Being Intrepid: Navigating the Future of Learning with Sam Herring

AI Transformation and Why Learning Leaders Must Engage Early

When organizations kick off AI and agentic transformation — redesigning workflows, reimagining roles — business and technology leaders run the work. Learning leaders are rarely in the room. By the time L&D gets called, the decisions are made and the upskilling need is already behind.    Yulia Barnakova, AI Innovation and Learning Advisor at Accenture and faculty in Accenture's AI Academy for Business Leaders, joins Sam Herring to make the case for why that has to change — and what learning leaders can do about it now.    In this episode:  * Why 95% of AI workflow redesign conversations happen without learning leaders — and what that absence costs organizations   * How to position L&D as a strategic partner to business and technology leaders, not downstream upskilling fulfillment  * A spectrum framework for AI-based practice design: when text is enough, when voice helps, and when avatar fidelity actually matters  * How to make technology decisions in a market where the options keep improving — without getting paralyzed  * Why personal upskilling is a team readiness strategy, even when organizational tool access is restricted    Guest: Yulia Barnakova [https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuliabarnakova/], AI Innovation and Learning Advisor, Accenture  Connect with Sam [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-herring-5944b/]

From Content Delivery to Skills Validation: Inside ServiceNow’s Cohort Model

At ServiceNow, the speed at which customers and partners can be certified is a real constraint on the company’s commercial growth. That makes learning a true strategic enabler — and it changes what L&D is accountable for.  Shellie Grieve, Director of Learning Innovation and Emerging Technology at ServiceNow, joins Sam Herring to discuss how cohort learning became the architecture for skills development across 28,000 employees, millions of platform users, and a global partner ecosystem. She shares the design discipline behind 18 Academy programs, a 75% reduction in admin time, and skill growth that shows up in week one.  In this episode:  * Why the design question “what does completion actually prove?” changes everything about how you build a program  * How milestone-badge architecture lets delivery teams manage at scale without losing sight of individual progress  * Where AI is being used across the L&D stack at ServiceNow — and how to tell the difference between a point solution and a real workflow shift  * How to get started with AI when the space is moving faster than any organization can keep up with  Guest: Shellie Grieve [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shellie-grieve/], Director, Learning Innovation & Emerging Technology, ServiceNow Connect with Sam [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-herring-5944b/] Catch more Being Intrepid Podcast episodes at https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/

Healthcare Leadership: Applying Stoic Philosophy to Manage Complexity

Physicians are trained to have the right answer under pressure. But when a doctor becomes a CEO, that expertise can become a ceiling. The real work is an identity shift, from expert to enterprise leader.  Raj Ramachandran, Senior Partner for Leadership Advisory at WittKieffer, joins Sam Herring to unpack how he develops senior healthcare leaders through executive coaching, stoic philosophy, and structured reflection.  In this episode:  * Why the shift from problem-solving to "holding complexity" catches new executives off guard  * How the stoic framework E + R = O helps leaders focus on how they respond   * The TFAL method, "Think for a Living," and why blocking time without an intention doesn't work  * Why a dyad coaching model (leadership coach + physician mentor) works for healthcare executive development  * Where AI coaching shows promise and why it falls short with executives  Guest: Raj Ramachandran [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajramachandran/], Senior Partner, Leadership Advisory, WittKieffer Connect with Sam [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-herring-5944b/] Catch more Being Intrepid Podcast episodes at https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/

The 93% Problem: Why AI Adoption Keeps Falling Short

Most enterprise AI investments are funded backwards—93% to technology, 7% to people—and the ROI is falling short as a result. In this episode, Sam Herring sits down with Matt Stevens, Managing Director for Human Performance and Learning at Deloitte Consulting, to explore what it actually takes to move AI from fragmented pilots to enterprise-wide adoption.  Matt draws on client work across financial services, healthcare, and beyond to make the case that learning isn't a support function for AI strategy. It is the strategy.  In this episode:  * Why organizations are underinvesting in workforce readiness and what it's costing them in AI ROI  * How one client's AI Academy started with a CEO workshop and cascaded across the organization  * The difference between building AI technical skills and the human skills that complement them—curiosity, critical thinking, judgment  * What L&D leaders must shift: from content production to experience design  * A practical starting point for AI in L&D without a massive budget  Guest: Matt Stevens | Managing Director and Market Offering Leader, Human Performance and Learning | Deloitte Consulting

Leadership in the Age of AI: Human-Centered Onboarding

How do you build strong onboarding experiences in a healthcare organization where the work is both operationally complex and deeply human?  In this episode of Being Intrepid, Sam Herring sits down with Gordon Trujillo, Vice President and Head of Talent Management and Development at DaVita Kidney Care.  DaVita welcomes thousands of caregivers into the organization each year—nurses, patient care technicians, and other frontline roles supporting people living with chronic kidney disease. Gordon shares how DaVita is studying the new hire journey, from attraction to onboarding to manager support, to better understand what drives engagement, retention, and patient care.  They discuss the role of curiosity in leadership, why belonging begins during the first weeks on the job, and how AI can strengthen learning through practice and coaching without replacing the human connection that defines great care.  What you’ll learn:  * Why onboarding is a critical moment for engagement and retention  * How managers who lead with curiosity create stronger teams  * Where AI can support practice and coaching in learning  * Why the earliest weeks of employment shape long-term success Connect with Gordon [https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordontrujillo/⁠ ] Connect with Sam [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-herring-5944b/⁠ ] Listen to more episodes:  https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/ [https://www.intrepidlearning.com/category/podcasts/] #LeadershipInTheAIAge