What if the expertise that makes your company valuable today could be replicated—or even surpassed—by AI within a year?

If you're running or leading a business, you're already feeling the pressure: AI disruption is moving faster than your operating model can adapt. This episode helps you understand why the ground is shifting so quickly, what it means for the expertise inside your organization, and how you can stay ahead instead of getting blindsided by competitors who adopt AI more strategically and more rapidly.

You'll walk away with clarity on:

• How AI is lowering the cost of expertise—and what that means for your competitive advantage.

• A practical way to rethink your business and operating model so you can adopt AI at an exponential pace, not a linear one.

• How to help your team embrace AI without fear by understanding new working modes like centaurs, cyborgs, and self-automators.

Hit play now to learn the specific mindset and moves CEOs are using to turn AI disruption into a strategic edge.

Check out:

This is where Karim explains the surprising path from crowdsourcing and NASA experiments to machine-learning breakthroughs—and why those early signals showed him AI would reshape business, not just technology.

A must-hear moment. Karim explains why AI isn't just another tool—it fundamentally changes what expertise means within a company — and why CEOs need to view their business as a "bundle of expertise" being rewired.

This section introduces centaurs, cyborgs, and self-automators—and what these modes reveal about adoption, resistance, identity, and where value will come from as AI accelerates.

About Dr. Karim Lakhani

Karim R. Lakhani is the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He specializes in technology management, innovation, digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI). His innovation-related research is centered around his role as the founder and co-director of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard and as the principal investigator of the NASA Tournament Laboratory. Karim is known for his original scholarship on open source communities and innovation contests and has pioneered the use of field experiments to help solve innovation-related challenges while simultaneously generating rigorous research in partnership with organizations like NASA, Harvard Medical School, The Broad Institute, TopCoder, The Linux Foundation and various private organizations. His digital transformation research investigates the role of analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) in reshaping business and operating models. This research is complemented through his leadership as co-founder and chair of the The Digital, Data, and Design (D^3) Institute at Harvard and as co-founder and co-chair of the Harvard Business Analytics Program, a university-wide online program transforming mid-career executives into data-savvy leaders.

Ever feel like you want to embrace AI, but it is moving so fast? What you just learned is already outdated—and you're worried your competitors might be pulling ahead while you're still figuring it out?

This episode is basically a reality check for you as a leader: AI isn't a "someday" thing anymore. It's here, it's democratized, and it's about to split industries into the "haves" who use it to accelerate growth and the "have-nots" who get left behind. If you're trying to grow a mid-to-large company, keep your team relevant, and avoid getting blindsided by tools your people are already experimenting with, this conversation meets you right where you are. You'll hear why AI-first thinking isn't hype—it's how you protect your business and unlock more creativity, speed, and capacity across every function.

By listening, you'll walk away with:

• A clear, CEO-level way to think about AI as a multiplier, not just an efficiency tool—so you can free your team from the mundane and push more energy into innovation and growth.

• Practical guidance on adopting AI without freezing up, including how to handle the very real fear of job disruption by leveling up faster instead of resisting change.

• Concrete, cross-functional use cases you can copy immediately, from smarter customer and HR communications to rapid code generation, finance/M&A insight spotting, legal review, and hiring support—plus the "hybrid model" mindset to keep humans in the loop where it matters.

Hit play now and steal these AI-first leadership moves so you can get ahead of the curve this quarter—not six months from now when the gap is harder to close.

Check out:

• 04:30 — "AI will split the world into haves and have-nots"
  Jim tees up the urgency, and Eric immediately reinforces that this divide is coming in months, not years.

• 12:00 — "AI as the 5th tectonic tech shift + democratization"
  Eric walks through the internet → PC → web → iPhone → GenAI progression, and why democratized access changes everything for CEOs.

• 27:30 — "AI-first mindset + real business use cases (HR, finance, legal, hiring)"
  The conversation shifts into practical deployment: AI-first workflows, hybrid human+AI supervision, and concrete examples like HR response automation, M&A insight spotting, and interview-transcript evaluation.

About Eric Vaughan

Eric Vaughan is a globally sought-after speaker and pioneer of AI-driven digital clones, leading IgniteTech's AI-first transformation and reinventing products, services and the workforce while shaping the future of enterprise AI. He's known for launching two innovative AI products in just ten months and steering the high-profile acquisition of Khoros. Eric founded and led three successful software companies and managed over 50 major M&A deals. He's also a regular writer, tech educator and passionate runner who has completed 50 marathons and more than 50 ultramarathons.

Ever feel like your "new product" ideas stall out — not because they're bad, but because the team can't stay aligned long enough to bring them to life?

If you're trying to grow in a world of constant AI disruption, you can't afford ideation that dies in committee or teams that melt down under pressure. This episode hits the real blocker most CEOs run into: brilliant people get promoted, but nobody ever taught them how to lead, think clearly under stress, or build a team that can take an idea from "interesting" to "in market." You'll hear how misdefined problems, ego-driven leadership habits, and check-the-box people programs quietly slow your growth — and what to do instead.

• A practical way to spot why ideas aren't turning into products (hint: it's usually a problem-definition gap, not a talent gap).

• A clearer read on your own leadership wiring — what's hardwired, what's learned, and how that mix impacts trust, communication, and execution.

• Simple, high-leverage moves to elevate your team's thinking so you can stop living in the tactical weeds and lead more strategically.

Hit play now and steal Curtis Sprouses' tools for sharpening your team (and your own leadership) so your next big idea actually makes it to market — with fewer headaches and better results.

Check out:

06:30 — The perfectionist founder example + why EQ can cap your growth
Curtis walks through the real profile of a biotech CEO (high dominance, extreme perfectionism, low emotional intelligence) and shows how that combo derails fundraising, trust, and team performance — even when talent is off the charts.

18:45 — "Do you want to be remembered as the leader who grew people… or the one everyone avoided?"
Curtis shares a sharp coaching story about a long-tenured exec who'd been rewarded for harsh habits for decades — and the one reframing that finally got him to shift how he led (with ripple effects at work and home).

28:00 — The #1 fatal flaw: CEOs define the problem wrong
Curtis explains the "pressure vs. problem" distinction and gives a quick diagnostic (person vs. process vs. resources vs. priorities). This is the core "aha" for why teams spin and boards get frustrated.

About Curtis Sprouse

Curtis Sprouse is the founder of EurekaConnect and the Institute for Biomedical Entrepreneurship (IBE), where he helps leaders and teams outperform through strategic behavioral programs. With over 5,000 professionals coached and 200+ biomedical innovations advanced, Curtis specializes in turning science and technology into viable, impactful ventures. His programs have helped companies raise tens of millions in capital and bring real products to market. Curtis speaks on leadership, team building, personal development, and the future of business and society.