In this episode, Humza Teherany breaks down how he bridges deep technical fluency with strategic leadership at MLSE, home to the Raptors, Maple Leafs, and more. He shares how a vacation turned into an AI reawakening and how that hands-on immersion led to a fundamental shift in how his organization builds and experiments.

Humza walks through MLSE’s build in a day practice, their internal AI platform, and why speed to prototype now unlocks more than just efficiency. It changes who gets to shape the future. He, Jeremy, and Henrik explore the limits of traditional enterprise AI rollouts and how to build spaces for superusers that enable company-wide transformation. The conversation covers how technical literacy impacts credibility, why idea execution is the new differentiator, and how Humza’s five-year-old inspired a bedtime story app powered by AI.

Whether you're a CTO, a founder, or just figuring out where to start, Humza makes a compelling case. The best leaders don’t delegate this moment. They build.

Key Takeaways

• Leaders should not delegate the AI moment
  Humza, Henrik, and Jeremy agree that this is a moment for leaders to be hands-on. The ones who build and explore the tools themselves are the ones unlocking real impact.
• Technical fluency builds credibility and better decisions
  Humza’s return to his technical roots has changed how he leads. Understanding how AI works helps leaders earn trust and make smarter, faster choices.
• Speed enables inclusion
  MLSE’s build in a day model allows more people to contribute ideas and see them turned into real prototypes. Moving fast isn’t just efficient - it changes who gets to participate.
• Empower your superusers first
  Rather than starting with enterprise-wide training, Humza focuses on enabling the small group already eager to build. That early energy helps drive broader culture change.

MLSE: mlse.com
LinkedIn: Humza Teherany - LinkedIn

00:00 Intro: Humza Teherany and MLSE
00:27 The Role of C-Suite Leaders in AI
01:08 Reconnecting with Technical Skills
02:08 Diving Deep into AI Tools
03:03 The Importance of Hands-On Learning
04:25 Progression from Consumer to Technical AI Tools
07:28 Building a Business Case for AI
10:03 Creating a Culture of Innovation
14:00 Implementing AI in Business Operations
21:05 Challenges and Strategies in AI Adoption
26:17 Organizational Structure for AI Success
32:02 The Importance of Reviewing and Planning Code
33:01 The Future of Solo Developers and New Technologists
34:58 Reimagining Company Structures with AI
38:55 Key Skills for Future Technology Leaders
41:19 Personal AI Experiments and Innovations
46:52 Encouraging Creativity in Children with AI
49:11 The Debrief

📜 Read the transcript for this episode:

For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:

Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley

Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.

In this teaser, Henrik and Jeremy debrief their conversation with Humza Teherany, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at MLSE. They reflect on how Humza rebuilt his technical fluency, why he believes leaders can't delegate this moment, and what it actually looks like to launch an internal AI lab that ships in 24 hours. Full episode out next week.
Full episode LIVE NOW.

For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:

Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley

Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.

Mikkel B. Rasmussen brings a rare lens to the AI conversation. As an applied anthropologist, he has spent decades helping companies like LEGO uncover what is really going on beneath the surface.

In this episode, he shares how deep insight often begins with being wrong, why surprise is the clearest sign you have found something meaningful, and how the pain of not knowing is essential to breakthrough thinking. He also explains how AI is transforming his own research, from pattern recognition to video ethnography, and introduces a provocative idea: Anthropology Without Anthropologists.

Jeremy and Henrik reflect on what it means to teach AI how to surprise us, how synthetic data might reshape experimentation, and why better insights begin with better questions.

Key Takeaways

• Insight starts with being wrong
  Mikkel defines insight as the gap between how we think the world works and how it actually is. Anthropology helps uncover these mismatches, and that is where real breakthroughs begin.
• Pain is part of the process
  Mikkel and Jeremy both reflect on the emotional struggle that precedes insight. The doubt, sleepless nights, and questioning whether the work will ever come together is not failure. It is a necessary stage of discovery.
• Surprise is a signal
  The moment of surprise, when a new pattern emerges or an assumption is shattered, is at the core of applied anthropology. For Mikkel, it is the clearest sign that you have found something real.
• AI can accelerate experimentation
  Mikkel shares how AI is already helping his team analyze patterns, run faster experiments, and even conduct interviews that outperform humans in some cases. The goal is not to replace people but to push the limits of what is possible.

HARL: humanactivitylab.com

00:00 Intro: Why This Conversation Matters
00:25 Meet Mikkel: Founder of Human Activity Laboratory
01:14 Understanding Anthropology and AI
03:32 Applied Anthropology: Tools and Techniques
04:56 The Role of Narratives in AI
07:06 The Importance of Sensory and Social Dimensions
13:06 Case Study: LEGO and the Anthropology of Play
21:07 The Role of Surprise in Anthropology
27:51 AI and Human Synergy
31:26 Exploring AI's Limitations and Potential
32:46 Anthropology Without Anthropologists
34:17 AI's Role in Generating Insights
37:23 Human Bias in AI-Generated Ideas
42:05 Synthetic Data and Its Applications
47:34 The Future of AI in Anthropology
49:25 The Debrief

📜 Read the transcript for this episode: why-ai-gets-people-wrong-the-real-source-of-insight-with-anthropologist-mikkel-b-rasmussen/transcript

For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:

Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley

Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.