itself

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• When AI builds itself.
• AI for small business – by SBA.
• 10 ways small businesses can use AI to grow.
• Quote of the week:  “AI is a mirror, reflecting our intellect and our values." – Ravi Narayanan
• Small business and AI adoption.
• America’s enterprising spirit is booming after decades-long slump.

Note:  The Global Small Business Blog has been in operation since 2004 and is ranked number one in the world for entrepreneurs and small businesses interested in going global.  As of May, 2026, we average between 700,000-900,000 readers a month.  Thank you for your engagement! 

Today in Global Small Business: The Human Side of AI Adoption

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• The human side of AI adoption:  Lessons from the field.
• Why great ideas come from nowhere.
• One of these Trump threats is not like the others (requires free trial subscription to read full story).
• Quote of the week:  “Artificial intelligence will be the most transformative technology of the 21st century." – Jensen Huang, CEO, NVIDIA
• The decline of daily dialogue.
• Are factories the new frontier of big tech?