The room buzzed with possibility at the Great Lakes AI Conference, held on the beautiful campus of Bowling Green State University and that energy sparked a message leaders need right now: the fastest way to harness AI is to slow down, listen, and design it around your people. We, at AI23, call this shift the Potential Era—a move from rigid processes to adaptive systems where humans and AI partner to amplify judgment, creativity, and speed.

I share the story of AI23 that chose research and learning over rushing products, and why that discipline builds better instincts for real-world impact. We map a pragmatic path for executives and operators: clarify outcomes, observe how great work actually happens, co-design pilots with domain experts, and scale what sticks. Instead of jamming shiny tools into fragile processes, we focus on culture, shared literacy, and human-in-the-loop guardrails that protect quality and trust.

You’ll hear how leaders can signal courage and curiosity, how to avoid the trap of complexity theater, and where to start with narrow, high-friction workflows that benefit most from augmentation. We get practical about metrics—cycle time, error rates, employee sentiment, and customer value—and about building cross-functional squads that bring legal, data, and frontline operators together from day one. The result is a workplace where people do more of what only humans can do, while AI carries the repetitive load that kept their best ideas stuck.

If you’re a CEO, team lead, or builder wondering how to bring AI in without breaking what already works, this conversation offers a clear blueprint and a cultural north star. Subscribe, share with a colleague who’s wrestling with AI adoption, and leave a review with the one change you’ll make this quarter. What’s your first step into the Potential Era?

If you’ve felt the ground shifting under your feet, you’re not imagining it—the rules of building and leading organizations are changing in real time. In this episode, we sit down with strategist and organizational architect Erica Ishida and human performance coach Ellen Palmer to explore what it takes to design truly adaptive organizations—where humans and AI collaborate to unlock dormant potential.

We trade top-down hierarchy for living networks, and the obsession with efficiency for efficacy—solving real problems, discovering new opportunities, and measuring value beyond tasks. Erica breaks down the grounding principles that replace the myth of a universal roadmap: build radical trust, design for bi-directional learning, redefine value as potential realized, and treat AI as adaptive intelligence—a partner in navigating messy systems.

Ellen brings the human foundation into sharp focus: regulated nervous systems, quality sleep, presence, and healthy device boundaries aren’t indulgences—they’re the infrastructure for better decisions, clearer thinking, and sustainable performance.

Together, we explore the hard truth about leaders who refuse to evolve (irrelevance is inevitable) and why magnetic cultures attract top talent by honoring creativity, calm, and contribution. You’ll also hear candid personal stories: Ellen’s forced slowdown after injury that clarified her priorities, and Erica’s courageous pivot from corporate executive to founder, guided by love, trust, and inner wisdom.

Walk away with practical starting points—set a new commitment, protect restorative rituals, reorient around trust and learning, and partner deeply with AI—so you can shift from survival to potential and build teams that are both humane and high-performing.

If this conversation sparks a rethink, share it with a leader who needs it, hit Follow to catch future episodes, and leave a review with the principle you’ll adopt first.

A single rushed request turned into a turning point. Jessica Smith—Deputy Chief of Business Development at The Connection—shares how a quick AI-assisted draft became a signed training contract and reshaped her team’s approach to creativity, analytics, and everyday operations. We walk through the human-first playbook she’s built inside a large nonprofit serving reentry, housing, behavioral health, and shelter programs—where ethics and guardrails matter as much as speed.

We dig into what “human in the loop” actually looks like: coaching AI like a new colleague, checking its work, and using it for first passes that free people for deeper thinking. Jessica explains why bans backfire, how to set practical policies for HIPAA and confidentiality, and where AI gives immediate lift—meeting agendas, minutes, brainstorming lists, catalog taxonomy across 600 courses, and automated performance summaries. The secret isn’t magic prompts; it’s a mindset of curiosity, clear examples of “good,” and small wins that stack into culture change.

You’ll hear candid stories of missteps, fast pivots, and the difference between generic content and work that reflects your voice and standards. We talk about agility in policy (because six months can make your rules obsolete), how to create safe forums for sharing use cases, and why the cost of waiting now exceeds the cost of careful experimentation. If you’ve felt overwhelmed or skeptical, consider this your practical onramp—treat AI like an assistant you’re onboarding, start with low-risk tasks, and build from there. Enjoy the conversation, then tell us: what’s the first task you’ll offload to AI today?

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