How Business Leaders Can "Mind the Soil" for AI and Innovation to Take Root with Stefanie Thelen, Chief Innovation Officer at Object Computing, Inc.

But Who's Counting?

Innovation in the workplace doesn’t happen spontaneously; it needs to be encouraged and cultivated for change to truly take place. Before your company can make transformative use of emerging technologies such as AI, you must carefully examine your organization’s culture and leadership’s reaction to failure to make the jump to the next level not just feasible but inevitable.

Missy Kelley and Dave Hartley, hosts of But Who’s Counting?, welcomed Stefanie Thelen, Chief Innovation Officer for Object Computing, Inc., to discuss ways businesses can empower inventive new approaches to resolve pain points with real-world use cases of AI and automation. Stefanie urges leadership to “mind the soil” to create a more fruitful environment for workers to take on new initiatives courageously and mindfully. She explains approaching AI by asking “where does it hurt” and thinking big to address it. The conversation also touched on:

• Where companies should start when implementing AI into business processes
• How an organization’s reaction to failure directly corresponds to its ability to innovate and how she recovered from a $2 million mistake
• Acknowledging biases and systems that need to change
• Putting AI in the hands of people before it’s needed and how to identify those individuals
• Tangible examples of AI and automation
• Stefanie’s work with Arch Grants to help build the future economy in St. Louis
• The impact Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has on innovation and what it means to “innovate from the edges”

“AI, in some ways, is unlike any other technology evolution or advancement. In a lot of ways, it’s exactly like every other technology evolution or advancement… Continue to ask why and continue to try to pull back and broaden your lens so that you understand that it’s a phenomenal tool, but it’s just another tool.” - Stefanie Thelen
Resources to Count On
Check out these additional resources for more insight into the conversation:

• Connect with Stefanie on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Object Computing, Inc.
• Check out Arch Grants
• Read the transcript of this episode

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1. Innovation and Leadership in Consulting (00:00:00)

2. Supporting Arch Grants and Leader Behaviors (00:15:35)

3. Navigating the AI Frontier (00:20:49)

4. Leveraging AI for Business Success (00:27:18)

5. Innovation, Leadership, and Emerging Technology (00:32:12)