Everyone’s talking about innovation — but why do so few professional services organizations make change that is meaningful and lasting?On this episode of Educated Spaghetti: Marketing Ideas That Stick, innovation expert Lani Beer joins Lise Anne Schwartz to unravel why the biggest challenge isn’t coming up with ideas but building a true culture of innovation.Lani shares lessons from 20 years of transformation work in law, banking, insurance and more. Highlights include:

• Why “innovation theater” is everywhere, but real outcomes are rare
• Which human factors make or break AI, technology and change efforts
• How to prove the ROI of innovation to clients and internal audiences

Resources and Mentions

• Tiny Experiments, by Anne-Laure Le Cunff (see also the Ness Labs Newsletter: https://nesslabs.com/newsletter)
• The Coaching Habit, by Michael Bungay Stanier
• One Useful Thing Substack, by Ethan Mollick (https://www.oneusefulthing.org)
• Section School — AI literacy for business leaders (https://www.sectionai.com/courses)
• The Donella Meadows Project (https://donellameadows.org)

Connect with Lani on LinkedIn

Connect with Lise Anne on LinkedIn

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About the Host: Lise Anne Schwartz is an experienced brand strategist and writer known for creating authentic, original work that audiences remember. With 20 years in professional services marketing, she brings a unique blend of perspectives as a former lawyer, journalist, copywriter, and pastry chef. Her strong focus on storytelling and user-driven communications, combined with skills in surfacing key insights from stakeholder and audience interviews, makes her exceptional at bringing complex ideas to life. Having conducted over 100 buyer interviews and earned degrees from Northwestern University and Columbia Law School, Lise Anne regularly writes on professional marketing topics.

About Right Hat: Right Hat is a marketing and design partner driven by curiosity, courage, and optimism to help clients take their communications to new heights. Specializing in communicating the value of complex, intangible offerings like professional services, education, and tech solutions, they serve as brand strategists, website designers, creators of sales tools, and extensions of in-house teams. Through deep industry knowledge and determination to push past the ordinary, Right Hat combines design, content, and digital strategies to bring powerful brands to life with fresh ideas that help clients stand out in crowded markets.

What if the key to stronger client relationships is simply... listening?

On this episode of Educated Spaghetti: Marketing Ideas That Stick, Tara Weintritt of Wicker Park Group joins Lise Anne Schwartz to explore why clients love giving feedback and how to set up feedback projects for success.

Website: https://wickerparkgroup.com/
Email: tara@wpgadvisory.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraweintritt/

Authenticity and uniqueness are crucial in professional services marketing, where the relationship is key to what you are selling. In this episode, Lise Anne Schwartz welcomes Allison Shapira, author of AI for the Authentic Leader, to share tools and strategies for using AI in communications while maintaining a distinct, human voice. They discuss custom chatbots, the journey through Allison’s Authenticity Loop and their shared love for the beleaguered em-dash.

In this episode:

• (00:00) The authenticity paradox: why AI-generated content loses trust
• (02:49) Why LinkedIn posts are starting to sound the same
• (08:21) The AI Authenticity Loop: a five-step framework for staying grounded
• (12:37) Using AI to show up as your best self in difficult conversations
• (15:48) Building custom chatbots aligned with firm values and individual voices
• (29:21) The secret sauce to authentic communication

Lise Anne Schwartz is an experienced brand strategist and writer known for creating authentic, original work that audiences remember. With 20 years in professional services marketing, she brings a unique blend of perspectives as a former lawyer, journalist, copywriter, and pastry chef. Her strong focus on storytelling and user-driven communications, combined with skills in surfacing key insights from stakeholder and audience interviews, makes her exceptional at bringing complex ideas to life. Having conducted over 100 buyer interviews and earned degrees from Northwestern University and Columbia Law School, Lise Anne regularly writes on professional marketing topics.

About Right Hat

Right Hat is a marketing and design partner driven by curiosity, courage, and optimism to help clients take their communications to new heights. Specializing in communicating the value of complex, intangible offerings like professional services, education, and tech solutions, they serve as brand strategists, website designers, creators of sales tools, and extensions of in-house teams. Through deep industry knowledge and determination to push past the ordinary, Right Hat combines design, content, and digital strategies to bring powerful brands to life with fresh ideas that help clients stand out in crowded markets.

Website: https://allisonshapira.com/ai-for-the-authentic-leader/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonshapira

Lise Anne Schwartz LinkedIn
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