Brainstorming Podcast

Eric Menau
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Tired of the endless AI hype? Frustrated by tech investments that don't deliver a return? Welcome to Brainstorming. We're not another AI news show. We're a weekly conversation dedicated to one thing: building a real business strategy for the age of AI. Join AI Business Consultant Eric Menau and Notre Dame Business Strategy Professor Henrique Goncalves as they bridge the gap between cutting-edge academic theory and real-world business results. Each episode provides a practical framework to help you identify the right problems to solve and make the smart decisions that lead to a positive ROI.

Episodes

  1. 08/26/2025

    E10: Can an AI Learn Empathy?

    This week on Brainstorming, we tackle one of the most personal and controversial frontiers of AI: mental and emotional health. As more people seek support from chatbots, researchers are in a race to build systems that are not just intelligent, but genuinely empathetic. We dive into the paper "Emotional Support with LLM-based Empathetic Dialogue Generation," which details how to fine-tune Large Language Models to make them better emotional companions. The study reveals that through a combination of detailed prompt engineering and advanced training strategies, an AI can learn to generate responses that are warm, non-judgmental, and personalized to a user's emotional struggles. The researchers’ method was so effective it placed second in a major academic competition, showing this is no longer science fiction. Their work provides a technical roadmap for creating safer and more effective digital mental health tools. Tune in to learn how an AI can be trained to understand human emotion, what separates a generic chatbot from a true emotional support agent, and the profound questions this technology raises for the future of healthcare. [GET YOUR FREE AI BLUEPRINT]Ready to move from theory to practice? We've developed a comprehensive questionnaire to help you assess your company's AI reality. In return, we'll give you a FREE, no-strings-attached AI blueprint to guide your next steps. Take the 10-minute assessment here: https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    29 min

  2. 08/19/2025

    E9: The AI-ESG Advantage: Turning Sustainability into Your Biggest Competitive Edge

    While many leaders see ESG as a political headache, they'remissing its true power as a business driver. The real story is that sustainable practices, powered by AI, are creating massive competitive advantages in market intelligence, operational efficiency, and talent acquisition. In this episode, we provide a playbook for leaders to escapethe ideological debates and make a business-first case for sustainability. We reveal how AI can uncover hidden customer preferences and predict regulatory trends, turning ESG from a burden into a strategic tool. We also explore newresearch showing that when energy costs are transparent, users overwhelmingly prefer more efficient AI, proving there is a market demand for sustainable technology. This episode is for any leader who wants to turn sustainability claims into measurable financial performance and build an organization that's not just more responsible, but more efficient, more innovative, and better positioned to win. Get your Free AI Blueprint: Ready to build a strategy that delivers real value? Take ourfree 10-minute assessment and receive a personalized AI blueprint.Visithttps://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    53 min

  3. 08/12/2025

    E8: The AI That Makes Markets Fairer AND More Profitable

    This week on Brainstorming, we're exploring a radical newidea for tackling one of the biggest problems in the modern economy: the unfairness of risk-based pricing in markets like insurance and credit. We discuss the paper "Balancing Profit and Fairness in Risk-Based Pricing Markets," which proposes a novel solution: what if an AI could regulate the market? The researchers built a simulated economy, MarketSim, totest if an AI "Social Planner" could use a learned tax system to push profit-hungry firms toward fairer behavior. The results were shocking. Not only did the AI's policy make the market fairer, but it also increased the total aggregate profits for firms, a true "win-win" scenario. The AI essentially acted as a coordination device, solving a social dilemma that firmscouldn't solve on their own. Tune in to discover how this transparent, AI-drivenregulation works, the significant gains in social welfare it achieved in simulations, and whether this is the future of keeping our increasingly complex markets in check. [GET YOUR FREE AI BLUEPRINT] Ready to move from theory to practice? We've developed acomprehensive questionnaire to help you assess your company's AI reality. In return, we'll give you a FREE, no-strings-attached AIblueprint to guide your next steps. Take the 10-minute assessment here:https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    22 min

  4. 08/05/2025

    E7: The AI Trust Gap: Why Governance is Your Biggest Competitive Advantage

    While the government deregulates AI, businesses are facing a"Governance Paradox": the need for internal AI controls has never been higher. Most companies are unprepared for the "Shadow AI" crisis, where unmonitored tools create massive exposure to data misuse and strategic risks. In this episode, we provide a playbook for leaders to transform AI governance from a cost center into a competitive advantage. We explore how internal AI can become a persuasive "insider threat," capable of manipulating employees and influencing key business decisions in ways that traditional security can't handle. We argue that building "trust infrastructure" is the key to escaping "pilot purgatory" and scaling AI aggressively. By managing the risks of AI manipulation, companies can move faster, attract top talent, and build a sustainable market advantage. Get your Free AI Blueprint: Ready to build a strategy that delivers real value? Take ourfree 10-minute assessment and receive a personalized AI blueprint. Visit https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    57 min

  5. 07/29/2025

    E6: When AI Creates Motivation, Not Fear

    This week on Brainstorming, we unpack a fascinatingpsychological study that flips the script on AI in the workplace. While most people focus on job insecurity, new research shows that for a specific group of employees, the introduction of AI can be a powerful motivator. We dive into the paper, "Reaffirming oneself: Exploring how artificial intelligence introduction drives employee approach crafting through a self-affirmation lens". The study reveals that when AI threatens an employee's sense of self-worth, it can trigger a need to take action. This often results in "approach crafting" - proactively taking on new challenges and skills to enhance their job. But here’s the twist: this phenomenon is most pronounced among employees who find their work less meaningful. For this group, the AI threat becomes a spark for reinvention. Tune in to learn about the science of self-affirmation, howcompanies can support employees through this transition, and why the AI revolution might be as much about psychology as it is about technology. [GET YOUR FREE AI BLUEPRINT] Ready to move from theory to practice? We've developed acomprehensive questionnaire to help you assess your company's AI reality. In return, we'll give you a FREE, no-strings-attached AIblueprint to guide your next steps. Take the 10-minute assessment here:https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    20 min

  6. 07/22/2025

    E5: The AI Productivity Paradox: Why Your Team's AI Use Isn't Boosting ROI

    While individual AI adoption is at an all-time high, mostcompanies are failing to see the financial benefits, a problem we call the "AI Productivity Paradox." They're stuck in "pilotpurgatory," unable to scale promising experiments into enterprise-wide value. In this episode, we provide a playbook for leaders to bridgethis value gap. We explore the human disincentives that stall progress - like the rational fear that AI efficiency leads to layoffs - and the strategic missteps that prevent scaling. We argue for a new focus: shifting the narrative from automation to augmentation and rewarding employees for the innovation they create with their AI-generated free time. We then dive into new research that defines the AI-enhanced developer. We discuss the serious "deskilling" risk to the future talent pipeline and what companies must do to prepare. Get your Free AI Blueprint: Ready to build a strategy that delivers real value? Take ourfree 10-minute assessment and receive a personalized AI blueprint. Find the link in our show notes or visit https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    1h 8m

  7. 07/15/2025

    E4: Beyond the Chatbot: AI, Low-Code, and Empowering Your Team

    A successful AI strategy isn't just about the algorithm;it's about empowering your people. In this episode, we explore a powerful case study—the EU-funded Climaborough project—that uses a sophisticated layeredapproach to technology. We break down the 2025 paper "Low-code to fight climatechange" to show how their framework uses Low-Code to speed up development, No-Code to empower non-technical users to build their own tools, and an AI chatbot to make complex data accessible to everyone. This is a masterclass inbuilding a human-centric system that truly augments your team's expertise. Ready to build your own strategy? Get your FREE,personalized AI blueprint by taking our 10-minute assessment. Find the link in our show notes or visit https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    20 min

  8. 07/08/2025

    E3: The AI ROI Crisis: Why 80% of Projects Fail & How to Fix It

    Despite billions invested in AI, up to 80% of corporate projects are failing to deliver a positive ROI. 7 In this episode, we diagnose the root cause: the "Shiny New Toy Syndrome," where businesses, driven by hype, focus on the technology instead of the problem. We provide a practical playbook for success, built on a simple, powerful idea: start with the pain point. We explore the difference between a real pain point and a vague business symptom, why you always need a "human in the loop," and how a critical insight from a new academic paper on incentives and framing can transform your company's AI adoption. Finally, we'll leave you with a powerful mindset shift that will change how you view your technology stack forever: stop "installing" AI and start "onboarding" it, just as youwould a new employee. Get your Free AI Blueprint:Ready to build a strategy that delivers realvalue? Take our free 10-minute assessment and receive a personalized AI blueprint. https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    53 min

  9. 07/01/2025

    E2: From Hype to Hotels: Putting AI Strategy into Practice

    In this practical case study, we explore how the principlesof a strong AI strategy are delivering real-world results in the hospitality industry. We do a deep dive into the 2025 academic paper, "Leveraging AI for ESG Advancement in Green Hotels," to see how businesses are using AIto tackle major pain points. We discuss how targeted AI implementation can lead to a 25% reduction in energy costs, help analyze staff turnover and enhance guest experiences. We also cover the significant challenges, from data privacy to thehigh costs and skill gaps that can derail a project. This episode is a masterclass in moving beyond hype to find real, measurable ROI. Ready to build your own strategy? Get your FREE,personalized AI blueprint by taking our 10-minute assessment. Find the link in our show notes or visit https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/

    20 min

  10. 06/24/2025

    E1: AI Strategy is Business Strategy: Finding the Middle Ground

    Are you caught between the fear of missing out on AI (FOMO) and the paralysis of not knowing where to start? Most business leaders are. Frantically chasing every new tool is a recipe for failure, but so is doing nothing. Welcome to the first episode of Brainstorming. In our debut, AI Business Consultant Eric Menau and Notre Dame Business Strategy Professor Henrique Goncalves introduce a practical framework for building a real AI strategy. We argue that the answer isn't in the hype cycle - it's in the strategic "middle ground." In this episode, we discuss: • The critical difference between personal AI toys and strategic business tools. • The two fundamental paths for AI adoption: replacing your team or augmenting it. • Why timeless business principles (cost vs. differentiation) must guide your tech decisions. • How to manage the human side of AI disruption and the impact on your employees. • A deep dive into the new academic paper, "Ten Principles of AI Agent Economics", and what it means for the future of business and society. Ready to build your own strategy? We've developed a comprehensive assessment to help you understand your company's AI reality. In return, you'll receive a FREE, no-strings-attached AI blueprint to guide your next steps. Get your Free AI Blueprint here: https://szsolutions.us/brainstorming-podcast/ Link to Academic Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.20273

    1h 3m
  • 10 Episodes

About

Tired of the endless AI hype? Frustrated by tech investments that don't deliver a return? Welcome to Brainstorming. We're not another AI news show. We're a weekly conversation dedicated to one thing: building a real business strategy for the age of AI. Join AI Business Consultant Eric Menau and Notre Dame Business Strategy Professor Henrique Goncalves as they bridge the gap between cutting-edge academic theory and real-world business results. Each episode provides a practical framework to help you identify the right problems to solve and make the smart decisions that lead to a positive ROI.

Information

  • Creator
    Eric Menau
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Eric Menau
  • Show Website
    Brainstorming Podcast