Pride & Prejudice in Generative AI - the Elephant in the Room

"The elephant in the room” refers to the big, obvious issue everyone sees but avoids discussing.

Pride & Prejudice in Generative AI - the Elephant in the Room

AI has arrived, and many are experimenting with tools like ChatGPT. Yet fully embracing AI across sales organizations is slow and often stalls. Emerging scandals at companies like 11X don't help. Leaders rightly cite data security, costs, or unpredictable ROI, but these “first objections” hide a deeper fear, and as any competent seller knows, the objections first raised are rarely the objections most real.

In the context of AI, the elephant all leads back to one thing - Fear. The fear of being replaced, being wrong, or losing relevance. While few openly admit it, this anxiety derails progress.

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Fear & Loathing: Emotional Undercurrents

1. Fear of Obsolescence - We take pride in our instincts and expertise. The idea that a machine might replicate or surpass these skills can feel like a direct threat to personal value.

   
   

2. Fear of the Unknown - AI can seem like a black box. When sales professionals don’t fully understand how it arrives at insights, distrust grows—and people often fear what they can’t control.

   
   

3. Fear of Losing Purpose - Salespeople thrive on personal connections and problem-solving. If AI handles some of this, many wonder what’s left for them.

   
   

4. Fear of Not Keeping Up - No one wants to be the leader who “doesn’t get” AI. The prospect of falling behind or being seen as out of touch sparks defensiveness.

   
   

Like current political scenes across the West, we have become conditioned to not concede any ground (on anything), ever, including the admission of some trepidation around something like AI.  It’s become seen as one extreme or the other - “all” fear or “no” fear. But as Bill Paxton rightly points out in the movie Edge of Tomorrow – “there is courage without fear.”

Pride & Vanity: Fear of Admitting You Need Help

In modern culture—especially sales—confidence is currency. Everyone seems to be the smartest person in the room these days! Accepting that AI could offer a better way means acknowledging gaps in one’s knowledge or strategy.

1. The Image of Competence - Leaders build careers on having the right answers. Suggesting an algorithm might outperform long-honed techniques can feel like betraying core expertise.

   • High-Ego Cultures: In sink-or-swim environments, uncertainty is taboo. Leaders who don’t immediately see AI’s fit may dismiss it to protect their authority.

   • Performance Pressure: With quarterly targets under scrutiny, endorsing a new, unproven approach can be risky. If AI fails, it’s on them; if it succeeds, it might highlight prior inefficiencies.

     
     

2. Dismissing New Approaches - Calling AI “just hype” preserves the status quo. That way, leaders can avoid pilot programs that might fail—or succeed too well and force change.

   • Avoidance of Change: Implementing AI often reveals inefficiencies. Many prefer to keep the lid on potential disruptions.

   • Cultural Resistance: Top-down environments rarely welcome outside help. Admitting a knowledge gap can feel like weakness.

     
     

3. Downplaying Ineffective Methods - Leaders may blame poor leads, mediocre products or inconsistent team performance rather than admit traditional strategies are faltering. AI could expose those shortcomings.

   • Cognitive Dissonance: It’s painful to discover a championed method is outdated. AI, as a disruptor, threatens to shine a light on blind spots.

   • Ego Protection: Accepting AI means revealing diminishing returns in “tried-and-true” approaches—a tough pill to swallow.

   • Fear of Letting Go: Trusting algorithms over gut instinct is unsettling for leaders used to making calls based on experience.

Conclusion

Company leaders need to be looking through the prism of AI “every” time they consider their business challenges and opportunities. Their team can exhibit all the natural fears and vanities we’ve discussed, but even though it would be unnatural for them not to suffer from the same, they need to recognize this and push through. Every member of a leadership team needs to have, or come in with, ideas and suggestions as to how they can use AI to benefit their people and the business. To end with a fabulous cliché, any other behavior is failing to plan. And we all know that means you’re planning to fail!

The Sales Adventures of Shadow Episode II - An Unexpected Turn

Like it or leave it...

& why what you see isn't usually what you get!

Do You Really Need to Be Liked in Sales?

A while back, I was a rookie sales rep at an American computer firm in London. Like many fresh hires, I believed a great salesperson had a “gift of the gab,” a bottomless well of enthusiasm, and a big personality. The “good time Charlie.” One colleague joked that the best sales rep was someone who lived way beyond their means—a lifestyle that forced them to sell relentlessly. We all laughed, but there was truth beneath the humor: desperation and motivation can intersect.

Then there was Frank, the brash rep who we all loved. He closed a colossal deal by appearing to befriend a prospect who seemed in need of a pal. I’d watch them linger in pubs near Fleet Street and wonder, Doesn’t this guy see Frank is “playing” him? But the sale got signed, and Frank rode off into the sunset with a hefty commission. It raised a timeless question: Must you like someone to do business with them? And from the seller’s side, do I need to make you like me to seal the deal?

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The Role of AI in B2B Sales

Enter modern B2B sales, where artificial intelligence has made an impressive splash. AI can highlight a seller’s expertise right away, analyzing, crunching, summarizing and presenting insights to show real value before the “liking” part even has time to blossom. Trust—is in part based on confidence in someone’s ability—can be built faster if your prospect sees you know your stuff. AI helps here, if you use it right, it helps – big time! AI cannot make you more likable. It simply frees you to showcase genuine insight instead of wasting time on guesswork or repetitive tasks.

Why Being Liked (Still) Matters

Relationships in business are complicated. Firms set up strict ethics policies while simultaneously using posh corporate suites to wine and dine clients. Humans crave both rational fairness and a personal edge—it’s in our DNA. So, even if you bring stellar value, it usually doesn’t hurt if customers can stand being in the same room with you.

But how much do they need to like you? It’s true that sometimes, a business relationship can thrive on pure practicality: if your solution is that good, people might swallow their dislike of your personality. Yet more often, “liking” functions as a social lubricant that makes deals less cumbersome.

Psychologists point out that “ people like people who are like they are,” holding common interests, shared values, or even trivial coincidences like rooting for the same sports team. Studies show we’re drawn to similarity because it validates our beliefs and helps us feel less alone. We also assume people who are similar will like us back.

The Classic Advice: Carnegie and Bunnell

In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie outlined key principles: show genuine interest, smile, remember names, be a good listener, talk about others’ interests, and make them feel important. Great advice, but if applied mechanically, it can come off as fake.

Mo Bunnell’s Snowball Effect highlights five “Drivers of Likeability”: commonality, frequency, mutuality, balance, and uniqueness. Essentially, the more meaningful interactions you share, the more likely people are to feel comfortable and valued. Genuine conversation (not shallow flattery) is key.

Can You “Make” Someone Like You?

It depends on how you define “make.” You can absolutely dial up your friendliness: ask questions, remember details, share a laugh. But if you’re transparently manipulative, people sense it. Worse, trying too hard might backfire, causing prospects to wonder why you’re so eager to be their best friend.

Still, in a B2B world loaded with choices, personal rapport can be a deciding factor—especially when competing solutions feel similar. People gravitate toward those they trust to deliver not only results but also a decent working relationship.

Where AI Fits In

AI can accelerate trust by promoting capability fast: generating insights, presenting ideas, backing them up, or identifying market gaps. Buyers see you’re prepared and knowledgeable, which can nudge them to invest time in getting to know you. But AI won’t fake a shared sense of humor or sincerely empathize with a client’s struggles. That’s where your human side remains irreplaceable.

Being True to Yourself (Without Being a Jerk)

Ultimately, “be yourself” might be the best (if clichéd) advice. If you’re naturally warm and funny, let that shine—but don’t treat every interaction like open-mic night. Likewise, if you’re a no-nonsense type, trust that some customers appreciate a direct approach. Just be aware that extreme behaviors can alienate people. Manage your quirks to avoid sabotaging your own efforts.

Final Thought: Balancing Trust, Value, and Personality

At the end of the day, people buy from those who meet their needs—whether that’s a solution to a pressing problem, a spark of inventive thinking, or even just a relief from a day of tedium. This is further confused by social media, personal brands and virtue signaling. Authenticity is hard to recognize. Being liked won’t close a deal that offers zero real value, but showcasing real value is easier if people don’t dread your presence. AI can do the heavy lifting on data and logic, freeing you to refine your human touch.

So, can you make someone like you? Perhaps not entirely—but you can be a trustworthy, competent person who’s enjoyable to do business with. When you add AI’s ability to display expertise right from the start, you create a powerful formula: trust plus value sets the stage, and likability keeps the conversation rolling. In the end, authenticity and skill work together to make real connections—and those connections often lead to the best business relationships of all.