00:15:42 · Heather McLean
[00:15:42] S1: Well, I can tell you... Maybe give you some examples of why AI projects fail. So number number one, there's there's about four main reasons. The first one is it's a misalignment problem. So this is where a company will buy a tool, and they just they just tell people to go use it, and they don't change their business processes. The second the second weight... Reason that AI projects fail are because they have the wrong focus area. So a lot of companies will wanna start with some flashy use case, something that may be customer facing. Oh, we're gonna we're gonna put a chatbot out here. But a lot of times, maybe that's not gonna be the place where you're get the highest... The biggest ROI for your investment. We're we're seeing that a lot of the back office processes, that's where a lot of companies are seeing that the real value come out. The number three reason I mentioned this earlier is that do it yourself approach. So they... A company that doesn't have the expertise or the experience, but they're gonna try to build it. And like I said earlier, that companies that try this often fail at twice the rate as others. And then and then a big one here is the lack of a strategic foundation. And what I mean by that is they don't have the data infrastructure or the governance to make AI projects succeed. So, you know, it's kinda like the old saying, data... Garbage in, garbage out. It's it's the same thing with AI. Right? If you if you have garbage data, then you're you're not gonna get great results. So those are the the four primary reasons that that that we're seeing AI projects fail.
00:17:19 · Ezekiel Iferia
[00:17:19] S0: Alright. Alright. So, you know, let's cycle back a bit. You know, your your competitors aren't really waiting. So what happens to organizations that are seeing analysis paralysis?
00:17:34 · Heather McLean
[00:17:34] S1: Right. Well, their their competitors are moving ahead. Right? They're they're getting those competitive advantages. They're learning how to do things better, faster, cheaper, which makes them more competitive in the marketplace. Eventually, you know, people are going to choose the competitors and their offerings and their products and services over the companies that aren't doing this. I read a great article, and I can't remember the the author right now, but it was called the seven economies of AI. And it talked about how companies are gonna find themselves in one of seven groupings as they go forward. Right? The the very first grouping would be, like, people who... You know, they're saying, like, oh, I'm just growing blueberries. I don't need AI, so they're not even gonna think about it. Then there's another group that... The second group up that's aware of AI and what it can do, but they refuse to get involved. And these are the people that are gonna lose market share. And then there's the companies that understand the value of AI and they're leaping in and they're they're building with it and they are gonna have that competitive advantage. And then from there, it kinda goes up to people who, you know, all the way up to people who will be using agentic AI and, you know, AI is running everything in their company. But I love the the way this author described these seven economies because I do think that you're gonna see companies kind of falling into these groups over time, and it will predict how well they do.
00:19:05 · Ezekiel Iferia, Heather McLean
[00:19:05] S0: Alright. Alright. So, you know, Heather, you're a woman veteran, you're running a technology and AI firm. So how has that shaped the way you lead, you know, and the problems you choose to solve? [00:19:19] S1: I would say our whole focus is on people and clients and being a people first company. And what that means is we're gonna make decisions that that how... That are best for our clients and our people above profit. So it it does affect every decision that we make. It... You know, we have... Our motto is do the right thing and do the thing right. And so we are very integrity and core value focused company, and that plays into every decision we make. So I think it's just being able to come back to those values and come back to the way we want to be... The things we wanna be prioritizing, and then letting that guide our daily decisions in how we do things. [00:20:08] S0: Alright. So what's something you learned from being in this space that, you know, doesn't have a lot of people who look just like you?
00:20:08 · Ezekiel Iferia, Heather McLean
[00:20:08] S0: Alright. So what's something you learned from being in this space that, you know, doesn't have a lot of people who look just like you? [00:20:20] S1: Well, Colin Powell used to say leadership is lonely, command is lonely, and I I think that's definitely true. And as a woman in technology, it can be even lonelier. So I, you know, I've been trying to reach out to other female executives and CEOs to try to broaden my network and get to know people who might have experienced and feel, you know, kind of gone through some of the things that I have gone through. But, yeah, it... You know, it's... But but I'm not sure of... You know, I I guess the the the lesson there is, yeah, that it's lonely, but I think you have to create a peer network that can help offset sort of the loneliness of being the CEO. [00:21:08] S0: Alright. Alright. So, you know, you you also describe yourself as a mom and avid home cook and a world traveler. So how do those parts of your life feed your work? Are there any effects, you know, they have on your work? You know? Why why does being a well grounded human make you a better leader?
00:21:08 · Ezekiel Iferia, Heather McLean
[00:21:08] S0: Alright. Alright. So, you know, you you also describe yourself as a mom and avid home cook and a world traveler. So how do those parts of your life feed your work? Are there any effects, you know, they have on your work? You know? Why why does being a well grounded human make you a better leader? [00:21:31] S1: Well, I would say I... I've experienced, you know, the burnout when I was working on vacation, and now I am trying to give myself more grace and allow myself to have more self care and do more things for myself. So I think I've I've just sort of learned that I do better at my job when I am more well rounded when I have other things I can pour creative energy into, like cooking, or other things like travel that I can share with my family and my husband. So I think, you know, being a more well rounded person, giving yourself space to do things that interest you outside of work is really important to sort of de stressing and helping you carry the mental load of all the things that you are doing at work. One of the things I love to do is I love to go on TikTok and find a recipe. I I get a lot of recipe TikToks on my feed, and I find something that looks interesting and tasty. And I try it at home, and I even make my own TikTok videos, you know, as I'm cooking that. So I've been working on sort of doing that a little bit. It's been a lot of fun.