If You Stop Learning About Gen AI, You Get Left Behind
In the ever-accelerating race of technological transformation, standing still is no longer a neutral act—it’s a step backward. Few understand this better than Katrina Williams, Vice President of Sales for Integrated Tech and Coworker Capability at CDW. In an era where generative AI is reshaping the very fabric of work, Williams offers in her interview with me a compelling blueprint for how organizations can embed AI not only into their operations, but also into their culture, mindset, and future.
Early Adoption with Purpose
Williams doesn’t just talk about AI—she lives it. From the earliest days of generative AI’s rise, she’s leaned in as both a technophile and a strategic leader, using AI to prompt new ideas, generate alternative perspectives, and unlock efficiencies. “There’s real power,” she explains, “in using AI to reduce friction in standardized work, freeing people up to focus on what the human brain does best.” That thinking underscores her team’s mantra: get the right resource on the right work—and that resource isn’t always human.
Her journey began with simple use cases, like creating job aids and drafting first-pass content. But today, Williams is experimenting with using generative AI as a coach—training it on examples of excellence and then using it to provide immediate, standardized feedback to team members. It’s part of her broader mission to elevate performance through thoughtful tech adoption.
Addressing Fear with Empowerment
As promising as generative AI is, skepticism remains. Williams acknowledges that employee concerns—especially about job displacement—are real and evolving. Her approach? Lean into those worries with empathy and education. “AI isn’t about replacing jobs,” she says. “It’s about evolving them.”
By helping coworkers imagine a future where the mundane parts of their work are automated, she invites them to think bigger: What new value could they deliver? What innovations could they lead? But she also issues a warning: “It’s not that AI will take your job—but if you don’t learn how to use AI, someone else will, and you may get left behind.” That candor has become a rallying cry for CDW’s AI efforts.
Guardrails Over Gatekeeping
CDW’s leadership knew that to foster safe and sustainable adoption of generative AI, they had to build trust. That meant constructing secure, internal AI environments from the ground up—systems capable of querying proprietary databases and intranets while safeguarding customer, coworker, and IP data. This foundational step allowed Williams and her team to push innovation forward without compromising security.
But policy alone wasn’t enough. Rather than over-regulate, CDW focused on creating ethical AI guidelines and offering function-specific playbooks. Whether it’s AI-generated interview prompts or client-facing documents, every use case is reviewed through a lens of privacy, permission, and protection. The goal is not to hinder experimentation, but to guide it—making AI accessible, safe, and mission-aligned.
A Culture of Continuous Learning
Education is Williams’ true passion, and it shows in CDW’s approach to AI capability-building. The company’s soon-to-launch “AI Academy” reflects a blended learning model: external expertise, internally curated content, and hands-on challenges.
One signature initiative is the “25-Day AI Challenge,” which pairs daily microlearning with real-world application. Coworkers are asked to try a new AI tool or process each day, reflect on its value, and consider how it could improve their work. “It’s about making AI approachable,” Williams says. “Learning in bite-sized ways that are realistic, repeatable, and rewarding.”
The challenge underscores a key belief: learning must be embedded into the flow of work, not bolted on. And it must never stop. “If you think your AI learning is finished,” she warns, “you’re already behind.”
Guiding Clients Through Complexity
CDW doesn’t just adopt generative AI internally—it enables its clients to do the same. Williams describes a dual role: part solution provider, part strategic partner. For clients, becoming AI-ready isn’t just about installing new tools—it’s about modernizing infrastructure, reimagining workflows, and addressing structural and psychological barriers.
CDW’s consulting arm plays a vital role in this transformation. By assessing each organization’s unique environment, the team helps clients build a full lifecycle AI strategy—from device-level readiness to long-term governance frameworks. But just as important is the cultural shift. “We don’t just sell solutions,” Williams emphasizes. “We share our own journey. We show them how we’re doing it, what we’re learning, where we’ve stumbled. It’s about being in it together.”
This spirit of reciprocity is crucial in a space moving as quickly as AI. From CISOs to CTOs to sales leaders, CDW fosters open dialogue between internal experts and client teams. By breaking down silos and normalizing experimentation, they create trust—and progress.
Staying on the Edge Without Falling Off
For Williams, the biggest risk isn’t using AI—it’s failing to keep up with it. “The tech is changing so fast,” she says, “that just when you think you’ve figured it out, it’s already moved on.” Her strategy is to embrace that volatility through relentless learning, curiosity, and collaboration.
That means staying deeply engaged with thought leaders, vendor partners, and industry peers. It means revisiting roadmaps quarterly—not annually. And above all, it means never assuming the work is done. “If we do this right,” she says, “it’s never done. The second you think you know it all, you’ve already fallen behind.”
At CDW, generative AI isn’t just a tool or a trend—it’s a mindset. It’s an invitation to rethink what’s possible, to replace fear with opportunity, and to build a culture where learning is as constant as change. In Williams’ world, the future belongs not to the most technical, but to the most curious.
And in that future, those who stop learning will find themselves watching from the sidelines—while those who keep evolving, lead.
Key Take-Away
AI won’t take your job—but someone who knows how to use it might. Share on XImage credit: Yan Krukau/pexels
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was named “Office Whisperer” by The New York Times for helping leaders overcome frustrations with hybrid work and Generative AI. He serves as the CEO of the future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Gleb wrote seven best-selling books, and his two most recent ones are Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams and ChatGPT for Leaders and Content Creators: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI. His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist, with 8 years as a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill and 7 years as a professor at Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio.