Throughout 2025, I’ve been thinking about how this moment we’re in (this wild, crazy, fast-moving AI era) feels a lot like 2020 all over again.
Remember the early days of COVID?
Nobody really knew what was coming next. Every day brought new headlines, new fears, and new rules. We were trying to lead our teams, protect our families, and just keep the wheels on, all at the same time.
That period forced all of us to adapt overnight. We taught our clients and ourselves. Together, we learned how to use new tools. We helped a lot of companies reimagined how they worked.
And honestly, we learned what we were made of.
It was uncomfortable as hell, but it made us better.
Now here we are again, standing in the middle of another massive shift.
This time, it’s not a virus. It’s technology.
AI is moving faster than anything we’ve ever seen. It’s exciting, yeah, but it’s also providing me a lot of uncertainty (and anxiety for that matter).
And I know a lot of leaders are quietly asking themselves, “What does this mean for me? For my job? For my company?”
That’s real. That’s normal. But here’s the thing: this moment is no different from 2020 in one key way. We have to learn our way through it.
Back during COVID, we got physically disconnected. We lost the day-to-day, in-person energy. If you went into the office on the daily, the watercooler chats, the spontaneous ideas, the human part of business stopped. Those driveway chats (and drinks) were fun, but they just didn't cut it from a business perspective.
Now, in the AI era, we risk something different. Emotional disconnection.
We’re all chasing automation, speed, and “efficiency,” but if we’re not careful, we lose the human side of what we do, what we publish, how we sell, how we service. The side that actually builds trust, creativity, and results.
I see it every day. AI and HubSpot can help us do incredible things, but it can’t replace the connection that happens when we listen, when we collaborate, when we show up for each other. We need each other more now than ever.
We can’t let the convenience of technology replace the intentionality of connection.
That’s the real leadership challenge right now. Not “how do we use AI,” but how do we lead people through it, and make sure they come out stronger, smarter, and still grounded in what matters most. Taking it a step further, how does TMC as an agency come out stronger, smarter, and provide greater value than we ever have?
Leading through disruption is messy. It’s hard. But that's leadership: showing up when things don’t have a clear playbook.
I remember during the pandemic, there were no 'right' answers. Just decisions we had to make with the information we had that day.
And I feel that again now.
AI is rewriting the rules in real time. Some days, it feels like we’re all figuring it out on the fly, because we are.
But I also believe this: leadership isn’t about having every answer. It’s about guiding people through the fog, helping them learn to adapt, and keeping them focused on growth, both personally and professionally.
That's exactly what I am committed to doing. And it's what TMC is committed to as well. We’re not pretending that AI is not reshaping our agency's services. We’re learning it, using it, and evolving with it, together.
Change is uncomfortable. Always has been. But the companies and the people who win long-term are the ones who lean into it.
It’s the next test of how willing we are to stay curious, keep learning, and grow beyond what we’ve always done. As I have been saying year after year at TMC, "next year will look completely different than the past year". Never have I felt so strongly about this.
Me? I'm betting on MY people.
I'm betting on human growth and connection. And, of course, technology makes us sharper, but it is our relationships, creativity, and purpose that truly set us apart.
Because that’s the part that can’t be automated.
When COVID hit, we all had to figure out new ways to lead, connect, and survive.
And somehow, we came out on the other side stronger as people, as teams, and as businesses.
Now we’re being tested again.
So my question to other leaders is this:
How are you helping your people adapt, stay connected, and find purpose in all this change?
Because just like during COVID, this isn’t about getting through it. It’s about growing through it.
And if we do it right, we’ll reach the other side more emotionally connected in business and in life.