Behind the scenes with #2024Analytics Keynote Tom Koulopoulos

Ashley K:  We’re in the countdown to the 2024 INFORMS analytics conference in Orlando, Florida, April 14th through the 16th, when more than 700 leading analytics professionals and industry experts will come together to discover new solutions to business problems, connect to network, and celebrate excellence in the field. Joining me to give a sneak peek of this year’s conference is Tom Opolis, the INFORMS round table sponsored keynote speaker. Tom is an author, futurist, and leader who serves as chairman and founder of Delphi Group, a 30-year-old Boston-based think tank named one of the fastest growing private companies by Inc. Magazine, as well as the founding partner of Acro Vantage Ventures, which invests in early stage technology startups. He’s also the author of 14 books, an inventor with several patents, an ink.com columnist, the past executive director of the Babson College Center for Business Innovation, the past director of Dell Innovation Lab, and a professor at Boston University. I’m so excited for the opportunity to get to know Tom, explore his own professional journey, and share an exciting sneak peek at what he’ll be presenting at the upcoming conference. So Tom, thank you so much for joining me.

Tom Koulopoulos: Thank you, Ashley. It’s such a pleasure to be here with you.

Ashley K: So Tom, I’d love to start by exploring your professional title, author, futurist, and Leader, which by the way is a great title. It totally blows Communications Manager out of the water. How do you identify with these three roles? Obviously you’re a published author many times over, but I’d love to know how you feel you embody each of these in your day-to-Day Professional Life and how these roles relate to each other.

Tom Koulopoulos: Gosh, I love that. That’s a great way to begin. I think that someone told me a long time ago, the most important thing in life is caring. Caring about what you do, caring about the people that you work with, that you work for, that work for you. The title is whatever the title is. I think at the end of the day, I care so much about the future that we’re going to be passing on to our kids, what it will look like, the world that they will inhabit. I think we’ve got enormous challenges ahead of us, and I care about solving those challenges. But I care about being an optimist as well. And I think all too often we get very pessimistic about the future and there’s a lot of reasons to be pessimistic, but there’s a lot of reasons to be optimistic as well.

And I think caring ultimately is an act of optimism. When we care, we believe that something good will come out of that. So whether it’s in leadership, whether it’s in writing, whether it’s in speaking, whether it’s in thinking about the future, I think at the end of the day it’s all about caring about the world we inhabit and how we’re going to take on some of these challenges and take them on with a bit of a smile on our face. As difficult as that is, I tell people all the time, these are the good times, and they look at me and they say, but if you’re in healthcare, how can you say that? Because unfortunately, crisis is when we grow. Crisis is when we change, and if we care about the world that we live in, then we take that crisis and I think we use it as an opportunity to change and to grow. So that’s the best that I’ve got for what drives me at the end of the day. It’s that caring about what I do and the people that I work with.

Ashley K: I love that response so much, and if I may be so bold, I think you should add optimists to that as well. Thank you. So as both the co-founder and chairman of the Delphi Group Think Tank and the founding partner of Acro Vantage Ventures, you’ve been involved from the start in two organizations that are focused on innovation, technological advancement and idea generation, and lots of other exciting opportunities. I’m sure I’d love to hear more about the kind of work that’s going on at these two organizations.

Tom Koulopoulos: So both Delphi and AcroAnna are focused on the same thing, trying to make sense of the leading edge, and I think the leading edge can often be a bit obtuse. I think that folks that live on the leading edge try to make it obtuse because they build OB priesthood around it. And the idea behind Delphi group 30 plus years ago was to try to take that leading edge that was confusing, complex, sometimes inaccessible to mere mortals like ourselves and make it understandable, make it accessible. And that’s what we do with Delphi Group. We look at that leading edge, try to simplify what’s going on, whether it be AI or whether it be Google search or whatever the case might be. We’ve been involved in so many technologies over the years. We try to make it accessible and understandable because at the end of the day, it is us mere mortals that make the change.

I mean, Elon Musk is doing amazing things, will take us to new planets and will make a planetary civilization out of us, but it is Mir mortals who have to buy into these big ideas. And the problem is that these ideas are sometimes difficult to grasp. So Delphi group them understandable, brings them down to earth. And look, I’m a simple-minded person, so I need to make it simple for me to understand it. And if I can then understand it, I stand a chance of getting others to understand it as well. Acro Ventures is sort of at the leading edge of that leading edge. So we look at companies that are very involved in what we think are going to be growth areas. So one of those areas is data, and we’ll talk about that more I’m sure over the course of our conversation today. So we invest in companies that are putting in place mechanisms by which we can store this vast amount of data and then use AI to make sense of it, to really change the way industries operate and the way that we live, we work that we play. So that’s sort where Delphi and Acro both sort of fit in to the future.

Ashley K: So now, if all that wasn’t enough, you’re also a published author several times over, I’d love to have you just share a brief synopsis of your work and some of the topics you’ve covered.

Tom Koulopoulos: So the latest topic, which I’m so excited about in the current book, giga Trends, which just came out as we’re speaking right now, and which by the way, sold out six times on Amazon the last two days, which is not what an author wants. It’s good news, bad news, but it’s such a popular topic. Giga trends looks at how AI is going to help us take on six of the biggest challenges that we face as a global civilization. These aren’t just US-centric challenges, these are global challenges. Healthcare within 20 years across the globe is going to be suffering immensely because we’re all getting older. So the giga trend of an aging demographic is going to put severe strain on the world. How will AI help us with that? And it will. So we look at six major themes in terms of challenges and opportunities to change and how AI will address each of those.

And I’m really excited about this. I think we are at a very peculiar point as a civilization where without AI, we don’t stand a chance. So it’s not us versus ai, it’s not human versus ai, which is the way it’s often portrayed. It is AI and human versus the future. I think that’s the way to look at it. How do we collaborate as a team to take on climate change, to take on the 4 billion people actually who today live on less than $7 a day. I mean, 4 billion out of 8 billion live on less than $7 a day. I can’t even begin to grasp how we could have that sort of wealth inequality. So how does AI help us with that? And it does, it helps us to bring those folks on board in a way that’s not going to choke the planet the way we did with the industrial era technologies that we so adeptly use to scale consumerism. So we look at those really challenging issues and how AI will help us to address them.

Ashley K: I love the idea of working with AI to tackle the future. That’s such an exciting perspective.

Tom Koulopoulos: It’s a lot better than looking at it as our overlord exactly, how AI is going to make humanity extinct. It’ll push this button that says, you know what, you’re to blame. So there you go. I don’t buy into that. I’m sorry. I just don’t. I think we have to be aware of the ethics around ai. I think we have to be conscious of what we’re building. But look, at the end of the day with every technology, look at nuclear technologies, nuclear weapons are one of the most horrific things that mankind’s ever created. And yet out of that same technology came nuclear medicine, which has saved countless lives. So what humanity is always challenged with is a net benefit. Look at it as an income statement. As long as that net benefit exceeds the liabilities and the expenses of the technology, then it’s worth moving forward with. And I think with every technology, there’s a good side and a bad side to it. It can be used by unscrupulous bad actors and it can be used by wonderful, magnificent, caring people. And we just need more of this than we have of this. And I don’t care what the technology is, whether it’s AI or what have you, it’s always the same conversation.

Ashley K: Yep, that’s a terrific perspective. I love it. So this next question is really sort of just for fun. As someone who’s written 14 books, and not to presume that you’ve ever had writer’s block, but if you were to have, do you have a tried and true method to overcome it?

Tom Koulopoulos: Writer’s block is a constant companion. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either told story or Hemingway. And I’m sure they have writer’s block as well, by the way. But when you write by the pounder, by the Kilo, I guess, writer’s block, you eventually get over it. Look, I think every author deals with the writer’s block. The solution is very simple, and most folks don’t want to hear this. It is relentless discipline. When I’m writing a book, I get up every morning and I write at least 500 words. Now, they’re not brilliant words most often. Most often they end up in the trash heap. That’s the piece of it. That’s the discipline that most folks don’t want to adopt because they want everything they write to be wonderful, to somehow express profound ideas. I’m sorry. It’s like going to the gym. Some days you want to go to the gym, other days you drag your, sorry.

You know what? Into the gym, because you have to do it every day, is not going to give you that oxytocin boost at the gym. Some days will, some days are just excruciating. And the same with writing. So the discipline is you get up every day, you write a certain number of words, and you expect that at least half of them being generous, at least half will never see the light of day. And over time, you build that muscle and you find that voice. And once you do, it’s magnificent, but it’s not magnificent every single day. A wonderful editor once said to me, everyone wants to have written. No one wants to write. And I think that’s, every author I think, would subscribe to that philosophy.

Ashley K: That makes a lot of sense. That’s a lot of hard work. I can only imagine. So Tom, of all the different roles you’ve embodied and experiences you’ve had, do you have a favorite project or memory or maybe even a challenge that you overcame that still resonates for you to this day?

Tom Koulopoulos: Wow, so I’ll be completely transparent and vulnerable. I think the greatest challenge I had to overcome was, and this sounds very cliche because it’s become popular to say this lately, but to embrace vulnerability when you’re up on stage, it’s not the audience in their underwear, it’s you in your underwear. You’re the one who’s naked, you’re the one who, and it took me a while to really understand the power of being fully vulnerable, because when you’re vulnerable, you’re authentic. And as human beings, boy, we can sniff out authenticity. Even when in the back of your head that intuition is saying, I shouldn’t trust this person. You shouldn’t, because we can sniff out authenticity. We know when someone is being themselves, when they’re being vulnerable, and when they’re acting or when they’re playing a part. So unless you’re a Brad Pitt and you can pull it off marvelously, most of us can’t either ourselves or we’re going to raise red flags.

So I think embracing that vulnerability and truly putting my ideas and myself out there to be chastised, to be put down, to be otherwise laughed at, I often say my biggest core competence is that I lack the embarrassment gene. I get embarrassed and I keep doing it until I figure it out. So I think that embracing vulnerability and truly being my fully authentic self has been the greatest piece of my journey and the greatest challenge that I’ve faced and I continue to face. We all continue to face it. But yeah, what a wonderful question. Thank you for getting deep with me.

Ashley K: Oh, that’s terrific. And I would add that when someone is authentic and vulnerable, the quality of the connections you can make with them just skyrocket. So that’s really terrific.

Tom Koulopoulos: Such a wonderful point. That is so true. That is the way you really connect with people and you allow them to give them license to express their own vulnerability to be open with you. That’s a wonderful point. Yes. Completely agree.

Ashley K: Alright, Tom, without giving too much away, could you give us a sneak peek at what you’ll be presenting at the 2024 in forum analytics conference?

Tom Koulopoulos: Right. So without giving too much away, look, I think one of the greatest and most magnificent challenges that we have to face is AI and how we will inhabit the future with it. AI at the end of the day, is all about data. We talk about why is AI suddenly, why is chat GPD suddenly become such a phenomenon? Why is generative AI such a phenomenon? Look, the reason is that the cornerstones of that, the algorithms were there. What wasn’t there was the data. And what we have now is this enormous abundance of data. One of the companies that we’ve invested in, we did a lot of research for initially to see what that data sphere would look like going down the road. Here’s a stat for you that is, if this isn’t mind blowing, I don’t know what is. By the year 2200, if we continue at a 30% year over year growth rate and the amount of data that we’re capturing and storing, we will have more bits of data than there are atoms that make up the earth. Which to me, I mean mind blown, how is that even possible?

Ashley K: Astounding. Astounding.

Tom Koulopoulos: At a hundred percent year over year growth rate, which we could very well reach when we look at genomics and autonomous vehicles and autonomous devices at a hundred percent year over year growth rate. I feel silly even saying this, but the numbers are the numbers. We will have more bits of data than there are atoms in the visible universe. Again, I can’t wrap my little brain around that.

Ashley K: I was going to say, it’s almost impossible to even, we can’t wrap head around it.

Tom Koulopoulos: The question is what do we do with that data? And there are all these cliches. Data is the new oil. Data is a commodity. You know what? It fuels the future, but it’s not the new oil because if you have a bucket of gasoline, I have a bucket of gasoline, we’ll trade, it’s no problem. Your gas as my gas, the barrel of oil is a barrel of oil. Data is very personal. I’m not going to give you my email if you give me your email. It doesn’t quite work that way. And one company won’t trade with another company. It’s data. Data’s very personal and very valuable. It is the single most valuable commodity any of us will have as individuals, as organizations, as societies. Who’s going to be the caretaker of that data, who’s going to help us understand that data. And the answer is not ai, and this is what I want to focus on at the event.

It is the people who are most adept at understanding how to work with AI as a collaborator in mining this enormous resource. And this is the resource that will help us overcome climate change. This is the resource that will help us overcome the healthcare crisis. This is the resource that will help us deal with transportation that otherwise will choke the planet if we continue on the trajectory that we’re currently on in terms of vehicles. So there is no single greater task ahead of us, I think, than being the caretakers, the orchestrators, and the analyzers of that data. And I mean that with enormous sincerity because I’ve seen of close and personal how incredibly powerful that data can be and how often it’s not being used or misused or simply misunderstood. So I want to share that enthusiasm and the tools and the techniques and the methods by which I think this is going to take shape over the next five to 10 to 20 years. So your attendees are the attendees that will be those caretakers, they are the collaborators. They’ll be working shoulder to shoulder with AI to mine this enormous resource that we have now.

Ashley K: So speak to the attendees. Let’s imagine ahead of time, it’s the conference. You’ve just given your presentation, the attendees are walking out of the room. What do you hope are the biggest takeaway or takeaways that they’re taking with them as leave and go back to their prospective roles and organizations?

Tom Koulopoulos: I love it. So number one, AI is a collaborator. I will work with it in the way I work with any other team member. It is a protege. It is an assistant. Call it what you want. It is a collaborator that I will work with. Number two, I am in a position of enormous empowerment where I will have the responsibility and the opportunity to do incredible things going forward with this new collaborator. And three, a sense of optimism. The future looks pretty damn good. There’s a lot of reasons why we could speak of gloom and doom. I’m not going to, there’s lots of that out there. At the end of the day, I think there’s a lot more reasons to be optimistic about the future and the role that your attendees will play in it.

Ashley K: Well, for one, I’m very excited to hear your presentation and I’m sure all of our listeners are too. But if they want to hear more, they’re going to have to register for the conference. So we’re going to move on to the next question. So Tom, to change gears a little, what’s something unique about you that others might not know?

Tom Koulopoulos: Wow. Well, I’m an artist. I love to paint. I love to sculpt. I don’t talk about it much. And unless you’ve been to my home, most folks come after knowing me for 10 or 15 years and they say, wow, you paint. So it’s my therapy, it’s my release. I don’t do it daily. I sometimes don’t even do it monthly. But it’s a way for me to sort of express my creativity in a very different way, a non cerebral way. So I love to do that. I love to fly. I learned to fly when I was in my late teens. I don’t get to do it often enough. But yeah, those are two things that I take enormous joy in and give me a different way to use my creative side of my brain and to experience joy outside of my writing and my speaking and the other things that I do.

Ashley K: That’s terrific. So do you have your own plane?

Tom Koulopoulos: I do not have my own. I don’t fly often enough that I think at this point I would plane. But I do fly with friends quite often. Next best thing to have in a friend with a nice boat is a friend with a nice plane.

Ashley K: Exactly. It’s sometimes a better deal that way. Same with a pool, I think.

Tom Koulopoulos: Exactly.

Ashley K: Alright, so you obviously have a lot going on. What do you do to relax? What does your downtime look like?

Tom Koulopoulos: A lot of times spend in front of the fireplace with my dog, Luna. I think sometimes you have to give your brain a break and really not think about anything, which for those of us to think a lot, that’s what we do for a living, it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. I love to travel. Travel is part of my DNA. I’ve got wanderlust that’s woven into my genome. I think I’ve been doing it since I was a few months old. So I love traveling and as I said, flying is a great escape for me. It’s a way to literally leave the planet and leave all of your worries behind. I love that. Yeah.

Ashley K: So if you were not working in the field that you’re in, what do you think you’d be doing today?

Tom Koulopoulos: I’d be very depressed. I can’t imagine. You know what, this sounds cliche again, I can’t imagine doing anything else. Maybe being an astronaut. I mean, I can sort of envision in my fantasy world, a fighter pilot doing other things. I’m not sure I’d be qualified for either one of those jobs. I’m nowhere near as brilliant as people who do those kinds of things are. I love what I do and I genuinely think that where I’m not doing this, I would not be as happy of a person as I am. That’s the best way to answer that. I think

Ashley K: That is the perfect answer. So in this interview, we’ve obviously covered a wide range of your roles and activities of all of these big and small, is there one that you are the most proud of?

Tom Koulopoulos: Oh goodness. Being a dad, I mean, we haven’t talked about that at all. But that is the, and not proud in an arrogant way, proudness sort of sitting back and watching your kids evolve into something that is much greater than you could ever be. I think for anyone who’s been a parent that there is no greater joy or thing that you take more pride in than that simple act of observing your children come into their own. So certainly that a close second would be my writing. I love to write and I take great joy in it. I think pride might be a little, might be stretching it. I do what I do. I love doing it. It’s up to other people to tell me whether I should be proud of it or not, I guess. But that would be a close second.

Ashley K: Okay. So looking ahead to the future, not that you haven’t done enough, but I’d love to hear what’s next for you. Is there a new goal, a bucket list item, maybe a new hobby or activity that you’re looking forward to tackling in the future?

Tom Koulopoulos: I would love to hear what’s next for me as well. I tend to surprise people sometimes. I don’t plan my life out that precisely. I think the universe or whatever you believe in tends to deliver things that you’re not asking for, but which end up being the things that you really need in your life. So I’m going to wait and see what the universe delivers. There is one thing I would love to do and I’m planning on doing, which is sort of a bucket list item, and that is flying a spitfire over the white cliffs of Dover. I’ve got a friend of mine who’s a pilot and we’ve been trying to coordinate this for some time now, and you can do that. There are Spitfires, these World War II planes that won World War II for Britain that you can fly over the white cliffs of Dover. That iconic scene where so many battles occurred. So yeah, that is a definite bucket list and and going into orbit at some point.

Ashley K: So fun fact, I was watching a special on Netflix last night. It was World War II remastered in color, and we talked a lot about the Spitfire!

Tom Koulopoulos: The Spitfire and the Mustang two very iconic planes that the Mustang was the American plane and Spitfire, and these are just incredible machines and they keep ’em up. They still have a fleet of them. You can’t fly it alone. I would love if they would’ve let me do that

Ashley K: But I think you know what you’re doing. They should!

Tom Koulopoulos: No, I think I have to put down a rather hefty deposit to be able to do that, but I’m okay. I’m okay doing it as copilot. I’ll take that.

Ashley K: Well, I hope that is a bucket list achieved in the very near future. That sounds like an incredible experience. Tom, I had so much fun. I want to thank you again so much for taking the time to talk with me today. I’m excited to meet you and to see your presentation in Orlando in just a few weeks.

Tom Koulopoulos: I am so excited to be here. Thank you so much, Ashley. This was wonderful. I’ve really enjoyed it.