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Mike Klein: Internal Communications Or Internal Combustion?
Internal Communications or Internal Combustion: Mike Klein on Surviving the Big Shift
AI isn't just automating work. It's accelerating it. And that acceleration is about to expose every crack in your organization's decision-making architecture. In this episode of The Piar Podcast, host Tan Sukhera sits down with Mike Klein, one of internal communications' most connected and candid voices, to unpack what he calls "the big shift" and why the next six months matter more than the next three years.
Mike Klein is founder of the #WeLeadComms recognition program, editor-in-chief of Strategic Magazine, and an IABC Fellow. He holds an MBA from London Business School and has worked with large enterprises across seven countries on culture and communication challenges. Currently on a six-week research tour across India, Mike brings a ground-level perspective on what's actually happening versus what industry surveys suggest.
What You'll Learn:
The Acceleration Problem Nobody's Talking About - ChatGPT does in two minutes what used to take an intern two weeks. But here's what matters more: when AI accelerates your work, it accelerates decision speed across the entire organization. Reports that took three months now arrive in days. Leadership won't have two weeks to review them. Maybe a day. Maybe an hour. Most business cultures are built for escalation, not decision. This mismatch is where internal combustion happens.
The Talent Disruption Triple Threat - Three forces are converging: AI automation, white-collar layoffs at profitable companies, and Gen Z entering the workforce while hiring freezes lock them out. The old social contract of loyalty-for-security is dead. "We want your loyalty, but we're no longer giving you security. That's not a model that's going to work."
Why Internal Comms Gets Trapped - Most internal comms functions report to either HR or marketing. Neither comfortably hosts a 360-degree organizational perspective. HR wants its KPIs hit. Marketing wants products pushed. Mike offers three paths out: become a skilled negotiator, build C-suite allies who will defend your budget, or find an organization where comms reports directly to leadership with real organizational dependency.
Training's Brutal Moment - People aren't buying training right now. Companies are unsure who'll still be employed. Employees are uncertain which skills will exist in a year. Mike's advice: forget training on AI (you'll learn by using it). Instead, invest in understanding adjacent fields. Learn PR if you're in internal comms. Learn business strategy. Learn sales. Understand how the business actually makes money.
The Differentiation Endgame - When AI handles 60-80% of execution and every competitor uses similar tools, what's left? "The sole source of differentiation is going to be the communication, the decision fluency of the organization, and the compelling nature of the organization's story." No function is better positioned to deliver that than communications.
Throughout the conversation, Mike emphasizes thinking like both CEO and employee simultaneously, understanding stakeholder motivations beyond transactions, and building the judgment muscles that AI cannot replicate. His message is direct: this isn't a three-year transformation. It's happening now.
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By Tan SukheraInternal Communications or Internal Combustion: Mike Klein on Surviving the Big Shift
AI isn't just automating work. It's accelerating it. And that acceleration is about to expose every crack in your organization's decision-making architecture. In this episode of The Piar Podcast, host Tan Sukhera sits down with Mike Klein, one of internal communications' most connected and candid voices, to unpack what he calls "the big shift" and why the next six months matter more than the next three years.
Mike Klein is founder of the #WeLeadComms recognition program, editor-in-chief of Strategic Magazine, and an IABC Fellow. He holds an MBA from London Business School and has worked with large enterprises across seven countries on culture and communication challenges. Currently on a six-week research tour across India, Mike brings a ground-level perspective on what's actually happening versus what industry surveys suggest.
What You'll Learn:
The Acceleration Problem Nobody's Talking About - ChatGPT does in two minutes what used to take an intern two weeks. But here's what matters more: when AI accelerates your work, it accelerates decision speed across the entire organization. Reports that took three months now arrive in days. Leadership won't have two weeks to review them. Maybe a day. Maybe an hour. Most business cultures are built for escalation, not decision. This mismatch is where internal combustion happens.
The Talent Disruption Triple Threat - Three forces are converging: AI automation, white-collar layoffs at profitable companies, and Gen Z entering the workforce while hiring freezes lock them out. The old social contract of loyalty-for-security is dead. "We want your loyalty, but we're no longer giving you security. That's not a model that's going to work."
Why Internal Comms Gets Trapped - Most internal comms functions report to either HR or marketing. Neither comfortably hosts a 360-degree organizational perspective. HR wants its KPIs hit. Marketing wants products pushed. Mike offers three paths out: become a skilled negotiator, build C-suite allies who will defend your budget, or find an organization where comms reports directly to leadership with real organizational dependency.
Training's Brutal Moment - People aren't buying training right now. Companies are unsure who'll still be employed. Employees are uncertain which skills will exist in a year. Mike's advice: forget training on AI (you'll learn by using it). Instead, invest in understanding adjacent fields. Learn PR if you're in internal comms. Learn business strategy. Learn sales. Understand how the business actually makes money.
The Differentiation Endgame - When AI handles 60-80% of execution and every competitor uses similar tools, what's left? "The sole source of differentiation is going to be the communication, the decision fluency of the organization, and the compelling nature of the organization's story." No function is better positioned to deliver that than communications.
Throughout the conversation, Mike emphasizes thinking like both CEO and employee simultaneously, understanding stakeholder motivations beyond transactions, and building the judgment muscles that AI cannot replicate. His message is direct: this isn't a three-year transformation. It's happening now.