KEY TAKEAWAYS (an AI-Output with Hallucinations)

ai TOOLS THAT SHAWN USES:

• Lovable - Build any app with agentic reasoning

• Emergent - Build any app

• Manus - Most comprehensive AI agent in my opinion

• OpenAI’s Deep Research - Absolutely the best research tool out there right now

• Lindy - Build an AI agent - great for AI automation

• Google AI Studio - Real-time AI co-presence

• Perplexity - Instead of Googling (I like it because it gives you the sources)

• v0 by Vercel - Text-to-Webpage

• Claude 3.7 Sonnet - Feed data into Claude multi-model trend analysis, code, prototypes and gap identification

• HeyGen - AI Video Avatar

• Midjourney - Pictures and graphics (Much better than DALL-E)

• Clay - AI Outbound Sales | Generating lists of emails and sending cold outreach

• Figjam - Whiteboarding Ideas | Brainstorming | Organizing

• Iris.ai or Consensus.app - for Al-powered research exploration

• NotebookLM - Two AI podcast hosts dissecting my keynote

• Runway - Text to Video

• Replit - Idea-to-App

1. The Ocean Economy is the “Hidden Hot-Zone”

The world’s coolest tech stories aren’t happening in Silicon Valley—they’re happening offshore. Autonomous vessels cut through Atlantic fog, gamers convert their joystick reflexes into virtual-simulation expertise, and kelp becomes the new collagen in seaweed skincare. Yet the sector barely registers on most people’s radar. Your advantage? Operate where the spotlight isn’t—before it swings your way.

2. Your Job Isn’t to List Opportunities—It’s to Trigger Bold Questions

Checklists feel safe, but they rarely spark revolutions. Instead of supplying answers, flood the room with “What if…?” questions that force people to redraw the map: What if lobster-roll R&D becomes a biotech breakthrough? What if fishermen become data scientists? Questions pull organizations into uncomfortable, opportunity-rich territory where playbooks don’t yet exist.

3. AI 1.0 (Content) Is Yesterday; AI 2.0 (Autonomous Action) Starts Now

2023 was the year of draft-anything chatbots; 2025 is the year of do-anything agents. Picture an RFP-hunting bot that not only finds ocean-tech proposals, but auto-builds a Netflix-style learning portal to win them. Shift your mindset from “How can AI help me write?” to “How can AI finish the project while I sleep?”

4. Super-Intelligence Without Boldness = Untapped Potential

AI already delivers “a thousand-page report in a single prompt.” But insight alone doesn’t ship products, close deals, or change culture. Boldness does. The delta between companies isn’t IQ—everyone rents that from the cloud; it’s the courage to act on imperfect data and accept public imperfection.

5. Work Scared Until You Become Dangerous

Fear is the tuition fee for mastery. The sooner you pay it—by experimenting in public, automating a sliver of your workflow, or launching an AI side-project—the faster intimidation turns into instinct. Proficiency is on the far side of embarrassment.

6. Status, Not Purpose Posters, Attracts Next-Gen Talent

Gen Z doesn’t want a resume line; they want a status upgrade: freedom, admiration, ownership. Show them that ocean careers deliver tangible clout—owning land-based algae farms, commanding autonomous fleets, or shaping global climate policy. If they can brag about it on TikTok, they’ll line up.

7. Caring Deeply Is the Ultimate Strategy

The Dubai hotel that phoned—and knocked—to ensure a guest’s wake-up call reveals a hidden algorithm: When leaders invest personal care, employees return obsessive excellence. Parent-appreciation weekends, genuine thank-yous, micro-bonuses—small gestures cascade into legendary service and magnetic culture.

8. Ambition = People Commitment × Failure Permission

Ambition flourishes where employees feel safe to flub prototypes and still get a high-five. Pair radical support (coaching, flexibility, visibility) with explicit “fail-cheap, fail-fast” warranties. The formula converts average contributors into moon-shot jockeys.

9. Strategy Is Energy, Not Slides

A strategy without kinetic buzz is just a PDF. Ignite teams with a visceral narrative: the 5× ocean-economy moonshot, the 2035 deadline, the personal stake for every coder, sailor, or scientist. If people don’t feel their pulse quicken, rewrite it.

10. To Reach 5×, You Can’t Think 5 % Bigger—You Have to Go to Zero

Take any core process—finance approvals, R&D cycles, vessel maintenance—and ask: If we rebuilt this from scratch with today’s tech, what vanishes? What automates? What now demands more human warmth? Going “to zero” prevents incrementalism from smothering breakthroughs.

11. The Most Dangerous Person in the Room

It’s not the algorithm or the credentialed expert—it’s the individual who feels the fear, yet moves anyway. Bold + scared beats brilliant + stuck. Be that person, hire that person, partner with that person, and the future tips in your favor.