157: "You've Probably Just Scratched the Surface of AI" ft. Justin Coats

163: "You Are the Weather on Every Room You Enter" (reflections on Lisa Even)

🧠 Erik’s Take Erik reflects on his conversation with Lisa Even through a practical lens: the ripple effect isn’t a philosophy—it’s a responsibility. What stood out most wasn’t just the idea that every action creates a ripple—it’s that leaders need a way to operationalize that awareness in real time, especially when things get hard. The insight that hit: leadership isn’t about defaulting to positivity—it’s about choosing the right response for the moment. That requires awareness, intention, and the ability to pause long enough to decide how to show up.  🎯 Top Insights from the Interview * You are the “weather” in every room you enter. Leadership starts with recognizing the emotional environment—and deciding what the moment needs.  * Positive doesn’t always mean effective. Blind optimism can erode trust. Sometimes leadership requires matching or redirecting intensity.  * Values aren’t powerful until they’re activated. Identifying team values is step one—honoring them publicly is what creates trust and connection.  * Small actions create compounding ripple effects. A single behavior change (like starting meetings with humor) can shift team dynamics in unexpected ways.  * Culture is just “what’s normal”. If you want to change culture, you have to identify and challenge the everyday behaviors people accept.  🧩 The Personal Layer Erik connects deeply with the tension many leaders feel: You look at your organization—big, complex, slow-moving—and think, “There’s no way I can change this.” But the realization here is grounding: you’re not responsible for changing everything—you’re responsible for your next interaction. That shift removes overwhelm and replaces it with agency. It reframes leadership from a massive, abstract responsibility into something immediate and actionable: * How did you show up in that meeting?  * What did you reinforce as “normal”?  * What ripple did you create in that moment?  🧰 From Insight to Action * Run the “weather check” before key interactions. Ask: What’s the environment I’m walking into—and what does it actually need? * Audit your team’s “normal”. Identify the attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs that define your culture today.  * Start with one small friction point. Don’t try to fix everything—solve one visible issue (like the “Starbucks problem”) and build momentum.  * Make values visible and actionable. Don’t just talk about them—design moments where people can live them.  * Measure your day by your ripple effect. Not tasks completed—but how people experienced you.  🗣️ Notable Quotes * “In every interaction, you’re creating a ripple—positive, neutral, or negative.”  * “It’s not about always bringing sunshine—sometimes the moment needs something else.”  * “Leadership is moving people in a direction they wouldn’t have gone otherwise.”  * “Culture is just all the ways of being—attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs.”  * “Start small. That first win creates momentum for the next.”  🔗 Links & Resources * Listen to Lisa Even's Episode [https://podcast.languageofleadership.io/158-lisa-even-what-kind-of-ripple-effect-are-you-creating-as-a-leader]

162: Lisa Even: "What Kind of Ripple Effect Are You Creating as a Leader?"

In this conversation, Erik sits down with leadership coach and keynote speaker Lisa Even to unpack one deceptively simple idea: everything you do creates a ripple. From the way leaders show up emotionally to how they engage and adapt culture in real time, Lisa breaks down leadership into something far more actionable—and far more personal—than most frameworks. This episode blends practical tactics with powerful metaphors (weather, energy, waves) and real-world stories that show how culture isn’t built in strategy decks—it’s built in moments. 👤 About the Guest Lisa Even is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, and leadership coach who helps organizations create what she calls a “good ripple effect.” With a background in healthcare operations and team leadership, she now works with organizations like ESPN, SHRM, and Disney, helping leaders: * Build trust quickly  * Show up with intentional presence  * Shape stronger, more human-centered cultures  She’s also the host of the Have a Good Ripple Effect podcast. 🧭 Conversation Highlights * The origin of “good ripple effect” and why it stuck  * Why leadership is less about big vision—and more about moment-to-moment behavior * The “weather analogy” that reframes how leaders show up  * How to manage energy like a finite resource (the $50 energy metaphor)  * Why self-awareness collapses under pressure—and how to rebuild it * The power of identifying and activating individual values on your team * Lisa’s SEA framework: Show up → Engage → Adapt  * Why culture is just “all the ways of being” (and how to actually change it)  💡 Key Takeaways * Leadership is built in micro-moments, not macro-intentions. It’s not about being a “positive force”—it’s about how you show up right now. * You bring “weather” into every room. Your energy shapes the environment whether you’re intentional about it or not.  * Energy is a currency—spend it wisely. Leaders who manage where their energy goes create better outcomes (and avoid burnout).  * Values are visible—if you know how to listen. What people talk about (and complain about) reveals what matters most to them.  ❓ Questions That Mattered * What’s the difference between “being positive” and creating a ripple effect?  * How do you maintain intentional leadership in chaotic environments?  * What does good leadership look like beyond emotion—into execution?  * How do you actually activate someone’s values, not just identify them?  * How can leaders change culture when they don’t control the whole system?  🗣️ Notable Quotes * “Everything we say and do is a ripple—happy or crappy, our choice.”  * “When you enter a room, you’re bringing weather with you.”  * “You can’t use all your energy every day—you have to decide where it goes.”  * “People wear their values on their forehead—you just have to listen.”  * “Start small. Why are you trying to boil the ocean?”  * “Culture is all the ways of being—do we like them or not?”  🔗 Links & Resources * Check out Lisa's Website: lisaeven.com [https://lisaeven.com/] * Follow Lisa on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-even-have-good-ripple-effect-0778b112] * Subscribe to Lisa's Newsletter on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/have-good-ripple-effect-7281008406486781953/] * Subscribe to Lisa's Podcast: Have Good Ripple Effect [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/have-good-ripple-effect/id1737506915]

161: "How Should Companies Think About AI That Has Agency To Act?" ft. Justin Coats

Erik and Justin unpack a recent story about an AI agent deleting a rental car company’s entire database, using it as a real-world forcing function for how leaders should think about agent risk, permissions, and organizational readiness. 🧭 Conversation Highlights * Justin frames the incident as evidence of technical limitations, rapid capability growth, and a lack of widespread agent literacy. * Erik pushes on the core fear: even if you tell an agent “don’t do that,” an agent with write/delete power can still decide to do it anyway. * They contrast “agents” with more deterministic “AI-assisted workflows,” where outcomes are constrained to a predefined process. * Justin describes an internal example where connecting an agent to Slack resulted in “agent owned account” access to shared systems like Google Drive, illustrating how “keys to the kingdom” can appear. 💡 Key Takeaways * Agent risk is not just about whether the code is perfect, it’s about permissions, authentication context, and what the system is allowed to do when it makes a judgment. * Organizations may not need to wait for the tech to mature, but they do need to become literate enough to deploy it safely in their specific environment. * Treat high-risk areas like “earthquake zones” and use a MiniMax mindset: plan for the worst plausible failure modes within your design envelope. * Roll out agent capabilities stepwise and methodically, and distinguish open-ended agent power from constrained, deterministic workflows. ❓ Questions That Mattered * What does it mean to “guardrail” an agent if it can decide to break the rules anyway? * Where should agent permissions stop, especially when authentication and “agent owned” contexts expand access? * How do leaders develop employees and organizational processes so the company is not effectively hiring “toddlers with keys” to critical systems? * What new organizational roles and governance will be needed when agents become part of a digital org structure? 🗣️ Notable Quotes * “The capabilities of these systems are literally agents. have agency, which you taught me... the tools, the digital entities or a human's ability to look at a situation, assess and make a decision.” * “When confronted about what it did, the agent said, yeah, I shouldn't have done that. I blew past every security checkpoint you gave me” * “You don't have to leap that far.” * “It forced me to choose this option that says agent owned account instead of end user account.” 🔗 Links & Resources * Listen To Other Episodes Co-Hosted With Justin [https://www.google.com/url?q=https://podcast.languageofleadership.io/categories/i-have-some-ai-questions-with-justin-coats/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1778613486747026&usg=AOvVaw3gwtJZZotVyyOmtFUVf5c1] * Read the Article mentioned in the Episode [https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/article/this-claude-powered-ai-agent-deleted-a-companys-whole-database--and-then-gloated-about-it-165838948.html?guccounter=1]

160: "What To Do When Your Boss Breaks The Boundaries They Set Themselves?" ft. Alli Murphy

Erik and Alli walk through what a C-suite leader should do when a new CEO breaks an early promise about no weekend or after-hours contact. They frame it as a leadership expectation problem across past, present, and future, then get practical about aligning definitions, the “rules of engagement,” and how to reset things without defensiveness. 🧭 Conversation Highlights * Erik reframes the issue as a violation of expectations set by a leader who holds real power over the C-suite person’s day-to-day life. * They identify two critical “words” that often derail trust: what counts as “reach out,” and what qualifies as an “emergency.” * Alli describes a practical, non-confrontational approach: not responding when the message is not actually an emergency, using Do Not Disturb, and letting the CEO recalibrate. * They land on the need for a future-facing conversation that is curious and team-oriented, including options like clear expectations, desired outcomes, and even code words for true emergencies. 💡 Key Takeaways * When expectations are violated, clarity on the specific terms matters more than the intention behind the promise. * “Emergency” is rarely a shared definition, so leaders and executives should align on criteria and desired outcomes when it matters. * Non-escalating pushback can be effective when it signals the mismatch between the CEO’s words and behavior. * You do not have to choose between full compliance and full exit. There is a middle ground that can protect your boundaries while still delivering results. ❓ Questions That Mattered * What does “reach out” mean in practice, and what does “emergency” mean in your world? * If this is an emergency, what outcome needs to happen and how does the leader expect the person to handle it in real time? * How should disagreements about urgency be handled, and what is the acceptable way to say “I don’t agree that this qualifies” (without derailing trust)? * Can and should the conversation be revisited later to reset expectations moving forward? How? 🗣️ Notable Quotes * “I won't reach out to you at home unless there's an emergency.” * “Could we take a moment to make sure we're on the same page around what reach out means?” * “What is it that makes this an emergency and what's the desired outcome that needs to happen if this indeed is an emergency?” * “Two things, one, they don't own you and they don't own your life. Work is a part of your life, not the whole thing.” 🔗 Links & Resources * Listen To Other Episodes Co-Hosted With Alli [https://www.google.com/url?q=https://podcast.languageofleadership.io/categories/leadership-talks-with-alli-murphy/&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1778608505608779&usg=AOvVaw3rJm0RiAz435-Hk0eU-wjo]

159: "Is Your Current Sales Process Working Against You?" (reflections on Daniel Schmidt)

🧠 Erik’s Take Erik zooms in on something most people intellectually “know” but don’t operationalize: sales is a process—but we resist treating it like one. What stood out most isn’t just the seven steps—it’s where the leverage actually lives: discovery and qualification. Daniel’s philosophy reframes sales from persuasion to alignment. If you don’t understand the outcome the business cares about, you’re not selling—you’re guessing. There’s also a deeper layer here: Erik connects this to a broader shift happening right now. The idea of “rare and valuable skills” is breaking down. In a world where knowledge is abundant, judgment, discernment, and conversation become the new scarcity. 🎯 Top Insights from the Interview * Sales gets easier when you’re “in the current”  If you align to real business outcomes, momentum replaces resistance.  * Discovery isn’t a step—it’s the foundation  Without it, everything else becomes friction-heavy and inefficient.  * You’re not qualified just because someone is talking to you  Right problem + right person = everything.  * Not all industries will feel AI equally (yet)  Physical/logistical industries have a different disruption timeline.  * “Rare and valuable” has shifted from technical to human  Discernment, communication, and experience are harder to replicate than skills.  🧩 The Personal Layer Erik reflects on something subtle but important: even people in sales resist the structure of it. There’s an identity tied to being the “natural” salesperson—the smooth talker, the closer. But that identity actually gets in the way of scale. He also highlights a tension that’s showing up everywhere right now: *  The skills that used to differentiate you are becoming accessible  *  The skills that now matter are harder to define, harder to teach, and harder to measure  That shift creates uncertainty—but also opportunity. 🧰 From Insight to Action * Rebuild your sales conversations around outcomes  Ask: What is this company actually trying to achieve? * Audit your discovery process ruthlessly  If you’re skipping depth here, you’re paying for it later.  * Qualify the person, not just the problem  Influence without authority = stalled deals.  * Shift your development focus  Spend less time acquiring skills, more time improving judgment.  * Practice asking better questions  The quality of your discovery determines the quality of your results.  🗣️ Notable Quotes *  “You don’t even know what to sell until you know what problem they’re trying to solve.”  *  “If you’re not aligned with corporate outcomes, you’re pushing a boulder uphill.”  *  “Sales isn’t about saying the right thing—it’s about doing the right process at scale.”  *  “Rare and valuable isn’t what it used to be.”  *  “Discernment and conversation are becoming the real differentiators.”  🔗 Links & Resources * Listen to Daniel Schmidt's Episode [https://podcast.languageofleadership.io/155-daniel-schmidt-selling-is-a-system-not-a-personality-trait]