Agentic AI Execution

In this episode, Leena sits down with senior product manager, former staff TPM, and TPM Craft newsletter author James to chat about how software execution is getting faster and cheaper—and what that actually means for product and TPM roles. We get into some really interesting areas, including where trust still breaks down when you're working with agentic workflows, why building hands-on projects with AI is a total game-changer for modern tech leaders, and why human relationships matter more than ever in an automated world.

Episode Timestamps

* 00:00 – Intro and setting the stage for the agentic AI era with James.

* 00:45 – How TPM, product, and engineering roles are shifting across startups and large enterprises.

* 22:11 – Scarce skills when execution is cheap, building your own AI apps from scratch, and why human connections are critical.

Links & Resources

* Read James's TPM Craft newsletter : https://thetpmcraft.substack.com

* Connect with James : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamzdayhuff/

* Connect with Leena : https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

In Episode 27 of the Agentic AI Execution podcast, host Leena sits down with Technical Program Manager and coach Liudmila to uncover how AI is doubling expected workloads in the tech industry. They dive into the reality of "bot-sitting" (spending hours fixing AI-generated mistakes), practical neuroscience-backed tools to stay grounded under pressure, and how to build sustainable execution systems without sacrificing your mental health.

Key Topics Covered:

* 00:00 – The hidden reality of AI expectations and tech worker fears

* 01:36 – Liudmila’s career journey from test engineer to TPM

* 16:45 – Real-time grounding exercises to manage pressure and anxiety

* 24:30 – Is AI boosting productivity or creating 6.4 extra hours of "bot-sitting"?

* 31:10 – Managing up and reframing career value in the era of AI agents

* 35:38– Final advice on prioritizing life outside of work and avoiding burnout Links:

* Connect with Liudmila: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liudmila-gishman/ * Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

In this episode AWS Community Peter break down a holistic framework for AI adoption. Discover why top-down AI mandates fail, how engineering and product teams must adapt their specifications, and why standard ROI metrics are measuring the wrong things.If your team is trying to figure out how to successfully roll out agentic AI workflows without sacrificing software reliability, this conversation is a must-watch.

**What You'll Learn in This Episode:***

Why AI adoption is a holistic culture and process transformation, not just a tooling problem

* Practical guardrails and linting rules to prevent AI-generated "code slop"

* The real truth about measuring AI ROI and developer productivity metrics

* The single biggest change engineering leaders should make on Monday morning

**Episode Timestamps:***

**00:00** – Introduction: Meet Peter and the Agentic AI Execution Podcast*

**01:10** – The People, Process, and Technology Framework for AI Adoption*

**05:30** – Best Practices for Deploying Quality AI Agents*

**08:40** – How to Prevent AI Slop and Handle Tech Debt*

**13:00** – Measuring True AI Return on Investment (ROI)*

**16:00** – Production-Ready Agentic AI: Startups vs. Enterprise Realities*

**17:50** – One Thing Engineering Leaders Must Change This Monday Morning*

**18:52** – Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts

🔗 Links:

Connect with Peter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petersankauskas/

Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

If your team is still running Story Points and Fibonacci on AI projects, today's guest says that math is already broken.In this episode, from actionable frameworks to the hard truths about AI ROI, Shivam argues that before you implement the technology, you absolutely must fix your broken processes first. We also dive into why we need "human in the *line*" instead of just "human in the *loop*," and exactly what a 30-60-90 day AI integration plan looks like for a mid-sized company.If you are navigating the chaos of AI, this is a must-listen episode!---### ⏱️ **Chapter Timestamps*** **3:31** - The Biggest Bottlenecks: Why agents fail to reach production* **5:45** - Surviving the Chaos: How the TPM role must evolve* **10:03** - The AI Truth: Balancing cost savings, productivity, and employee experience* **12:24** - The #1 reason Agentic AI pilots die (and why you need a charter)* **14:28** - "Human in the Line": Why you need to fix your processes before deploying AI* **19:22** - The Ultimate 30-60-90 Day AI Action Plan for mid-sized companies* **24:50** - Why traditional capacity tracking and methodologies belong out the door* **25:58** - Rethinking AI Security & handing over the keys to the kingdom* **28:20** - Essential skills PMs need for the Agentic AI era* **31:15** - 18 Months Out: Preparing for your new "L3" AI Co-worker* **33:00** - Finding our "uniquely human" purpose in the age of AI* **35:04** - Outro & Final Thoughts🔗 Links:* Connect with Shivam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shivamkhullar/* Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/#AgenticAI #AgenticAIExecution

She's evaluated hundreds of AI pitch decks — and she can spot a real agentic AI company from a wrapper in two sentences.

In Episode 24, I sit down with Sonia, Managing Partner at Zentara Ventures and founder of Dekode Health, to unpack what actually separates AI companies with real ROI from the ones wrapping a chatbot around a spreadsheet and calling it a platform.Sonia isn't theorizing from the sidelines. She's an engineer by training who moved through product and marketing before landing on the venture side — and she's personally built and launched her own AI healthcare product, now in private pilot. Four exits, one IPO, and more than half a billion dollars raised as a C-level executive — she's built a due-diligence lens most investors don't have.

⏱️ Chapters:0:00 Intro

0:32 Sonia's Path: Engineer to Product to Marketing to VC

2:37 What "AI-Powered" Really Buys You in a Pitch5:09 Real AI vs. Wrapper: The VC Due Diligence Test

6:12 Why She Went Deep Before Going Wide

8:23 The 91% Problem: Marketers Faking Agentic Work10:45 The Two-Sentence Test for Fake Agentic A

I13:06 Legal Exposure: Where Founders Overstate AI14:04 What Should Never Get Handed to an Agent

15:36 Agentic AI in Marketing: Why Humans Still Win

17:34 The Line Healthcare AI Should Never Cross

19:42 The ROI Paradox: 84% Positive vs. "It's All Hype"

22:10 AI Layoffs: Real Capability or Convenient Cover?

25:35 The Solopreneur Era (and Why You Still Need Humans)

27:04 Redefining Execution in 2026

29:42 What Changes by 2027

32:15 Where to Find Sonia + Dekode Health

"Founders who treat AI as a marketing layer instead of an infrastructure layer — wrapping a ChatGPT or Claude API around a spreadsheet and calling it a platform — that's not a company. It's a feature at best." — Sonia

🔗 Links:* Connect with Sonia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniahunt/

* Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

Subscribe for new episodes of Agentic AI Execution, where we go past the pitch deck to how AI actually gets built, funded, and used.

#AgenticAI #AgenticAIExecution #VentureCapital #AIStartups #HealthcareAI

Are you throwing money into a black hole with paid ads? Deepti, founder of Uplaud and former product lead for Meta's monetization engine, explains why the future of growth isn't more ad spend—it's customer trust.In this episode of Agentic AI Execution with Leena Agarwal, we dive into why customer referrals convert 5x better than paid media, how agentic AI is transforming the way businesses acquire users, and why the tech stack of the future relies on authentic voices, not just algorithms.

⏱️ Chapters:

0:00 - Intro: Customer Trust is the New Gold

1:13 - Deepti's Journey: From Meta to Startup Founder

4:50 - The Problem with Modern Ad Platforms

8:15 - Why 5-6% is Still a "Good" Conversion Rate

11:30 - How Uplaud Amplifies Authentic Customer Voices

16:45 - Uplaud's AI Stack: Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini

18:20 - Career Advice for PMs & Engineers in the AI Era

🔗 Links:

• Check out Uplaud: https://www.uplaud.ai/
• Connect with Deepthi:   / deepthirao05  
• Connect with Leena:   / leenaagarwal  

Are you throwing money into a black hole with paid ads? Deepti, founder of Uplaud and former product lead for Meta's monetization engine, explains why the future of growth isn't more ad spend—it's customer trust.In this episode of Agentic AI Execution with Leena Agarwal, we dive into why customer referrals convert 5x better than paid media, how agentic AI is transforming the way businesses acquire users, and why the tech stack of the future relies on authentic voices, not just algorithms.⏱️ Chapters:0:00 - Intro: Customer Trust is the New Gold1:13 - Deepti's Journey: From Meta to Startup Founder4:50 - The Problem with Modern Ad Platforms8:15 - Why 5-6% is Still a "Good" Conversion Rate11:30 - How Uplaud Amplifies Authentic Customer Voices16:45 - Uplaud's AI Stack: Claude, OpenAI, and Gemini18:20 - Career Advice for PMs & Engineers in the AI Era🔗 Links:* Check out Uplaud: https://www.uplaud.ai/* Connect with Deepthi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepthirao05/* Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

Aadil has spent 16 years as a TPM across Apple, Google, Nike, and Humane — and he's convinced the biggest risk in the AI era isn't using these tools too little. It's reaching for them before asking whether you even need to.

🕒 Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro & The Airtable Epiphany

00:53 - Why Good Judgment Beats Good Prompts

03:15 - Catching Dilemmas Early & Avoiding Agent Maintenance Overhead

05:10 - What to Delegate vs. What to Keep Control On

08:30 - TPMs Are Synthesizers, Not Producers

11:00 - How TPMs Stand Out in the AI Era

15:30 - What Hiring Managers Look For in Senior TPMs

19:00 - Startup Thinking vs. Big Tech Process Bloat

23:15 - Driving Velocity with Repeatable Systems

25:40 - Feedback Loops & Leadership Lessons from Apple 27:36 - When AI Agents Fail & Avoiding "Judgment Debt" 30:15 - Final Career Advice: Never Stop Learning

32:50 - Key Takeaways & Wrap-Up

🔗 Resources & Links:*

* Aadil writes a newsletter on TPM leadership — https://artoftpm.substack.com/

* Connect with Aadil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aadilmaan/

* Connect with Leena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leenaagarwal/

As Preethy highlights in the podcast, technical founders frequently fall into the trap of thinking "if I build a great product, it will sell itself". But as engineering and AI code generation become commoditized, building is no longer the bottleneck—customer validation and distribution are.

Timestamps / Chapters

00:00 - Introduction: Why Advanced AI Isn't Everything

00:19 - Preeti’s Journey: 25 Years in Silicon Valley

00:45 - Evaluating AI Claims: Privacy, Hallucinations, & Security

01:15 - Questions Founders Must Answer Before Shipping AI01:30 - Agentic AI Capabilities & B2B vs. B2C Dynamics

02:00 - 2026: Moving from AI Adoption to Enterprise Production

02:30 - Solve Unsolvable Problems: Guardrails & Build vs. Buy

03:00 - Blitzscaling Speed vs. Cost & Safety Trade-offs

03:30 - 10x Growth Strategies & Agentic AI in Marketing

04:00 - What Technical Founders Get Wrong About Marketing

04:30 - Human Connection & The 3S Formula for Success

Are you doing the best work of your career, yet someone else keeps getting the credit? In this episode of Agentic AI Execution, host Leena sits down with Uma, a leadership coach and the author of Sought After Leader. After spending more than two decades at Microsoft, Uma realized a hard truth: simply being great at your job and executing flawlessly is no longer enough to get you noticed—especially as AI takes over the execution layer. Tune in to learn how to make your value undeniable and ensure your name is spoken in the rooms where decisions are made. 🕒 Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction: Why great work isn't enough 00:52 - Uma's journey from Microsoft to writing Sought After Leader 04:22 - The SOAR Framework explained 07:54 - The H.U.M.A.N. Edge: 5 skills to stand out in the AI era 13:05 - Real-world case study: Closing the perception gap 20:48 - Strategic visibility vs. bragging 23:42 - Finding "Level 10" opportunities in the white space 31:40 - Final thoughts and where to find Uma 33:57 - Episode recap and takeaways

🔗 Resources & Links:* Read the Book: https://www.amazon.com/Sought-After-Leader-Great-Enough-Above-ebook/dp/B0H7L5W4VM/* Connect with Uma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/uma-subramanian-limitless/* Connect with Leena: