Why Do Enterprise AI Rollouts Keep Failing? with Rob Lion

We think of AI as digital — but can it run a real, physical oil field? Jonathan Green talks with John Hooker of Statistics & Control about AI in high-stakes industrial operations: where automation genuinely helps, where you still need a human who knows the process, and what "half robot, half person" operations actually look like. Key Takeaways: • In high-security, high-production environments, AI augments — it doesn't replace the expert • You still need someone who deeply knows the process to supervise the automation • The future is "half robot, half person" — humans and AI running operations together • Real-world signals (fuel flow, water, pressures) are where AI earns its keep • "Adopt AI" means knowing exactly what to hand it and what to keep human Notable Quotes: "It's almost like it's half robot, half person." — John Hooker "You need somebody who's very familiar with that process." — John Hooker Connect with John Hooker: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndhooker Company: Statistics & Control Inc (West Des Moines, IA) Website: https://stctrl.com/ Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with someone in industrial operations.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

Everyone was told to adopt AI, tried it, got burned — so why do enterprise AI rollouts keep failing? Jonathan Green talks with organizational strategist Rob Lion about the real reasons big AI initiatives miss: unrealistic expectations set by the hype, skipping change management, and the employee mindset of "make my job easier, but not so easy that I'm replaceable." Key Takeaways: • Most enterprise AI failures are change-management failures, not tech failures • The "promise of the commercials" sets expectations the rollout can't meet • If you skip how you roll it out, you bypass the most common path to success • Employees quietly resist: "make my job easier — but not so easy I'm replaceable" • Teach people the why and the workflow, not just "what's an LLM" Notable Quotes: "Make my job easier — but not so easy that I'm replaceable." — Rob Lion "When someone doesn't know what direction they're heading, the rollout's already in trouble." — Rob Lion Connect with Rob Lion: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertlion Website: https://blackriverpm.com Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with a leader rolling out AI.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

Can AI fix what's broken inside pharma — or is it too high-stakes and too guarded to let AI in? Jonathan Green talks with pharmaceutical expert Wendy Rockwell about the realities of bringing AI into one of the most regulated, security-conscious industries on earth: million-dollar legacy systems, painfully long buying cycles, and the trust problem when AI gives you two different answers to the same question. Key Takeaways: • Pharma is high-stakes — a wrong answer isn't an inconvenience, it's a risk • Legacy systems cost millions and fragment across regions, making AI adoption hard • AI's inconsistency (same question, different answers) is a real blocker in regulated work • The industry is extremely guarded — security and internet restrictions slow everything • Long buying cycles mean AI has to prove itself before it gets in the door Notable Quotes: "You can ask the same question twice and get two different answers." — Wendy Rockwell "We're really, really, really guarded." — Wendy Rockwell Connect with Wendy Rockwell: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-rockwellmba Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with someone in healthcare or pharma.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

Most business problems are misdiagnosed. Jonathan Green talks with operations and leadership consultant Jon Bassford about how to actually diagnose your organization — from management style to culture to broken systems — why the same idea gets ignored from the inside but embraced from an outside voice, and how to bring AI into a company without triggering fear or negativity. Key Takeaways: • Diagnose the whole organization — management style, operations, culture — not just the symptoms • The same idea is dismissed internally but embraced from an outside consultant; use that dynamic • Help leaders vet ideas and make decisions — don't just hand them more options • Introduce AI into the organization gradually (start in meetings, build comfort) • Don't let the team sink into negativity about AI — lead them through it Notable Quotes: "It's everything from our management style down to the smallest systems." — Jon Bassford "Someone brought the exact same idea from outside — and suddenly it landed." — Jon Bassford Connect with Jon Bassford: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbassford Website: https://think-lateral.com Personal: https://johnbassford.com Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with a leader fixing their organization.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

Can AI help your business stand out — or does it just make everyone sound the same? Jonathan Green talks with Josh Lowman, founder of category-design studio Goldfront, about creating real categorical differentiation, going all-in on AI without gutting your team, and why human feeling is the one thing the machines can't fake. Key Takeaways: • Don't differentiate incrementally ("faster, more features") — create a real category • Being first in a category (or obsessively serving one customer) makes you irreplaceable • You can adopt AI without gutting your team — give everyone their own agent and protect jobs while revenue holds • AI drives a "race to similarity" (AI slop); human feeling is the differentiator • Automate the functional "money" work; keep the human "love" work — that's what customers won't pay a robot for Notable Quotes: "The real way to differentiate and persuade another human being is to show them that you feel something." — Josh Lowman "If we keep revenue flat, no one is getting laid off — that's my promise to you." — Josh Lowman Connect with Josh Lowman: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshlowman Website: https://goldfront.com Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with a founder trying to stand out.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

What does AI actually change in heavy industry? Jonathan Green talks with Rick Carlisle — a lifelong technologist who started coding in COBOL — about AI in IT and the oil fields: using AI to add layers of safety rather than replace them, catching patterns in alarm and monitoring data, and why the data-center boom is even reviving nuclear power. Key Takeaways: • Use AI to add layers of safety — don't trade existing safety for efficiency • AI shines at spotting patterns in alarm/monitoring data that humans miss • The data-center power demand is reviving nuclear • AI's real value is augmentation and speed, not replacing proven systems • "Artificial" is a label — the underlying reality (and the safety stakes) hasn't changed Notable Quotes: "We throw the term 'artificial' on it, but the biology hasn't changed." — Rick Carlisle "I'd rather use AI to add more layers of safety than to replace the existing layers." — Jonathan Green Connect with Rick Carlisle: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickcde Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with someone in IT or heavy industry.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

Is AI quietly erasing the hands-on knowledge that keeps our infrastructure running? Jonathan Green talks with Keith Schafer — part of multiple generations in critical power and engine infrastructure — about what happens when we over-trust AI, why "artificial intelligence" isn't truly intelligent, and how the expertise powering the coming wave of AI data centers is the very knowledge we're at risk of losing. Key Takeaways: • Over-relying on AI erodes hard-won institutional knowledge and hands-on troubleshooting instincts • "AI" isn't truly intelligent — blindly trusting it (like following GPS off the road) is dangerous in the physical world • The infrastructure powering AI data centers depends on expertise that's quietly disappearing • Safety and reliability come first — some systems simply have to run (engines at 20 below) • Capture multi-generational knowledge before it walks out the door Notable Quotes: "The first time I used GPS, it told me to drive off [the road]." — Keith Schafer "As cool as it is, it's not truly artificial intelligence." — Keith Schafer Connect with Keith Schafer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-w-schafer-19833a22 Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with someone who keeps the lights on.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

We think of AI as living in the cloud — but it runs on physical chips, factories, and supply chains that break in the real world. Jonathan Green talks with supply-chain expert Mohannad Gomaa about the logistics of AI: why modern supply chains are dangerously brittle, how AI helps spot trends and de-risk sourcing, and why resilience — not just efficiency — is the strategy that matters now. Key Takeaways: • Modern supply chains are brittle — the tiniest disruption can cascade into shortages • AI helps you spot trends and decide where (and from whom) to source • Forecasting that stops at volume level leads to costly misallocation • Diversify your supplier portfolio; don't optimize purely for cost • Resilience, not just efficiency, is the supply-chain strategy for the AI era Notable Quotes: "Supply chain models are very brittle to the tiniest disruption." — Mohannad Gomaa "It's that resilience part — one of your supply chain strategies — that's what really matters." — Mohannad Gomaa Connect with Mohannad Gomaa: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohannadhazemgomaa Website: https://mgostrategy.com/ Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with someone running operations or a supply chain.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

Is AI making the job market better or worse? Jonathan Green talks with executive job-search expert and Army veteran Dante Crowther about breaking through a market where hundreds apply for every role — why AI screening can filter out the best candidate, why human connection still wins, and how to bet on yourself when the algorithms are stacked against you. Key Takeaways: • The problem isn't too few jobs — it's the signal-to-noise of too many applicants per role • AI hiring filters can screen out the most qualified person because they read keywords, not people • The nonverbals and judgment that land jobs are exactly what AI can't replicate • Networking is the edge — most real opportunities come from human connection, not applications • Bet on yourself: your time and what you offer are more valuable than you think Notable Quotes: "Good luck insulting me — I'm a salesman, I'll sit down and talk with anyone." — Dante Crowther "If you believe what you have to offer is that valuable, you should bet on yourself." — Dante Crowther Connect with Dante Crowther: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dante-crowther Website: https://executivejobsearch.net/ Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with someone navigating the job market.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast 

Is AI making us better networkers — or quietly killing the human skills that make networking work? Jonathan Green sits down with networking expert and author Larry Kaufman on using AI to deepen real relationships instead of replacing them: researching people before you meet them, remembering what they care about, and leading with generosity instead of a pitch. Key Takeaways: • AI is great for the prep — research, remembering details, follow-up — but over-relying on it erodes the social skills networking depends on • See people as more than a resource; lead by giving, not taking • Use AI to surface what someone actually cares about (their causes, their work) so you connect as a human • Networking matters more than ever in the AI era • Don't "show up and throw up" your pitch — authenticity wins every time Notable Quotes: "I like to learn about people so I can be more giving." — Larry Kaufman "Just offering to help — putting it out there that you have a network and you're happy to help — is a good thing to do." — Larry Kaufman Connect with Larry Kaufman: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrykaufmanlinkedinspeaker Book — The NCG Factor: https://geni.us/UctTsX Website: https://www.jeffersonwells.com/ Enjoyed this? Follow The Artificial Intelligence Podcast and share it with someone building their network.Connect with Jonathan GreenThe Bestseller: ChatGPT ProfitsFree Gift: The Master Prompt for ChatGPTFree Book on Amazon: Fire Your BossPodcast Website: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/  Subscribe, Rate, and Review: https://artificialintelligencepod.com/itunesVideo Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtificialIntelligencePodcast