How can AI transform the way we work and innovate? In this special episode of The Paint and Pipette Podcast, we team up with Matt Abrahams, a lecturer of Strategic Communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business and host of the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast. We dive into the world of generative AI in the sports industry, focusing on the groundbreaking work being done by the Portland Trail Blazers. Joining us are David Long, VP of Digital Innovation for The Portland Trail Blazers @ the Rose Quarter, and Christa Stout, their Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer. Together, we explore how AI is driving improvements across three key areas: revenue generation, customer experience, and operational efficiency. Christa and David share how they’ve empowered employees to experiment with AI, encouraging creativity and innovation across their organization. From automating routine tasks like customer feedback analysis to using AI for creative problem-solving, the Trail Blazers have created a supportive environment where AI is seen as a co-worker rather than a replacement. We also examine the importance of active leadership in normalizing AI adoption, ethical considerations, and best practices for helping teams embrace this technology. Whether you’re curious about AI’s potential in sports or looking for ways to introduce AI in your own business, this episode offers practical insights and real-world examples!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Introducing Christa Stout and David Long from the Portland Trail Blazers.
• Details on Jeremy’s new podcast, Beyond the Prompt.
• An overview of the NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers.
• Christa and David’s roles within the organization.
• Three key areas where they are using AI to improve: revenue generation, customer experience, and operational efficiency.
• Jeremy’s collaboration with Christa and David.
• How they created a space for employees to experiment and share how they use AI.
• The benefits of framing AI as a co-worker for your team internally.
• How AI can empower workers: the impressive demo that one employee built using AI.
• Key takeaways for helping workers learn to use generative AI more effectively.
• Effective strategies for encouraging people who are skeptical about generative AI.
• Their approach to ethics, rules, standards, and instituting guardrails.
• Creative uses of AI from production to broadcasting to support the Portland Trail Blazers.
• How to vote for Think Fast, Talk Smart to win the Signal Award.
• Best practices and advice for anyone wanting to innovate with AI.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Matt Abrahams on LinkedIn
Christa Stout on LinkedIn
David Long on LinkedIn
Portland Trailblazers
Rose Quarter

Think Fast Talk Smart

Episode 134: Leveraging AI to unlock new levels of creativity and communication innovation

LinkedIn Live: Think Fast Talk Smart Explores GenAI @ Portland Trail Blazers

Cast your vote for the Signal Awards

Beyond the Prompt

Jeremy Utley

Jeremy Utley Email

Jeremy Utle

Have you ever wondered how traditional leaders can be motivated to support creativity in the workplace? What is the secret to fostering creativity and driving innovation? Today, on the podcast, we welcome Teresa Amabile to help us explore the crucial role that managers play in shaping the inner work lives of their employees through the lens of her book, The Progress Principle. Teresa Amabile is a distinguished scholar and researcher in organizational behavior. She is renowned for her groundbreaking work on creativity, motivation, and the work environment. Joining as a co-host is Diego Rodriguez, a board member at LendingTree, whose expertise extends to pioneering tough tech, fintech, and shaping the future of transportation. In our conversation, we unpack her interest in ‘garden variety’ creativity, why reward incentives are not good motivation tools, and what kills creativity. Discover the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, typical progress inhibitors, and how failure can lead to innovative breakthroughs. We discuss the power of small wins, what extrinsic motivators are necessary, the role of AI in creativity, why the meaningfulness of work is essential for productivity, and much more. Join us as we uncover Teresa’s progressive unifying theory of design thinking and how it applies to the culture of creativity for organizations. Tune in now!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Her shift in focus from studying exceptional individuals to ordinary people's creativity.
• Learn about the impact of social environments on creativity.
• How companies, like IDEO and Hewlett Packard, foster a culture of creativity.
• Teresa unpacks The Progress Principle concept and how it applies to organizations.
• Discover the value of “intrinsic motivation” and the steps to creating it.
• Effective strategies leaders can leverage to overcome a company crisis.
• Hear how a major failure can lead to an innovative breakthrough.
• Potential of AI to gain deeper insights into motivation and creativity.
• Ways traditional leaders can be intrinsically motivated to drive creativity.
• Explore the concept of AI augmenting human intelligence and creativity.
• Our guests share advice and their final takeaways for listeners.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Teresa Amabile

Teresa Amabile on LinkedIn

The Progress Principle

Diego Rodriguez on LinkedIn

LendingTree

IDEO

Hewlett Packard

‘Creativity, Artificial Intelligence, and a World of Surprises’

Retiring: Creating a Life That Works for You

Jeremy Utley

Jeremy Utley Email

Jeremy Utley on X

Jeremy Utley on LinkedIn

To what extent are our inner lives shaped by the stories we tell ourselves? And how can we learn to see the world as it truly is? Today on the podcast we have Diana Chapman, Co-Founder of The Conscious Leadership Group, an organization that helps leaders and their teams build trust and create conscious cultures through coaching, training, and more. She is also a facilitator, CEO coach, speaker, and co-author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, a book that distills decades of accumulated knowledge from working with CEOs and other leaders. In today’s conversation with Diana, we delve into the complexities of what it means to accept our inner emotions, how we can learn to understand our reactivity to other people, and how these skills can help us foster environments that preserve psychological safety without sacrificing candor. Tuning you’ll learn about the profound lessons Diana learned at The Hendricks Institute, the impact they had on her life, and how she and her team help organizations foster conscious leadership and collaboration. We also delve into the importance of play, why the enneagram is such a useful tool for leaders, and what it means to operate in your Zone of Genius. Tune in to hear all of Diana’s insights on life, leadership, and learning how to see the world as it truly is!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Get to know today’s guest, Diana Chapman, and how she discovered the Hendricks Institute.
• The tools Diana acquired there and how they changed her life.
• Understanding the radical concept that ‘I am the creator of my own suffering’.
• Reactivity, acceptance, and how to change your behavior (and the outcomes).
• Unpacking the concept of radical responsibility.
• Learning to get comfortable with all the emotions and sensations in your body.
• The intelligence underlying our emotions and what they can teach us.
• How to preserve psychological safety without sacrificing candor.
• Diana’s approach to creating an environment where candor can propel innovation.
• The practices she and her team give organizations to foster these environments.
• Diana’s insights on the importance of play.
• How to assess whether there is enough play in your life.
• Advice on bringing more play into your life.
• Why the enneagram is such a meaningful tool for leaders.
• Learning to embrace the gifts and shadow side of your enneagram type.
• How you can use the enneagram as a parent to deepen your connection with your kids.
• The Zone of Genius: what it is, why it’s important, and how can discover it.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Diana Chapman on LinkedIn

Diana Chapman on X

The Conscious Leadership Group

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success

The Hendricks Institute

Bernard Roth

Brendan Boyle

Jennifer Brandy Wallace

Jeremy Utley

Jeremy Utley Email

Jeremy Utley on X

Jeremy Utley on LinkedIn