Beyond The Prompt - How to use AI in your company

By Jeremy Utley & Henrik Werdelin

Beyond the Prompt dives deep into the world of AI and its expanding impact on business and daily work. Hosted by Jeremy Utley of Stanford's d.school, alongside Henrik Werdelin, an entrepreneur known f... more

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Number 1: What Happens When AI Adoption Actually Works? - with Eric Porres, Chief AI Officer of Logitech
A year ago, Logitech had people experimenting with AI. Today, Eric says he can’t think of a single part of the company that isn’t building, exploring, or creating something with it. Eric shares what helped make that happen. There’s a Build Advisor that helps employees figure out what to build and connects them with people who may have already worked on something similar. AI in Action moments are now part of company and leadership meetings. And before leadership presents to the board, there’s an expectation that their work goes through an AI Board Advisor first. Henrik, Jeremy, and Eric also get into what comes next: how to measure whether all this AI activity actually creates value, why Eric built AI systems to manage his own information overload and sleep, and why creating something new should come with another question: what old report, process, or way of working can now disappear? Key Takeaways Embed AI into how work gets done AI becomes more valuable when it’s built into existing workflows and expectations, rather than simply made available for people to use. Make AI adoption visible and repeatable Logitech keeps AI present through AI in Action moments, leadership routines, office hours, shared Gems, and a 175-person volunteer Champions Network. Build resources that help people help themselves Tools like the Build Advisor give employees a place to start, surface work that already exists, and connect them with colleagues who have tackled similar problems. Ask what you can stop doing Eric argues that every new AI-enabled artifact should come with another question: what old report, process, or way of working can now disappear? Eric's website: porres.com/ Eric's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/eporres/ Logitech: www.logitech.com/ 00:00 Embedding AI Into the Workflow 00:52 Meet Eric Porres 01:15 The Cambrian Explosion of AI 06:20 Measuring the Value of AI 11:16 The Build Advisor 16:12 Keeping Up With AI 19:43 Making AI Part of the Culture 21:37 The AI Board Advisor 25:51 Building an AI Champions Network 29:15 Eric’s Personal AI Stack 32:17 The AI Vampire Problem 40:59 Building a Deep Memory 46:49 What Can AI Help You Delete? 55:19 The Debrief 📜 Read the transcript for this episode: Here! 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/werdelinJeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.
August 19, 20261h 6min
Number 2: What You Can Learn From Asking AI for Brutal Honesty About Yourself - with Bestselling Author Daniel Pink
The conversation begins with an experiment that caught Jeremy's attention. Dan asked ChatGPT to tell him what his friends wouldn't. From questions about his blind spots to what people might say behind his back, some responses felt completely wrong, while others landed with surprising force. Rather than accepting every answer, Dan explains why the real value comes from wrestling with AI's perspective, not simply believing it. From there, Henrik, Jeremy, and Dan explore what it takes to use AI well. They discuss intellectual humility, prompting models to challenge rather than flatter us, and why AI works best as a sparring partner that exposes weaknesses in our thinking. The conversation also touches on taste, agency, and why, in a world where execution is becoming easier, discernment and original thinking become even more valuable. Key Takeaways: Use AI to make your thinking visible The best AI conversations don't just generate answers. They help you understand your own assumptions, reactions, and ideas more clearly. Treat AI as a sparring partner Challenge AI's responses, ask it to critique your work, and use it to strengthen your thinking rather than replace it. Taste is developed by creating As AI makes execution easier, judgment and discernment become more valuable. The best way to develop both is by creating, not just consuming. Agency depends on context People don't become more agentic through willpower alone. The right environment, with autonomy and room to take risks, makes initiative possible. Daniel's website: danpink.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/danielpink AI Self-Reflection Prompts: danpink.com/ai-guide/ 00:00 AI as a Brutally Honest Advisor 00:32 Meet Daniel Pink 00:47 AI for Self-Knowledge 01:40 A Brutally Honest AI 06:10 What Do People Say Behind Your Back? 07:45 Should You Trust AI's Advice? 13:28 The Fear of Irrelevance 17:44 Intellectual Humility 20:04 AI as a Sparring Partner 24:35 Teaching AI to Think Like You 27:38 Why Taste Matters 29:59 Agency Starts with Context 37:08 A Future That's a Little Better 41:49 Nostalgia vs. Reality 45:18 The Debrief 📜 Read the transcript for this episode: Here! 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/werdelinJeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.
July 22, 202651min
Number 3: Proof of Craft: What It Takes to Stand Out When Everything Looks Good - with Laura Jones, CMO of Instacart
Laura Jones explains that generative AI is raising the bar for creativity. When everyone can produce “pretty good” content, the real challenge is creating something that actually stands out. The risk is not poor output, but settling too quickly for what already works. She argues that as products become more similar, brand becomes a signal of trust. Not in a visual sense, but in the experience behind it. At Instacart, that shows up in details like how a banana is selected. With over a billion bananas delivered and millions of orders including notes on ripeness, customers are expressing very specific preferences. That behavior led to both new product features and the creative idea behind their Super Bowl campaign. The conversation also explores how teams should work with AI. While it can automate repetitive tasks and speed up iteration, it can also create a tendency to agree with what’s generated, especially when working alone. Laura emphasizes that the best ideas still come from people challenging each other, building on different perspectives, and pushing beyond the first acceptable answer. Key takeaways: Mediocre is easier than ever, which raises the bar for originality When AI gets everyone to “pretty good,” the work that stands out has to go further. The bar is not lower. It is higher. Brand becomes trust when products converge As functionality becomes easier to replicate, the question becomes who you trust to get it right. Brand is the answer to that. Only do what only you can do Use AI to take on repetitive work, then spend your time on judgment, insight, and decisions that require a human point of view. Need-finding still requires real people Synthetic research can help, but it cannot replace observing real behavior. The banana insight came from what customers actually did. Human plus bot plus human Working only with AI makes it easy to agree and move on. The best ideas come from people challenging each other, with AI in the middle, not as the whole process. Instacart: instacart.com Super Bowl ad: Super Bowl (Instacart ad) Laura LinkedIn: linkedin/laurajones ro's post: ro.co/perspectives/super-bowl-economics 00:00 Intro: Originality vs AI Complacency 00:27 Meet Laura Jones 01:23 Brand as trust when products converge 03:50 Personalization and reducing mental load 06:24 What still matters in marketing 10:33 Why need-finding cannot be shortcut 14:09 Using AI without losing judgment 16:33 New channels and where customers actually are 21:35 Why “dopey ideas” matter 25:42 Human plus bot plus human 28:44 Inside the Super Bowl ad 31:47 From banana insight to product 34:49 Taking creative risks at scale 37:34 Fear, pressure, and team chemistry 46:24 AI and faster prototyping 53:26 The debrief 📜 Read the transcript for this episode proof-of-craft-what-it-takes-to-stand-out-when-everything-looks-good-with-laura-jones-cmo-of-instacart/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/werdelinJeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.
April 29, 20261h 7min
Number 4: How Do You Run a Company When You Can’t See Six Months Ahead? - with Axios CEO Jim VandeHei
Jim VandeHei joins Henrik and Jeremy around the launch of his new book, Simplify: Do 50% More With 50% Less, co-authored with Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz. In the conversation, Jim shares how he’s leading Axios through AI, from turning himself into an “AI lab rat” to rethinking how the company works. At Axios, Jim gave everyone access to ChatGPT, brought in training, and invited employees who took naturally to the technology to help others across the company. He also shares how AI fellows working directly with him prototype new ideas, why companies should delete unnecessary work before automating it, and how Axios is preparing for a world where more information moves from the open web into social platforms and personalized LLMs. The conversation ends with a bigger question: what story are we telling people about an AI-enabled future? Jim worries that the negative case for AI is vivid and easy to understand, while the positive case often amounts to curing cancer or eliminating work. He makes the case for something more tangible: using AI to make people’s work and lives better while preserving human connection and the feeling that what people do still matters. Jim's new book: Simplify: Do 50% more with 50% less “Confessions of an AI Lab Rat”: Read here! Axios: Axios.com Jim's LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/JimVandeHei Key TakeawaysLeaders need to become AI lab rats Leaders need firsthand experience with AI to understand what it can do and give others permission to experiment.Give the CEO an AI “SEAL team” Jim’s AI fellows help him prototype ideas quickly, stay current, and experiment outside the normal company processes.Delete before you automate Before using AI to make existing work faster, ask which meetings, processes, and activities shouldn’t exist at all.AI needs a better story about what goes right The negative future of AI is easy to picture. Jim argues we need a more tangible vision of how AI can improve people’s lives without losing purpose and human connection.00:00 Intro: Predictions for the future 00:46 Meet Jim VandeHei 01:06 Becoming an AI Lab Rat 04:21 How Axios Got Everyone Using AI 05:46 Who Gets the Most Out of AI? 08:27 The AI Understanding Gap 11:04 How Jim Keeps Up With AI 14:20 Building Axios for an AI Future 20:47 The CEO’s AI “SEAL Team” 23:52 Writing for Humans and LLMs 26:49 Delete Before You Automate 30:46 The Monthly Mentality 35:58 AI-Assisted Writing and Authenticity 41:47 The Coming Political Backlash 47:42 A Better Story for AI 55:25 The Debrief 📜 Read the transcript for this episode: Here! 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/werdelinJeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.
September 16, 20261h 3min
Number 5: From Knowledge Worker to Intelligence Worker: Why Human Judgment Matters More With AI - with OpenAI’s Brice Challamel
After helping lead AI adoption at Moderna, Brice Chalamel has a new goal at OpenAI: help create 1,000 AI adoption success stories across large organizations. Brice takes Henrik and Jeremy inside how work happens at OpenAI, where Slack has largely replaced internal email, agents help process information and draft responses, and some workflows are already moving agent to agent. But as AI takes on more responsibility, Brice argues that trust can’t be mandated. It has to be earned. The conversation goes beyond tools into what it actually takes to lead people through change. Brice explains why, in a ten-step journey, nine steps may only be halfway, why our existing mental models shape how we respond to AI, and why leaders need to listen before trying to change someone’s mind. They also explore Brice’s idea that AI could move us from “knowledge workers” to “intelligence workers,” a personal story about his mother using ChatGPT while caring for his father with Alzheimer’s, and why the benefits of AI need to extend beyond the people already living in abundance. Key Takeaways Trust in AI has to be earned As agents take on more responsibility, people need experience with them before they’re willing to hand over judgment and communication. AI adoption is a mind game and a heart game Successful change depends not just on what people know about AI, but on what they believe, fear, and care about. Nine steps can be only halfway there The final stage of transformation is often where the hardest work begins and assumptions need to be questioned. We’re moving from knowledge workers to intelligence workers As AI handles more information processing, human value shifts toward judgment, perspective, influence, and decision-making. Listen before you think Changing minds starts with understanding the experiences and mental models behind someone’s point of view, not simply making a better argument. Brice's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bricechallamel/ Website: powerofwhy.ai 00:00 Intro: From Knowledge Worker to Intelligence Worker 00:30 Meet Brice Chalamel 01:18 From Moderna to OpenAI 04:50 The Mission: 1,000 AI Success Stories 07:45 How Work Happens at OpenAI 08:59 When Agents Talk to Agents 10:56 Trust Has to Be Earned 15:22 Brice’s Principles for Change 16:45 Nine Steps Is Halfway There 25:21 The Mind Game 30:24 Why Leaders Resist AI 35:28 The Human Side of AI 37:37 When ChatGPT Became a Lifeline 41:56 From Knowledge Worker to Intelligence Worker 43:37 Agency in the AI Era 46:31 Who Gets to Benefit From AI? 51:39 What Our Fear of AI Reveals 56:18 Listen Before You Think 01:03:07 The Debrief 📜 Read the transcript for this episode: Here! 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/werdelinJeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.
September 02, 20261h 13min