Above The Noise

Arena Strategic AI
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AI for business executives who don't have time to become AI experts. Stop guessing which AI tools to buy. Start making profitable business decisions. Above the Noise is the leadership podcast for executives at traditional, multi-generational companies: leaders who have built successful businesses, made the hard calls, and earned the room. AI is the one decision no one prepared them for, and the advice out there is mostly noise. Hosted by Aaron Cohen and Rob Wonderling, with AI Product Manager Upasna "Sana" Ahuja. Each episode brings on a leader, operator, or peer to talk through the bets they're making and the calls they're weighing inside industries like construction, manufacturing, agribusiness, and food processing. We also take on the conventional AI wisdom that doesn't hold up, dissecting the bets that work and the traps you need to avoid. Expect real talk on AI ROI, building an AI roadmap, governance and compliance, risk mitigation, and integrating AI operations into legacy systems that were never designed for it. Walk away from every episode knowing which AI moves matter for your business, which are just noise, and one decision you can make with confidence. Presented by Arena Strategic AI, whose advisory work spans AI governance, strategy, data assessment, and prototype development. New episodes every other week. Subscribe to gain your competitive advantage and secure the future of your business.

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    AI for Traditional Industries: Why Waiting on Your ERP Costs You

    Your ERP could take years to replace. AI is changing by the month. On episode 4 of Above the Noise, Rob Wonderling, Aaron Cohen, and Upasna Ahuja take on the question sitting in that gap: does a mid-market business have to finish its tech modernization before it can start on AI? Aaron makes the cost of delay concrete, including why a system that's been running a year beats the one you'd start today. Upasna takes apart the technical objection, which is usually scoped far wider than the work requires. A pilot needs the data that one business problem touches, with guardrails around that use case, and governance that matures alongside it instead of blocking the start. Rob brings in a conversation with a construction CIO whose C-suite wanted the dashboard to beat all dashboards, and Aaron counters with estimating, where a full day of an estimator's work runs in 20 to 30 minutes on a well-trained system. The episode ends on Upasna's distinction between an employee getting faster at a task and a business process actually changing. Above the Noise is produced by Arena Strategic AI for leaders of privately held and multi-generational businesses. Key Takeaways:  00:00 Intro 02:00 Months, Not Years or Millions 03:30 Start With the Problem 06:00 Build a Small Business Case 07:00 Start Small, Then Scale 08:30 Estimating: Days to 30 Minutes 10:00 Data Governance First 11:00 Your First 30 Days 16:30 Calculator vs. Slide Rule 19:00 The 90/10 Problem Additional Resources:Learn more about Arena Strategic AI Connect with Arena Strategic AI on LinkedIn Connect with Aaron Cohen on LinkedIn Connect with Rob Wonderling on LinkedIn Connect with Upasna Ahuja on LinkedIn

  2. 2d ago

    Bill Hankowsky on Transforming a Company Before AI Existed

    Executive AI strategy sounds different coming from someone who ran a transformation before any of these tools existed, and Bill Hankowsky spent a decade moving Liberty Property Trust out of office buildings and into warehouses. When he took over, 70% of the revenue came from office buildings and there was no strategy behind it, so he spent a year on the analysis and it told him to get out of office entirely. Over the next decade Liberty sold $5 billion of real estate, built $6 billion more, cut headcount from 750 to 350 and tripled in value, while office REITs that stayed where they were lost 80% of theirs. Rob Wonderling and Aaron Cohen asked what AI would have changed. He says the year they spent on strategy could have been a lot shorter, and the market calls sharper. On culture, he makes the point that AI doesn't create it, and that the ultimate creativity is still in the human mind. Above the Noise is produced by Arena Strategic AI for leaders of privately held and multi-generational businesses. Key Takeaways:  00:00 Intro 06:05 CEO Succession After Sudden Death 06:33 Starting Portfolio: Suburban Office Real Estate 08:16 10-Year Real Estate Strategy Review 09:32 Office Demand Decline Pre-Pandemic 11:07 Amazon Effect on Industrial Real Estate 12:40 Pivot to Warehouse Real Estate 14:11 REIT Shift: 95% Industrial, 5% Office 15:05 AI in Real Estate Decisions 17:33 Tripling Real Estate Company Value 21:20 Office vs. Warehouse CapEx 22:15 Real Estate Growth: Adapt or Stall 24:48 Office Real Estate Downturn & Layoffs 27:20 Data Centers: New Real Estate Asset 32:10 AI and Future of Office Space Additional Resources: Learn more about Arena Strategic AI Connect with Arena Strategic AI on LinkedIn Connect with Aaron Cohen on LinkedIn Connect with Rob Wonderling on LinkedIn Connect with Upasna Ahuja on LinkedIn

  3. Sep 29

    The AI Job Loss Myth: What Executives Get Wrong

    Executives running manufacturing, construction and food processing companies keep hearing that AI is coming for the workforce. The cuts so far have landed somewhere else, mostly at the big tech and financial services firms making headlines, and the workforce problem in traditional industries runs the other direction. On this episode of Above the Noise, Rob Wonderling, Aaron Cohen and Upasna Ahuja get into what actually changes inside a job when AI shows up, why 95% of AI pilots return nothing measurable, and how to decide which work is worth moving first. The aging trades workforce is the constraint no model solves. Above the Noise is produced by Arena Strategic AI for leaders of privately held and multi-generational businesses. Key Takeaways:  00:00 Intro 00:33 Debunking the myth: this year's actual layoff numbers 01:05 Why "big tech" headlines miss where most people actually work 01:52 Welcoming listeners to the episode 02:37 What AI actually replaces: manual, rule-based, repetitive work 03:15 The sectors seeing real cuts: tech, banking, finance, insurance 03:42 AI as a fix for an aging workforce, not a job killer 05:04 The real shift so far: tasks change, jobs rarely disappear 07:09 The stat: 25% of construction workers are over 55, and AI can't lay pipe 08:02 Bridges inspected by thousands of data points instead of two eyeballs 10:26 The "digital buddy" concept for jobsite decisions 11:51 A steel-mill father's fear of automation, decades ago 12:51 The real risk isn't AI, it's a haphazard rollout 13:55 The MIT stat: 95% of AI pilots show no financial return 15:07 Jobs vs. tasks: why AI rarely replaces the whole job 18:47 It's not about knowing ChatGPT, it's judgment and expertise 19:21 Why CFO, HR, and IT all need to be in the room 20:40 The real line: "you'll be replaced by someone who uses AI" 23:26 Survey says: leadership and change management top the training list 25:50 Crystal ball: adoption speed depends on how repetitive the task is 27:03 The advice: start small, target the most repetitive tasks first 28:27 Closing analogy: embrace it, or get left behind Additional Resources: Learn more about Arena Strategic AI Connect with Arena Strategic AI on LinkedIn Connect with Aaron Cohen on LinkedIn Connect with Rob Wonderling on LinkedIn Connect with Upasna Ahuja on LinkedIn

  4. Sep 15

    Where to Start With AI When You're Not Ready

    Most executives in traditional industries say the same thing when AI comes up: not yet. The reasons have little to do with the technology. Nobody knows which platform survives, nobody wants to hand over control of company data, and everyone remembers a software integration that ran for years and cost seven figures. In this episode of Above the Noise, Rob Wonderling, Aaron Cohen, and Upasna Ahuja take that objection apart. They make the case for scoping AI like a hire, starting with discovery before any purchase, and choosing one business problem worth understanding first. If you’ve been waiting for the picture to clear before you commit budget, this is the episode that tells you what to do in the meantime, and why the companies still waiting a year from now will be the ones explaining themselves. Ready to figure out where AI fits in your business? Start here: arenastrategic.ai Above the Noise is produced by Arena Strategic AI for leaders of privately held and multi-generational businesses. Key Takeaways: 00:00 Intro 01:39 The real problem: confusion, fear, and a lack of predictability 02:23 The stat that proves 75% of AI adoption is just for show 03:55 The Betamax vs. VHS fear that's stopping leaders from picking a platform 05:30 Stop calling it software: why AI should be treated like a new employee 07:07 The first step before buying any AI tool: discovery, not shopping 09:15 Why AI adoption looks totally different by industry and generation 10:45 Is waiting on AI actually the safe move? The real risk explained 11:57 The competitors you can't see yet 13:20 Why zero legacy costs give AI-first companies a brutal advantage 14:55 The early signal AI is already changing the labor-to-output equation 16:25 The 90-day plan: how to structure your first real AI pilot 18:32 Where AI adoption will be by the end of this year 21:11 The 3 final takeaways: don't wait, start small, watch for competitors who don't exist yet Additional Resources:Learn more about Arena Strategic AI Connect with Aaron Cohen on LinkedIn Connect with Rob Wonderling on LinkedIn Connect with Upasna Ahuja on LinkedIn

  5. Sep 9

    Stop Guessing, Start Deciding: Welcome to Above the Noise

    Stop guessing which AI tools to buy. Start making profitable business decisions. Welcome to Above the Noise. The show for executives at traditional, multi-generational companies. We cut through the Silicon Valley noise to focus on high-stakes leadership, operational strategy, and real ROI. Hosted by Aaron Cohen and Rob Wonderling, we provide the executive playbooks you need to evaluate, deploy, and scale technology that actually moves the needle. New episodes every other week. Subscribe to gain your competitive advantage and secure the future of your business. Learn more about Arena Strategic AI Connect with Aaron Cohen on LinkedIn Connect with Rob Wonderling on LinkedIn Connect with Upasna Ahuja on LinkedIn

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About

AI for business executives who don't have time to become AI experts. Stop guessing which AI tools to buy. Start making profitable business decisions. Above the Noise is the leadership podcast for executives at traditional, multi-generational companies: leaders who have built successful businesses, made the hard calls, and earned the room. AI is the one decision no one prepared them for, and the advice out there is mostly noise. Hosted by Aaron Cohen and Rob Wonderling, with AI Product Manager Upasna "Sana" Ahuja. Each episode brings on a leader, operator, or peer to talk through the bets they're making and the calls they're weighing inside industries like construction, manufacturing, agribusiness, and food processing. We also take on the conventional AI wisdom that doesn't hold up, dissecting the bets that work and the traps you need to avoid. Expect real talk on AI ROI, building an AI roadmap, governance and compliance, risk mitigation, and integrating AI operations into legacy systems that were never designed for it. Walk away from every episode knowing which AI moves matter for your business, which are just noise, and one decision you can make with confidence. Presented by Arena Strategic AI, whose advisory work spans AI governance, strategy, data assessment, and prototype development. New episodes every other week. Subscribe to gain your competitive advantage and secure the future of your business.

Information

  • Creator
    Arena Strategic AI
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026
  • Show Website
    Above The Noise