Jim questions

From: Beilstein, Jim <Jim.Beilstein@owenscorning.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2025 8:45 PM
To: mikecarroll1522@comcast.net <mikecarroll1522@comcast.net>
Subject: RE: Test this one for me

Mike,

I am now the one humbled by your prose! Not sure I need all that callout, but I appreciate how I’ve impacted the line of thinking. I think in the end, it goes back to what we started in Chicago…. Not only do you need to leverage G2 technology to stay ahead, BUT you really need to work on your questioning ability. My experience, the best leaders – dare I say even the great leaders, know how to ask very different questions than anybody else in their space. Whether challenging performance, solving problems, or challenging the market-based thinking, great leaders have an inane curiosity that leads to game changing questions. Asking great questions, drives deeper thinking, and hence better solutions and operating frameworks. This is something my good friend and colleague, Jose Mendez-Andino (Owens Corning’s Chief Innovation Office) and I have been asking for years – “how do we build teams that ask amazing questions?” Where we’ve done that, we see step-changing results.

Love being part of your inner circle of thinking on this! You continue to stretch my thinking and questioning as well.

BTW – I shared your “Second Place” article with my operations team and the Operations Leadership Council this weekend, and the thinking it is sparking is going to be very helpful in our transformation journey – thanks for putting those thoughts on paper as well!

All the best, Jim

From: mikecarroll1522@comcast.net <mikecarroll1522@comcast.net> Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2025 2:34 PM
To: Beilstein, Jim <Jim.Beilstein@owenscorning.com>
Subject: Re: Test this one for me

This is the one I need to publish next

From: Beilstein, Jim <Jim.Beilstein@owenscorning.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2025 10:23 AM
To: mikecarroll1522@comcast.net <mikecarroll1522@comcast.net>
Cc: Beilstein, Jim <Jim.Beilstein@owenscorning.com>
Subject: RE: Test this one for me

Mike,

I liked the article. It helped me get more grounded on your thinking between G1 and G2 AI, which makes a lot of sense.

I was reflecting and then read some of the comments that Karp made to CNBC this week and I think he is saying the same thing. G1 AI is bringing the first step… the kind of data contextualization you need to then take the next leap to G2 AI. I think it is most definitely harder to quantify the value of G1 AI, but is it not somewhat necessary as a structural step, if not a learning step on the curve to AI for most companies? I am thinking of our COO Council here… most industrial companies are struggling with getting their toes in G1 AI (and I am thinking beyond Copilot here – basic structural stuff that helps you understand your data and learn your path to causation and contextualization), because of fear of failure maybe… or lack of understanding. So, while I agree, the richer impact is in G2, many will need to still do G1 to get to G2, if nothing more to learn on how to structure their G2. At least that’s how I was thinking about it after reading your article.

Could there be more failure and frustration going from zero to G2 AI, if you don’t understand the basics you learn in G1? I think at OC, we had to learn a bit with G1 first. Test the cultural and technical barriers and then start moving to our Agentic strategy. Even though we had an AGI strategy (that you helped us think about immensely), I am not sure we would have been successful with a big jump. That’s what I am kind of reading between the lines in Karp’s comments.

Great piece once again though!

Best – Jim

From: mikecarroll1522@comcast.net <mikecarroll1522@comcast.net> Sent: Friday, November 14, 2025 8:15 AM
To: Beilstein, Jim <Jim.Beilstein@owenscorning.com>; beilstein.jim@gmail.com
Subject: Test this one for me