Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders

Chris Daigle
  • 4.8 (38)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

On "Using AI at Work", your host Chris Daigle and his expert guests help business leaders, executives, and teams who want to turn artificial intelligence into a real competitive advantage. Each episode shares real-world AI applications and AI transformation stories from companies successfully using AI in the workplace to improve productivity, decision-making, and operations. You’ll hear from Chief AI Officers, innovators, and forward-thinking executives who are putting generative AI at work, from AI productivity tools and AI-powered workflows to non-technical AI training and workplace AI adoption strategies. We cover: AI for business leaders – how executives use AI to lead change and drive ROIGenerative AI tools – practical, easy-to-implement solutions for teamsAI automation in business – streamline operations without massive tech budgetsExecutive AI education – upskilling leaders and managers for the AI eraReal-world AI case studies – lessons learned from successful AI implementationAI in operations management – optimizing processes and reducing costsEthical AI in business – navigating responsible and effective AI use Whether you’re exploring AI adoption, leading AI-powered transformation, or looking for AI implementation guides, this podcast delivers a clear, non-technical roadmap to succeed in the AI-driven economy. New episodes weekly. Start learning how to put AI to work in your business today.

  1. 22h ago

    Why AI Pilots Fail: How to Escape AI Pilot Purgatory and Scale Enterprise AI with Ronnie Kwesi Coleman

    Most AI pilots do not fail because the technology is weak. They fail because the organization was never prepared to turn the experiment into a real operating workflow. In this episode Chris sits down with Ronnie Kwesi Coleman, CEO of Puntt AI and a three-time founder focused on the future of work. They unpack the mistakes that keep enterprise AI stuck in AI pilot purgatory, why expert judgment matters more than simply giving AI more data, how AI agents should learn alongside experienced employees, and why productivity without measurable business outcomes and AI ROI is the wrong target. They also explore the shift from creation to review as a new AI bottleneck, the limitations of the "single company brain" idea, and the risks of building an enterprise AI strategy around one provider. Listen to learn how leaders can move AI pilots from experimentation into production while preserving the judgment, integrations, and strategic flexibility required for scaling AI across the organization. Chapters (00:00) Introduction (03:04) How to Choose the Right AI Pilots (05:47) The Five Deadly Sins of AI Pilot Purgatory (09:46) Starting Small While Planning to Scale (14:04) Moving From AI Productivity to Business ROI (18:02) Capturing Expert Judgment With AI Agents (23:07) How Much Should You Trust AI? (29:04) AI Agents and the New Review Bottleneck (32:33) Why the Single AI Brain Model Falls Short (38:22) Avoiding AI Vendor Lock-In and Hiring Agents Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About Ronnie Kwesi Coleman Puntt AI https://www.puntt.ai/ Ronnie Kwesi Coleman on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronnie-kwesi-coleman/ 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: Puntt AI https://www.puntt.ai/ Anthropic Claude https://www.anthropic.com/claude OpenAI https://openai.com/ Meta https://www.meta.com/ Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution by Uri Levine https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fall-in-Love-with-the-Problem-Not-the-Solution/Uri-Levine/9781637746608 Pre-roll add for my private practice This gives an example from US Compliance and promotes the $50,000 Opportunity Call This version of the post role mentions Chief AI officer and my private practice Support the show

  2. Sep 7

    How to Use AI Without Losing Human Judgment: AI Decision-Making and the Future of work | Rana Gujral

    AI can make your team faster while quietly making them worse at thinking. In this episode Chris sits down with Rana Gujral, cognitive AI leader, CEO of Behavioral Signals, and author of The AI Instinct, to explore what happens when AI moves from a productivity tool into the cognitive infrastructure businesses use to make decisions. Rana explains why leaders need to distinguish between employees who are genuinely deciding and those who are simply approving AI output, how reversibility can determine when rigorous decision trails are necessary, and why organizations should deliberately preserve opportunities for people to exercise judgment without AI. He also shares his personal process for working with AI on strategic decisions and challenges leaders to measure what AI is doing to their team's thinking, not only their output. Listen to learn how to capture AI's advantages without quietly outsourcing the judgment your organization will need when the easy answers disappear. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (03:34) AI as Cognitive Infrastructure (07:47) Building Rules for Human and AI Decisions (10:46) Preventing Automation Bias and Protecting Human Judgment (13:42) Redesigning Organizations Around AI Decision-Making (19:58) How AI Sculpts Human Attention (22:40) Are Your People Deciding or Just Approving? (25:14) When AI-Assisted Decisions Need an Audit Trail (28:26) Rana's Personal Process for Strategic AI Decisions (31:06) Building Senior Talent When AI Does the Junior Work (39:24) What Is AI Doing to the Way Your Team Thinks? Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About Rana Gujral Rana Gujral Website:  https://ranagujral.com/ Rana Gujral on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranagujral Behavioral Signals:  https://behavioralsignals.com/ Book: The AI Instinct: The Future of AI and Human Decision-Making https://ranagujral.com/book 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: Claude:  https://www.anthropic.com/claude Chat GPT:  https://openai.com/ Gemini:  https://gemini.google.com/ Chief AI Officer:  https://chiefaiofficer.com/ Wiley:  https://www.wiley.com Pre-roll add for my private practice This gives an example from US Compliance and promotes the $50,000 Opportunity Call This version of the post role mentions Chief AI officer and my private practice Support the show

  3. Aug 31

    How AI Is Changing Management at Work: From AI Assistant to AI Chief of Staff with Erkang Zheng

    AI may automate more execution, but that makes judgment, coordination, and management more important. In this episode Chris sits down with Erkang “Ken” Zheng, founder and CEO of Ariso, to explore why the next major opportunity for AI at work is not simply producing more content, but helping people manage work more effectively. Ken explains why every knowledge worker increasingly needs management skills, including tracking, prioritization, communication, accountability, and reflection. He also breaks down Ariso’s distributed approach to the “company brain,” the role of an AI chief of staff, and how individual AI partners can improve coordination while preserving access controls and privacy. Listen to understand how leaders can use AI to strengthen the management layer of work as execution becomes increasingly automated. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (04:37) Why Everyone Is a Manager Now (06:25) The Work Around the Work (08:28) Management Skills That Matter More With AI (11:59) Rethinking the AI Company Brain (14:48) Building the Company Brain From the Individual Up (19:18) When an AI Intelligence Layer Starts Making Sense (23:43) What an AI Chief of Staff Should Actually Do (29:19) How Ariso Differs From DIY AI Agents (38:11) How Quickly Teams Can See Value From AI Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About Erkang “Ken” Zheng Ariso:  https://ariso.ai/ Ariso Blog: https://ariso.ai/blog Ariso LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariso-ai  Erkang Zheng on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erkang 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: Ariso / Ari: https://ariso.ai/ ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ Claude and Claude Code:  https://www.anthropic.com/claude Fathom:  https://fathom.video/ Fireflies.ai:  https://fireflies.ai/ OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai  📩 Reach Out to Chris Daigle: doc@chiefaiofficer.com  Pre-roll add for my private practice This gives an example from US Compliance and promotes the $50,000 Opportunity Call This version of the post role mentions Chief AI officer and my private practice Support the show

  4. Aug 24

    AI Agents Are Changing Accounting Forever | The New Future of Finance & ERP with John Glasgow

    What if the biggest bottleneck in finance isn't the software, but the way work gets done? In this episode Chris sits down with John Glasgow, Founder and CEO of Campfire, an AI-native ERP platform built for finance and accounting teams. John explains why simply adding AI to legacy systems falls short, how agentic workflows are changing accounting operations, and why finance leaders should think of AI as a teammate rather than a tool. He shares real examples of AI handling reconciliations, treasury management, reporting, and close processes while keeping humans accountable for outcomes. The conversation explores practical adoption strategies, how finance teams can build trust in AI, and where human judgment remains essential. Leaders will come away with a clear framework for introducing AI into critical business processes while maintaining accuracy, accountability, and stakeholder confidence. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (02:00) Meet John Glasgow and Campfire (03:00) Why AI-First ERP Is Different (06:04) From System of Record to System of Work (08:26) AI as Operational Capacity, Not Just Productivity (13:47) Inside Campfire's Ember Agents (16:04) Building Trust in AI for Finance Teams (18:49) Treat AI Like a New Hire (22:13) Where Humans Must Stay in the Loop (28:49) Customer Results and Real World Impact (31:19) Does AI Replace Finance Jobs? (34:27) The Skills Future Finance Leaders Need Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About John Glasgow: John Glasgow LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnglasgow/  Campfire  https://www.campfire.ai Campfire LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/meetcampfire  🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: Campfire  https://www.campfire.ai Claude  https://claude.ai Anthropic  https://www.anthropic.com NetSuite  https://www.netsuite.com SAP  https://www.sap.com Workday  https://www.workday.com QuickBooks https://quickbooks.intuit.com Xero https://www.xero.com Pre-roll add for my private practice This gives an example from US Compliance and promotes the $50,000 Opportunity Call This version of the post role mentions Chief AI officer and my private practice Support the show

  5. Aug 17

    How to Use AI to Hire Better: AI Recruitment, Screening & the Future of Hiring | James Terry

    Hiring is getting faster, noisier, and harder to evaluate. In this episode Chris talks with James Terry, Head of US Revenue at Indeed Flex, about how AI is reshaping recruiting from application screening to workforce planning. James explains why rising application volume is pushing employers toward AI interviews, how human review still fits into the process, and where AI can help recruiters evaluate candidate skills at a scale traditional hiring workflows cannot handle.  They also explore how AI can move HR beyond administrative work by connecting workforce, operations, and performance data, plus how James uses tools including Gemini and NotebookLM to accelerate proposals and decision support. The conversation ultimately shifts from replacing jobs to redesigning roles, building stronger AI fluency, and giving teams access to the data that makes AI genuinely useful. Listen for a practical look at what AI adoption becomes when leaders move beyond experimentation and apply it to real operating problems. Chapters 00.00 Introduction 01:57 AI Hiring and the Race to Build AI Fluency 06:42 Putting AI to Work Across Revenue and Operations 10:17 Why Application Overload Is Breaking Traditional Screening 11:51 AI Interviews at Scale With Human Review 15:55 Can AI Identify Better Candidates? 21:30 Turning HR Into a Strategic Business Function 24:57 Using Workforce Data to Reduce Turnover 30:34 From AI Experiments to Real Workflows 34:48 How AI Will Change Jobs and Roles 41:41 Connecting Data, Building a Second Brain, and Shaping Vendor Roadmaps Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About James Terry James Terry on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-terry-33023717 Indeed Flex: https://indeedflex.com/ (Indeed Flex US) Indeed Flex contingent labor webinar featuring James Terry: https://indeedflex.com/employers/resources/industry-reports/webinar-contingent-labor-in-manufacturing-competitive-advantage/ 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: Indeed Smart Screening: https://www.indeed.com/employers/smart-screening  Google Gemini:  https://gemini.google.com Gemini Gems: https://support.google.com/gemini/answer/15235603  Google NotebookLM:  https://notebooklm.google.com Snowflake:  https://www.snowflake.com/en Tableau:  https://www.tableau.com/ ChatGPT:  https://openai.com/chatgpt/overview/ Chief AI Officer:  https://chiefaiofficer.com Using AI at Work:  https://usingaiatwork.com Pre-roll add for my private practice This gives an example from US Compliance and promotes the $50,000 Opportunity Call This version of the post role mentions Chief AI officer and my private practice Support the show

  6. Aug 10

    How to Build an AI Strategy That Delivers Real Business Results | Eddie Irvin

    Most AI projects do not fail because the model is weak. In this episode Chris talks with Eddie Irvin, founder of Nashville AI Advisory, about the practical work leaders need to do before AI can deliver value. Eddie explains why process clarity, prioritization, and communication between business owners and technical builders are often more important than choosing the newest tool. Chris and Eddie break down how to identify a strong first AI project, why CEOs should stay involved in defining business rules, and how richer context improves results from ChatGPT and Claude. They also cover dictation, roundtable prompting, Codex, Claude Code, and using multiple models to pressure test important decisions. Listen if you want a grounded framework for moving from AI interest to useful systems your business can actually operate. Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (02:56) Bridging the Gap Between Business and Technology (09:13) Where AI Transformation Actually Starts (11:24) Why Process Design Comes Before AI (18:54) Finding and Prioritizing the Right Business Problems (22:28) What a Good First AI Project Looks Like (27:45) Why Clear Processes Make AI Implementation Easier (32:49) What CEOs Should Never Delegate to AI Developers (35:52) Better AI Results Start With Better Context (48:06) Why Leaders Need Hands-On Experience With AI 🔎 Find Out More About Eddie Irvin Eddie Irvin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-irvin Nashville AI Advisory: https://nashvilleaiadvisory.com  🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: ChatGPT: https://chatgpt.com/ ChatGPT Desktop: https://chatgpt.com/download/ Codex: https://openai.com/codex/ Claude: https://claude.ai/ Claude Fable 5: https://www.anthropic.com/claude/fable Claude Code: https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code GPT-5:  https://openai.com/gpt-5 Pre-roll add for my private practice This gives an example from US Compliance and promotes the $50,000 Opportunity Call This version of the post role mentions Chief AI officer and my private practice Support the show

  7. Aug 3

    How to Implement AI in Your Business: From AI Use Cases to Real ROI | Dr. Markus Schmidberger

    AI adoption can create value, but it can also create a new organizational bottleneck. In this episode Chris sits down with Dr. Markus Schmidberger, Founder and CTO of JuntoAI, to challenge the assumption that every company needs a Chief AI Officer. They explore the growing AI business gap, why adoption is fundamentally a cultural enablement issue, and how governance, HR, and distributed ownership should work together. Markus shares an in-residence model for discovering use cases, moving the strongest ideas into production, and measuring ROI through agent outcomes rather than token consumption. He also explains why unrestricted experimentation can distract teams from core strategy and how JuntoAI is rethinking professional networking with digital twins and AI agents. Leaders should listen for a practical framework to scale AI without centralizing responsibility or losing strategic focus. Chapters (00:00) Introduction (03:20) Defining the Chief AI Officer Debate (06:37) The Emerging AI Business Gap (09:35) AI Adoption as Cultural Enablement (12:42) Governance and Open AI Access (15:31) Distributing AI Ownership Across the Business (18:20) The In-Residence AI Enablement Model (21:01) Moving from Use Case Discovery to Production (25:45) Measuring AI ROI Through Agent Outcomes (31:38) When AI Adoption Becomes a Strategic Distraction (39:11) JuntoAI and the Future of Business Networking (46:21) A Final Lesson on AI as a Statistical Model 🔎 Find Out More About Dr. Markus Schmidberger Dr. Markus Schmidberger on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidberger/ JuntoAI on LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/company/juntoa JuntoAI https://juntoai.org/ 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: JuntoAI https://juntoai.org/ ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ Claude https://claude.com/ Gemini https://gemini.google.com/ Google AI Studio https://aistudio.google.com/ Claude Code https://claude.com/product/claude-code OpenAI  https://openai.com/ Pre-roll add for my private practice This gives an example from US Compliance and promotes the $50,000 Opportunity Call This version of the post role mentions Chief AI officer and my private practice Support the show

  8. Jul 27

    114: Using AI Implementation Strategies To Drive Real Business Impact with Darren Ward

    Buying AI licenses is easy; changing how work gets done is the real leadership challenge. In this episode Chris sits down with Darren Ward, a Chief Strategic Innovation Officer leading internal AI adoption at a mid-market operating company. Darren shares how he moved from operational leadership into a dedicated AI role and why successful transformation requires executive ownership, practical use cases, and a clear connection to business priorities. They discuss why pull-based adoption outperforms mandatory training, how power users create department-level momentum, and how a tiered stack of Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and an internal RAG interface can balance capability, cost, and data access. Darren also explains how policy, prompting fundamentals, human review, and approved tools reduce hallucination risk and shadow AI. Leaders should listen for a grounded playbook for moving from experimentation to measurable adoption without treating AI as another technology side project. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:05 Darren Ward’s Path From Operator to AI Leader 08:04 Why AI Needs Executive Ownership 11:34 Replacing Push Training With Power User Adoption 19:32 Finding Measurable AI Use Cases 25:24 Turning an Engineering Skeptic Into a Champion 29:06 Connecting AI Pilots to Strategic Objectives 31:12 Measuring Usage and Preventing Shadow AI 34:18 What to Do After Buying AI Licenses 37:50 Designing a Three-Tier AI Tool Stack 41:22 Private LLMs, RAG, and Internal Data 51:59 Start Small, Start Now Resources: 🔎 Find Out More About Darren Ward Darren Ward on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdarrenward 🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned: ChatGPT:  https://chatgpt.com/ Google Gemini:  https://gemini.google.com/ Claude:  https://claude.ai/ Claude Code:  https://www.anthropic.com/product/claude-code Microsoft Copilot:  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot OpenAI API:  https://platform.openai.com/docs/ Anthropic API:  https://docs.anthropic.com/ Gemini API:  https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/ Pre-roll add for my private practice This gives an example from US Compliance and promotes the $50,000 Opportunity Call This version of the post role mentions Chief AI officer and my private practice Support the show

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4.8
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About

On "Using AI at Work", your host Chris Daigle and his expert guests help business leaders, executives, and teams who want to turn artificial intelligence into a real competitive advantage. Each episode shares real-world AI applications and AI transformation stories from companies successfully using AI in the workplace to improve productivity, decision-making, and operations. You’ll hear from Chief AI Officers, innovators, and forward-thinking executives who are putting generative AI at work, from AI productivity tools and AI-powered workflows to non-technical AI training and workplace AI adoption strategies. We cover: AI for business leaders – how executives use AI to lead change and drive ROIGenerative AI tools – practical, easy-to-implement solutions for teamsAI automation in business – streamline operations without massive tech budgetsExecutive AI education – upskilling leaders and managers for the AI eraReal-world AI case studies – lessons learned from successful AI implementationAI in operations management – optimizing processes and reducing costsEthical AI in business – navigating responsible and effective AI use Whether you’re exploring AI adoption, leading AI-powered transformation, or looking for AI implementation guides, this podcast delivers a clear, non-technical roadmap to succeed in the AI-driven economy. New episodes weekly. Start learning how to put AI to work in your business today.

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