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.
00:21:31 · Heather McLean, Ezekiel Iferia
[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. [00:22:44] S0: Alright. So after twenty years in the air force, you know, building a 100 person team, you know, at a Fortune 500 company and now founding your own firm, I'd like to know what does innovation in leadership and AI mean to you now?
00:22:44 · Ezekiel Iferia, Heather McLean
[00:22:44] S0: Alright. So after twenty years in the air force, you know, building a 100 person team, you know, at a Fortune 500 company and now founding your own firm, I'd like to know what does innovation in leadership and AI mean to you now? [00:22:59] S1: Innovation is one of our core values because I think it's critical to sort of keep that as one of the the goals of the organization. It's one of the things that is so exciting about this time that we're living in right now because the amount of innovation that is happening right now because of AI is just truly exploding, and it's it's exciting to watch. So for us, it's a core value because we want to stay at the leading edge of technology, and we want to be able to bring that to our clients. And so we have to keep up on what's next, and I know it's something new every day. But, but but trying to keep up with innovation and continually pushing ourselves to innovate in what we build is is gonna make us better able to serve our clients and gonna make the products and software that we build even better. So that's why it's so important to us. And, also, you know, being innovative is fun. And who doesn't wanna work for a company that wants to have fun and do work at the same time? [00:24:03] S0: Alright. Alright. Fantastic. For for... To to wrap things up here, you know, for our listeners who actually want to maybe continue this conversation, they want to connect with you, you know, go learn more about McLean Forrester. Where is the best place for them to go start?