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Noodle Vol. 16 Issue 1

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ENGAGING MARKETING MINDS

The is real.

Big brands are putting pages back in customers’ hands because catalogs drive discovery, consideration, and sales.

From Amazon and Walmart’s Holiday Toy Catalogs to J.Crew reintroducing its print catalog after a multi-year pause, these moves signal that catalogs are working again.

Thinking about a catalog? Think Patented can help!

• Strategy + creative: we can format, page plan and design your catalog

• Print + production: we offer many unique finishes, versioning, speed-to-mail

• Mailing + data: list procurement, targeting, postal optimization, in-home timing

• USPS promo support: we handle promotion setup, registration, and approval steps for you

• Omnichannel add-ons: QR/PURLs, triggered email/SMS follow-up, response tracking

Ask your sales executive for a catalog consult!

MARKETING’S MOMENT OF EXECUTION

he beginning of a new year always invites reflection, but this year may feel a little different.

AI has accelerated faster than anyone could have reasonably predicted. It seems smarter and the output is remarkably quick. And in the middle of what many call progress, a harder question has surfaced inside marketing departments everywhere: What is our value now?

Is marketing being displaced? Do relationships still matter? Do human efforts still matter when machines can generate content at scale?

Those questions are understandable. But if we let them linger too long, they become dangerous.

The reality is that business has never been calm enough to pursue ambition without challenges. What has changed is the volume of noise competing for our confidence. Every headline seems to question marketing’s relevance. Every new platform promises efficiency without empathy. Some even suggest eliminating the marketing function altogether.

That misses the point entirely.

Marketing’s role in 2026 is not to deploy more tools or chase speed for speed’s sake. It’s to understand people better. Our job is to connect our brand to real humans in ways that feel intentional, personal, and earned. It is not to just generate more data that connects bots to bots.

Our responsibilities don’t disappear in an AI-driven world. We would argue that they become more valuable. Sure, the work might be harder. But, marketers are the ones who separate noise from real meaning.

Marketing was never built to stand still and wait for certainty. Markets change. Behavior shifts. Expectations evolve. Our role has always been to move forward—knowing full well there will be another obstacle beyond the next campaign, another variable beyond the next technology.

Adversity isn’t a warning sign. It’s confirmation.

The noise surrounding AI and digital fatigue doesn’t signal retreat; it demands better execution from those who own the relationship. So, cheers to a new year.

Bring on the noise. We’re ready.

All the best,

Think Patented is an Authorized Reforestation Partner of PrintReleaf.

Publisher

Diana Renner The Noodle is published bimonthly by Think Patented, ©26 All rights reserved. For more information, contact ThinkPatented.com 937 353 2299

PRINTFIRST DIGITALSMART

BUILDING YOUR 2026 PLAYBOOK

THE MOST EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGNS ARE BUILT ON A BALANCED MIX THAT ALIGNS WITH THE CLIENT’S GOALS AND LEVERAGES THE STRENGTHS OF BOTH TRADITIONAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA.”
— MATT HUDSON, CEO, BRASS ADVERTISING

THE PHYSICIAN HAD JUST BEEN NAMED ONE OF THE TOP SURGEONS IN HIS FIELD. Accolades were rolling in. Search traffic was climbing. Digital ads were ready to go live. But before any of that launched, Matt Hudson and his team at Brass Advertising did something that felt almost counterintuitive in today’s marketing landscape—they slowed everything down and opened with print.

Instead of leading with paid search or social, the campaign began with long-form print placements that explained why the recognition mattered— what the physician had done to earn it, what it meant for patients and how it differentiated the practice. Only after that credibility was firmly established did the digital layers turn on.

“The print established familiarity and trust,” says Hudson, CEO of the collaborative ad agency. “Digital then closed the loop. Without that print foundation, the digital performance simply wouldn’t have had the same impact.”

Brass Advertising’s approach—print-first, digital-smart—is becoming a defining strategy for brands recalibrating their media mix as digital channels grow noisier and trust erodes. It’s why Hudson believes print continues to earn its place when the objective is credibility. “We consider print a potential medium when the client’s goal is to build trust, credibility and memorability. Digital is great for speed, targeting, and optimization, but

it’s also heavily fragmented.”

Print offers something digital struggles to replicate: physical presence and longer dwell time. “Print provides a tactile, permanent medium,” Hudson says. “When we use print, we typically expect it to establish legitimacy and reinforce brand authority. This works especially well for healthcare, financial services or any advertiser where credibility matters.”

Print, in these cases, isn’t a supporting channel. It’s the anchor. At Brass Advertising, campaign planning starts

IN MANY WAYS, PRINT IS BRINGING ART BACK INTO MARKETING—SLOWING THINGS DOWN, INVITING INTERACTION AND CREATING MOMENTS OF PAUSE IN AN OTHERWISE SCROLL-DRIVEN WORLD.”
— KELLY MILLER LAUGHLIN, CMC, CDMP, VP OF COMMUNICATIONS, CHSGA

with discovery, not channels. “It’s never a one-or-the-other decision,” Hudson says. “The most effective campaigns are built on a balanced mix that aligns with the client’s goals and leverages the strengths of both traditional and digital media.”

If discovery reveals a need to build trust, explain something complex or tell a longer story, print often leads. Digital then plays a critical supporting role—reinforcing the message through frequency and driving action. Recognition compounds across channels. “Print allows you to slow the message down,” Hudson says. “You can tell a deeper story and position a brand in a way that simply isn’t possible in most digital formats. When someone recognizes a brand they’ve seen in print while scrolling or searching, they’re far more likely to stop, engage, and convert. And the same is true in reverse.”

One reason Hudson believes print has been undervalued is how it’s measured. Leadership-level KPIs remain consistent regardless of channel: inbound inquiries, booked appointments, conversion rates, foot traffic, and revenue growth. Print’s role often is to accelerate everything else. “Print shouldn’t be judged solely on circulation-based impressions or readership multipliers. Those metrics are easy to report but don’t tell the full story. It often serves as an accelerant, not a final click.”

That’s why isolating attribution misses the point. Instead, Brass evaluates lift— branded search increases, direct traffic spikes, call volume during print flights and improved digital performance. “When advertisers understand that print raises response rates across other channels,” Hudson says, “the conversation shifts from ‘Did print convert?’ to ‘Did print improve overall performance?’”

One of the strongest advantages is using digital to extend, not compete with print. Hudson says the strongest campaigns don’t pit print and digital against each other—they integrate them. “Sometimes digital continues the conversation that print started. Sometimes print reinforces a brand image people have already seen digitally.”

Tools like QR codes, custom URLs, geo-targeted social and display, paid search and retargeting all help bridge the experience. What doesn’t work, Hudson says, is separation. “Treating print and digital as separate silos with different messages and objectives is where campaigns lose momentum and clarity.”

AUDIENCE FIRST, ALWAYS

For Kelly Miller Laughlin, every campaign begins with a simple question: Who is this for? That answer, she believes, should drive every channel decision that follows. When planning a full-scale campaign, she says print should always be part of the conversation. “There’s something powerful about holding a tangible piece of material in your hands.”

While digital is efficient, scalable, and often necessary, Laughlin—CMC, CDMP and VP of Communications at CHSGa— says it doesn’t always command attention in the same way. “Print and digital aren’t

competing; they’re complementary. The choice depends entirely on the audience and the campaign’s goals.”

That distinction has become even more pronounced as digital channels grow increasingly crowded. Because print is used less today, it often stands out more. “People don’t utilize print as much as they used to,” Laughlin says. “Now it seems to cut through the very noisy digital landscape. In many ways, print is bringing art back into marketing— slowing things down, inviting interaction and creating moments of pause in an otherwise scroll-driven world. Clicks or impressions don’t necessarily lend themselves to building relationships.”

For long-term branding efforts, the cost of print is justified by its staying power and the way it lingers—on desks, kitchen counters and bulletin boards— long after a digital ad disappears. For campaigns focused on recruitment or broad awareness, Laughlin remains pragmatic: Digital may lead due to efficiency and reach.

What matters most is cohesion. Print and digital should never feel disconnected. “One is an extension of the other,” Laughlin says, pointing to QR codes as a practical bridge that allows print to open the door to personalization, interactivity and follow-up. When done well, print sets the tone and digital continues the conversation.

The biggest mistake Laughlin sees brands make is assuming every platform works for everyone. “Everything needs to align and serve the end user effectively. It is also thinking that every platform works for every audience, and that’s simply not true.”

That belief shapes how her team approaches both print and digital. For older audiences, Laughlin says, details matter. “We have to consider font size and color in print materials to ensure readability. At the same time, our digital campaigns have to meet our audience where they are, using platforms and formats they’re comfortable with.”

For Laughlin, integration isn’t about checking boxes or using every channel available—it’s about intention. “Print and digital have to work together to enhance the overall experience. When messaging,

design and channel choices are aligned around real audience needs, the result feels seamless. When that happens, the message doesn’t just reach people—it stays with them.”

Today, the smartest brands aren’t chasing every channel—they’re assigning roles. Print builds belief. Digital drives response. When each does what it does best, campaigns don’t just perform better—they last longer.

YOUR 2026 PRINT-FIRST PLAYBOOK

1. Print Leads When Trust, credibility, long-form storytelling, memorability

2. Digital Leads When Speed, optimization, recruitment, measurable action

3. Print KPIs

Lift in branded search, direct traffic, recall, credibility signals

4. Digital KPIs

Conversions, cost per action, retargeting efficiency

5. Rule of Thumb

Design print first—then let digital reinforce and close

From Vendor to Vanguard

BECOMING YOUR MARKET’S THOUGHT PARTNER

I HAVE FOUND IT INCREDIBLY VALUABLE TO SHOW YOUR PROCESS. VISUAL EXAMPLES, BEFORE-AND-AFTERS, CASE STUDIES AND REAL CUSTOMER REVIEWS ALL PLAY A ROLE—BUT SO DOES PRESENCE. SIMPLY SHOWING YOUR FACE.”

THE GORHAM AGENCY

N THE EARLY MONTHS OF THE PANDEMIC, Clinton Gorham found himself staring at a quiet inbox and an even quieter press schedule. Projects that once flowed steadily—logos, brand refreshes, beautifully produced print— had suddenly stalled. Clients weren’t asking about paper stocks or finishes. They were asking bigger, heavier questions: How do we survive? How do we reposition? How do we explain our value when the world has stopped moving? One call stuck with him. A small business owner didn’t want a brochure or a rebrand. She wanted direction. She needed someone to help her make sense of her business, her audience and her next move. Gorham, founder and Brand Consultant for The Gorham Agency, realized that being excellent at design and print execution—skills he had spent years mastering—was no longer enough. What clients needed wasn’t another vendor. They needed a guide.

That realization forced a reckoning. “Being on lockdown during COVID truly shifted the paradigm,” says Gorham. “The need for certain services almost dried up completely.” Even for someone confident in his creative and print capabilities, the market made one thing clear: Execution alone would not carry a business forward.

“I had to quickly shift from being just a creative to becoming a thought leader, a marketing and brand consultant, an expert,” Gorham says. “If I did not make that shift, I would have been one of the many businesses forced to close their doors.”

What emerged in that moment wasn’t a new service list—it was a new role. Entrepreneurs weren’t looking for production; they were looking for clarity.

“There was a huge rise in entrepreneurs looking for information to help them succeed,” Gorham says. “I was able to step into that need and serve it.”

That shift reshaped how Gorham thought about positioning. Rather than chasing every opportunity or trying to appeal to everyone, he doubled down on self-awareness. “One of the main principles I teach my clients is simply, ‘Believe in your genius.’”

For Gorham, owning a niche isn’t about narrowing offerings—it’s about knowing who you are and showing up consistently. “Truly owning who you are, what you offer and showing up in the most authentic way possible. When you do that, your people will find you.”

Without that clarity, businesses drift.

“It is dangerous to build a business without knowing who you are,” Gorham says. “There is no clarity in that.” Instead, companies end up reacting—taking work that doesn’t reinforce their strengths or long-term positioning. Or, as his father used to say, “throwing an arrow in the dark and hoping it hits the bullseye.”

Once clarity is established, discipline follows. Saying no becomes easier. Focus sharpens. And credibility compounds—not through marketing claims, but through consistency. “I have found it incredibly valuable to show your process,” Gorham says. Visual examples, before-and-afters, case studies and real customer reviews all play a role—but so does presence. “Simply showing your face.”

Whether through social media, a

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF THE BOARDROOM

or Lindsey Carnett, the move from execution to thought partnership didn’t come from reinvention—it came from accountability. Over the past 16 years, the CEO and President of Marketing Maven has watched the marketing landscape shift dramatically, especially as clients demanded clearer attribution and measurable impact.

“When clients asked us to report on digital attribution, correlation wasn’t enough,” Carnett says. “We needed to demonstrate with certainty that qualified leads were being driven via our marketing initiatives—not just that activity happened around the same time.”

That pressure became a turning point. Carnett and her team leaned into rigorous market research and digital benchmarking to establish a clear baseline for every engagement. “Market research was the most thorough way to benchmark the current status of everything digital for a company, including their industry and competitive landscape. It allowed us to clearly see where a business was today and what success should actually look like over time.”

From there, Marketing Maven formalized its approach into a structured methodology built on alignment, strategy, and measurement. “We wanted clients to understand that we’re in it with you,” Carnett says. “We see where your business is today, we know who your competitors are and what market share they have, we understand your business objectives, and we have a clear strategy to get from point A to point B.”

The result wasn’t just better reporting—it was trust. By grounding conversations in benchmarks and business realities, Carnett positioned her agency as a strategic partner embedded in client goals rather than a siloed marketing vendor. “This level of alignment and accountability has made Marketing Maven a true strategic partner for our clients.”

Interestingly, that partnership didn’t come from vertical

specialization. Carnett made a conscious decision to remain industry agnostic, a move she credits with both resilience and longevity. “From an economic perspective, this has allowed us longevity. Many of the marketers in the same industry have the same marketing approach. By being industry agnostic, we’re able to see the forest from the trees.”

Moving upstream also requires learning how to translate— not just data, but intent. For Carnett, executive alignment begins during onboarding. “We pop open the hood. We learn the product or technology, we’re pitched by the sales team as if we were a prospective customer and we understand what reporting the CEO, CFO and Board of Directors are consuming—and what questions they’re asking.”

That context allows Marketing Maven to bridge gaps

between marketing teams and executive leadership. “This helps us translate marketing speak, benchmarks, and ROI reporting into the same language leadership is already using,” Carnett says. “Excel spreadsheets always seem to land well with CFOs, and numbers translated into visual representation—pie charts and bar graphs—typically translate well with CEOs and boards.”

The goal isn’t complexity—it’s clarity. “If it’s too far in the weeds, there’s confusion,” Carnett says. “But if we help the CMO or creative leadership look good in front of leadership, we typically have a partner for life—no matter what organization that CMO goes to next.”

Grounding thought leadership in real outcomes is equally critical. For a long-standing tourism client, the KPI wasn’t impressions or engagement—it was “heads in beds.” That phrase, shared by the client’s board of hotel GMs, has anchored six years of reporting and strategy. “We don’t try to translate their goals into marketing speak,” Carnett says. “We use their language that they’re comfortable with and familiar with. Even if that means repeating it every month for six years. Re-emphasizing the goal is key. Using their language keeps everyone aligned.”

The shift from vendor to thought partner begins before a proof is pulled or a press is booked. When insight leads and execution follows, print becomes more than an output—it becomes evidence of strategy at work.

WHEN CLIENTS ASKED US TO REPORT ON DIGITAL ATTRIBUTION, CORRELATION WASN’T ENOUGH. WE NEEDED TO DEMONSTRATE WITH CERTAINTY THAT QUALIFIED LEADS WERE BEING DRIVEN VIA OUR MARKETING INITIATIVES.”
— LINDSEY CARNETT, CEO & PRESIDENT, MARKETING MAVEN

newsletter or a website, Gorham believes visibility signals seriousness. “Show up like an actual business. That is what separates companies that are serious from those that treat their business like a hobby. When I deal directly with my clients, you are going to get that downhome, Southern hospitality.”

That authenticity has helped him thrive in an overcrowded entrepreneurial space. “It all comes back to being yourself, believing in your genius and sharing that authentically with the world.”

Looking ahead, Gorham sees two common missteps for print and creative firms trying to move upstream. The first is resisting technology. The second is failing to stay current. “Artificial intelligence (AI) is here and it is not going anywhere. Use it as a resource. Demands are changing. You have to make sure your business can handle the printing needs being requested and that your processes consistently produce quality work.”

5 WAYS TO MOVE FROM VENDOR TO VANGUARD

01 Codify Your Genius Know who you serve and why— and protect that focus.

02 Lead with Benchmarks Show clients where they are before pitching where to go.

03 Translate ROI

Speak CFO, CEO, and boardroom language, not just marketing metrics.

04 Show the Process

Case studies, visuals, and outcomes build credibility fast.

05 Measure Everything Strategy without measurement is just opinion.

SOURCES: CLINTON GORHAM, THE GORHAM AGENCY; LINDSEY CARNETT, MARKETING MAVEN

THE AI TRUST GAP

WHAT MARKETERS NEED TO KNOW

AI ADOPTION IS EXPLODING — GOVERNANCE IS NOT

❱ 92% of organizations report using much more AI for content creation in the last year

❱ 50.4% of enterprise content now involves generative AI in some capacity

❱ 88% of leaders say their organization has an AI mandate

❱ 79% admit they are using multiple LLMs or unapproved AI tools, fragmenting governance and increasing risk

MARKETING REALITY: AI is no longer experimental. It’s embedded across the content lifecycle—but without consistent controls, brand integrity becomes fragile.

“AI CONTENT IS SCALING FASTER THAN TRUST FRAMEWORKS CAN KEEP UP.”

THE C-SUITE SIGNAL MARKETERS SHOULDN’T IGNORE

❱ 99% of C-suite leaders say dedicated content guardrails for AI-generated content would be valuable

❱ 100% of leaders agree content is critical to business success

❱ Gartner predicts 40% of CIOs will require AI “Guardian Agents” within two years

STRATEGIC IMPLICATION: AI governance is becoming a board-level issue. Marketing teams that lead here gain credibility, influence, and trust.

THE REAL RISKS BEHIND AI CONTENT WHEN ASKED WHAT CONCERNS THEM MOST ABOUT AI-GENERATED CONTENT, LEADERS RANKED:

❱ Regulatory violations — 51%

❱ IP & copyright issues — 47%

❱ Inaccurate or misleading information — 46%

❱ Brand misalignment or tone inconsistency — 41%

❱ 57% say their organization faces moderate to high risk from unsafe AI content today

❱ C-suite leaders are more likely than marketers to believe AI poses little or no risk

MARKETING TAKEAWAY: One hallucinated “fact” or off-brand message can erode years of brand equity—fast.

THE RACE TO TRUST & VALUE

THE BIG SHIFT: EXPERIMENTATION IS OVER. PROOF IS REQUIRED.

Forrester’s central thesis from their 2026 Predictions Guide: B2B Marketing, Sales, & Product is clear: B2B leaders rushed into generative AI in 2025. In 2026, buyers demand discipline, validation, and real value.

❱ Buyer empowerment is increasing

❱ Cost pressure is intensifying

❱ Skepticism toward AI-generated content is rising

❱ Trust, evidence, and human expertise are back in focus

“IN A YEAR DEFINED BY VOLATILITY, CLARITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY WILL BE YOUR GREATEST ASSETS.”

HUMAN EXPERTISE WILL RIVAL AI IN BUYER INFLUENCE

❱ In 2025, 30% of buyers viewed genAI as meaningful during final purchase decisions

❱ Only 17% said the same about interactions with product experts

❱ Forrester expects this to reverse as buyers seek:

● Validation

● Context

● Confidence in complex decisions

KEY INSIGHT: AI informs. Humans confirm.

MARKETING TEAMS MUST ELEVATE SUBJECT-MATTER EXPERTS, CUSTOMER SUCCESS LEADERS, AND TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS AS TRUST ASSETS.

You say most conversations about AI are focused on efficiency instead of literacy and understanding. What does true AI literacy look like?

If you look at the history of technology in business or education, you tend to see three camps. You’ve got the evangelists who will tinker, test, and play with every new tool. You’ve got the resisters, who aren’t really antitech—they’re anti-change. And then you’ve got the folks in the middle who sway with whichever way the wind is blowing.

Most of what we’re doing with AI right now sits at the “tips, tricks, and how-to” level. It’s like teaching people how to heat up a microwave meal. You push a few buttons, a few minutes later you’re fed, and you convince yourself, “Hey, this works.” But longterm, a diet of microwave meals isn’t healthy.

True AI literacy is teaching people how to shop for ingredients, how to cook, how the equipment works, how flavors interact, and how different methods—baking, roasting, grilling— change the outcome. Translated to AI, that means digging into acumen, fluency, bias awareness, ethics, and context. It takes more time and intentionality, but it centers agency and autonomy.

Right now, a lot of professional learning is the microwave version of AI. I’m pushing for thoughtful, sustainable, professional development that builds foundational understanding so professionals aren’t stuck when the current favorite tool disappears.

As the author of “Promises and Perils of AI in Education,” what

THE PROMISES AND PERILS OF AI IN EDUCATION

OUR CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR KEN SHELTON

Artificial intelligence has exploded into the overall landscape with equal parts promise and anxiety. The discourse is loud, but too often it skims the surface—focused on shortcuts, efficiency hacks, and the next shiny tool instead of the deeper literacy, ethics, and human-centered leadership required to use AI well. Few voices cut through that noise with more clarity and perspective than Ken Shelton.

A keynote speaker, and co-author of “The Promises and Perils of AI in Education,” Ken has spent more than two decades at the intersection of learning, technology, equity, and systems change. He challenges the “microwave meal” mentality dominating today’s AI conversations and pushes institutions toward intentional growth—where acumen, fluency, and bias awareness matter more than tips and tricks.

worries you most about the shortcut culture emerging around AI, especially for the next generation?

The promise side is real: Students and educators can develop powerful workflows, streamline some tasks, and free up time. But the peril is the unconscious overreliance that creeps in when we only operate at the tipsand-tricks level.

If your AI learning is reduced to “What’s the easiest tool?” you get comfortable with a narrow set of platforms and dependent on them. Education, as an example, has been here before: We fall in love with a tool, build everything around it, and three years later it’s gone. If you don’t have foundational skills, you’re stuck.

I think of it like literacy. When my students learned different documentary storytelling structures, it didn’t matter whether they used a phone camera, a traditional camera, or—today—an AI video generator. The medium changes, but the storytelling fundamentals are evergreen.

With AI, our job is to help people build those malleable, transferable

skills—critical thinking, ethical reasoning, understanding bias—so they can navigate whatever platforms come and go.

How do you see technology— especially AI—impacting our humanness?

You’re right to worry about that. Technology can absolutely compromise our interpersonal relationships when we’re not consciously aware of how we’re using it.

My stance is “human-centered leadership.” Before I use AI for something like personalized learning, I need to actually know the person. The relationship comes first; the tech should augment, amplify, or accelerate what we’re doing for that learner— not replace it. You can’t microwave relationships. You can use AI, but you can’t skip the work of knowing your students.

And how do we close that gap between AI policy and practice in a way that protects equity and innovation?

One of the biggest gaps is that a lot of

systems are stuck at policy, when what they really need is guidance. Policies often get distilled into binaries—do this, don’t do that.

Equity gets compromised when we flood offices with high-volume tech for low-order thinking. If the only message is “Don’t let AI write your content,” but we fail to teach people how to use it ethically, we’re not building capacity— we’re just policing behavior.

That’s why I focus on guidance and ethical leadership: asking questions like, “At what point is AI supporting your learning, and at what point is it replacing your thinking?” or “What long-term benefits am I sacrificing for this short-term gain?”

You can’t capture that in a simple policy. You build it through ongoing conversations with employees, embedded into digital citizenship, tech use, and broader learning goals.

Looking ahead three to five years, what’s your forecast for AI?

I think a lot of the AI-in-education companies you see today won’t exist. The market will consolidate, and you’ll see a reorientation back to familiar patterns.

Every time a disruptive technology appears, there’s a burst of innovation, and then things snap back toward the status quo. I reference the line from The Who: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” That’s where I think we’ll land in many places.

We’ll see more AI tools, but not necessarily a deep, systemic transformation of practice. And the equity pattern will repeat: many of the “haves” will have even more opportunity, and the “have-nots” will be further behind unless we’re intentional.

So what does that top 20% of future-ready leadership look like—the ones who don’t snap back to business as usual?

They’re mission-driven, not tool-driven.

“YOU CAN’T MICROWAVE RELATIONSHIPS. YOU CAN USE AI, BUT YOU CAN’T SKIP THE WORK OF KNOWING YOUR STUDENTS.”

They’re clear on the experiences they want learners to have and align resources, policies, and professional growth around that vision.

They also think systemically about capacity-building. For example, if teacher prep programs and graduate programs thoughtfully embed AI—ethics, equity, fluency, not just tools—you start changing the system upstream.

The leaders who prioritize innovation over fear, who see change as an opportunity rather than a threat, and who center human dignity and equity in their decisions—that’s the group that will flourish. My hope is that we can grow that group beyond 20%.

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