AI is everywhere at work, but giving people access to the tools and calling it adoption is where things start to fall apart. In this episode, Brynne and Andy dig into the three types of AI users showing up across organizations: power users, over-reliers, and avoiders, and what those behaviors reveal about how AI is actually being implemented. The bigger issue isn’t whether people are using AI. It’s whether they know where it fits into their work, where it doesn’t, and how to use it without handing over the judgment and expertise that made them good at their jobs in the first place.

Guest Bio:

Andy Eninger ⁠⁠

@Andy_Eninger⁠⁠ (Instagram)

Andy Eninger is a Speaker, Comedian, and Learning Designer. He was the Head of the Writing Program for the famed comedy theater The Second City from 2011 to 2016. He helps individuals and organizations connect to their audience and each other through immersive, customized learning programs that combine storytelling, improv philosophy, rapid ideation, and foundational communication skills. In his creative work, he creates comedy with a mission of amplifying outsider voices and connecting people.

Andy has worked with hundreds of organizations, including Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Leo Burnett, The History Channel, Cigna, State Farm, Visa, Verizon, Salesforce, SAP, Deloitte, Nike, GE, Walgreens, Merck, MetLife, Kellogg’s, and many more. His work takes him around the world to design and deliver learning programs in inclusion, collaborative leadership, executive presence, innovation, and storytelling. He was the chief designer of the curriculum for Nova Collective. For the Second City Works, he has spearheaded their learning programs in Storytelling, Selling Skills, and Diversity & Inclusion, and served on the design team for their work in Consumer Insights for brands.

He continues to write, perform, and direct, with a focus on queer comedy, satire, and improvisation. Some of his favorite projects include: Ensemble member of Chicago’s GayCo Productions for 14 sketch comedy revues; Performing in the cast of Steamworks the Musical for the Annoyance Theater; Little House on the Parody as composer and director; Director and composer of Bandgeeks! A Halftime Musical; Creator of Sybil, a solo improvisational format; Pinque Pony, his two-man sketch group with husband John Loos; and Pony Boy, director and lyrics, for the Annoyance Theater. His play “The Last Castrato” has been produced at theaters in New York, Austin, and Phoenix.

Andy holds a BS in Mass Communications and an MA in Playwriting from Miami University and studied film directing at the Academy of Drama & Film in Budapest, Hungary. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his husband and three dogs, Peggy, Pearl, and Barb from Accounting.

Most organizations have more data than they know what to do with. In this episode, Brynne, Andy, and Jaci dig into what it takes to turn all that information into actual insight. They explore the role of qualitative data, the questions organizations aren’t asking, and the line between using data to uncover a story and using it to prove one. The real value of data comes from understanding what it can tell us, putting it in context, and using that insight to make better decisions. Having the data is one thing. Knowing what to do with it is another.

Guest Bios:

Andy Eninger ⁠⁠

@Andy_Eninger⁠⁠ (Instagram)

Andy Eninger is a Speaker, Comedian, and Learning Designer. He was the Head of the Writing Program for the famed comedy theater The Second City from 2011 to 2016. He helps individuals and organizations connect to their audience and each other through immersive, customized learning programs that combine storytelling, improv philosophy, rapid ideation, and foundational communication skills. In his creative work, he creates comedy with a mission of amplifying outsider voices and connecting people.

Andy has worked with hundreds of organizations, including Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Leo Burnett, The History Channel, Cigna, State Farm, Visa, Verizon, Salesforce, SAP, Deloitte, Nike, GE, Walgreens, Merck, MetLife, Kellogg’s, and many more. His work takes him around the world to design and deliver learning programs in inclusion, collaborative leadership, executive presence, innovation, and storytelling. He was the chief designer of the curriculum for Nova Collective. For the Second City Works, he has spearheaded their learning programs in Storytelling, Selling Skills, and Diversity & Inclusion, and served on the design team for their work in Consumer Insights for brands.

He continues to write, perform, and direct, with a focus on queer comedy, satire, and improvisation. Some of his favorite projects include: Ensemble member of Chicago’s GayCo Productions for 14 sketch comedy revues; Performing in the cast of Steamworks the Musical for the Annoyance Theater; Little House on the Parody as composer and director; Director and composer of Bandgeeks! A Halftime Musical; Creator of Sybil, a solo improvisational format; Pinque Pony, his two-man sketch group with husband John Loos; and Pony Boy, director and lyrics, for the Annoyance Theater. His play “The Last Castrato” has been produced at theaters in New York, Austin, and Phoenix.

Andy holds a BS in Mass Communications and an MA in Playwriting from Miami University and studied film directing at the Academy of Drama & Film in Budapest, Hungary. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his husband and three dogs, Peggy, Pearl, and Barb from Accounting.

Jaci Devine, Ph.D.

For nearly two decades, Dr. Jaci Devine has been helping organizations understand their data and reach their partners with their unique perspective. As both a writer and researcher, Jaci is passionate about the written word and understands how to harness that power into measurable results.

Jaci specializes in strategic communication and research and measurement within organizations of all sizes. With a M.A. in Teaching, a Ph.D. in Intercultural Communication, and published work in both the fields of Communication and Adult Learning, Jaci’s approach blends culture and communication through the lens of an educator.

The professional development and culture economy is on ice, and many organizations are treating investment in their people as a non-essential amenity. Brynne, Andy, and Keilah break down the freeze: what companies say versus what they actually do, and how it feels to be the employee who was valued two years ago and suddenly is not. What is on the surface is a paused budget line. What is underneath is the relationship bill quietly adding up, the trust that erodes, and the high performers who leave when the organization is not ready to meet them. The through line is simple. How you treat people during the freeze is what they will remember, and basic human decency is the minimum viable investment when budgets are tight.

Guest Bios:

Andy Eninger ⁠⁠

@Andy_Eninger⁠⁠ (Instagram)

Andy Eninger is a Speaker, Comedian, and Learning Designer. He was the Head of the Writing Program for the famed comedy theater The Second City from 2011 to 2016. He helps individuals and organizations connect to their audience and each other through immersive, customized learning programs that combine storytelling, improv philosophy, rapid ideation, and foundational communication skills. In his creative work, he creates comedy with a mission of amplifying outsider voices and connecting people.

Andy has worked with hundreds of organizations, including Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Leo Burnett, The History Channel, Cigna, State Farm, Visa, Verizon, Salesforce, SAP, Deloitte, Nike, GE, Walgreens, Merck, MetLife, Kellogg’s, and many more. His work takes him around the world to design and deliver learning programs in inclusion, collaborative leadership, executive presence, innovation, and storytelling. He was the chief designer of the curriculum for Nova Collective. For the Second City Works, he has spearheaded their learning programs in Storytelling, Selling Skills, and Diversity & Inclusion, and served on the design team for their work in Consumer Insights for brands.

He continues to write, perform, and direct, with a focus on queer comedy, satire, and improvisation. Some of his favorite projects include: Ensemble member of Chicago’s GayCo Productions for 14 sketch comedy revues; Performing in the cast of Steamworks the Musical for the Annoyance Theater; Little House on the Parody as composer and director; Director and composer of Bandgeeks! A Halftime Musical; Creator of Sybil, a solo improvisational format; Pinque Pony, his two-man sketch group with husband John Loos; and Pony Boy, director and lyrics, for the Annoyance Theater. His play “The Last Castrato” has been produced at theaters in New York, Austin, and Phoenix.

Andy holds a BS in Mass Communications and an MA in Playwriting from Miami University and studied film directing at the Academy of Drama & Film in Budapest, Hungary. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his husband and two dogs, Pearl and Barb from Accounting.

Keilah Shanahan

Keilah (Johnson) Shanahan is a strategist and facilitator who currently serves as Senior Director of Organizational Culture at a Chicago institution where she leads culture, belonging, and organizational development work. Before that, she spent three years as Strategy Lead at The Nova Collective, designing curriculum and coaching executive teams on building inclusive, high-functioning cultures across more than 35 clients. She holds a master's in Higher Education Administration from Indiana University Bloomington and a bachelor's in Communication and Political Science from Saint Louis University, and she stays active in Chicago's civic and nonprofit leadership community.