The modern workplace often glorifies constant productivity and hustle culture, but at what cost? More professionals are burning out earlier in their careers, while elite athletes are extending their peak performance years. What can business leaders learn from high-performance sports about energy management and sustainable success? How do you distinguish between your 'inner game'—managing your energy and purpose—and your 'outer game' of business skills and execution? Could simple techniques like compartmentalization, breathing exercises, and finding deeper purpose transform your professional effectiveness? What if the key to avoiding burnout isn't working less, but working differently?

Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld is an international executive, investor, and entrepreneur. He is the Founder and CEO of K2Elevation, which develops and invests in technology and biotech ventures across Germany, Austria, and the U.S. He serves as Chairman of KONUX and FERNRIDE, sits on the supervisory boards of GreyOrange, Fero Labs, and NEOM, and is an Advisory Partner at EMH Partners. Previously, he was the first CEO of NEOM, where he remains on the board and advises the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on economic development. Earlier in his career, Dr. Kleinfeld was Chairman and CEO of Alcoa/Arconic, leading the company through a major transformation and successful split, and spent two decades at Siemens, ultimately becoming CEO of Siemens AG. He has also served on numerous global boards and advisory councils, including the Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, and World Economic Forum, and advised U.S. Presidents and international leaders. Born in Bremen, Germany, he holds an MBA from the University of Göttingen, a PhD from the University of Würzburg, and dual U.S.-German citizenship.

In the episode, Richie and Klaus explore the causes of workplace burnout, the parallels between high-performing workers and athletes, the importance of managing energy and purpose, practical techniques for emotional and mental control, the role of downtime in productivity, and strategies for creating a supportive work culture, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Klaus’ Book - Leading to Thrive
• Connect with Klaus
• Course: Understanding Prompt Engineering
• Related Episode: Becoming Remarkable with Guy Kawasaki, Author and Chief Evangelist at Canva
• Rewatch RADAR AI 

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Welcome to DataFramed Industry Roundups! In this series of episodes, we sit down to discuss the latest and greatest in data & AI. 

In this episode, with special guest, DataCamp Editor Alex, we touch upon the launch of GPT-5, scaling limits in AI, Meta’s leaked chatbot guidelines, trust in AI tools from the Stack Overflow survey, why OpenAI and Anthropic are giving models away to the US government, AI safety concerns around reasoning, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• GPT-5 Is an Evolution, Not a Revolution
• Meta’s AI rules have let bots hold ‘sensual’ chats with kids, offer false medical info
• AI | 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey
• OpenAI, Anthropic, both giving AI to federal workers for $1/agency

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Every day, knowledge workers face the challenge of managing competing priorities and constant interruptions. When systems are managing us rather than us managing them, productivity suffers and morale plummets. But what if the key to improvement isn't complex reorganization but rather understanding how work actually flows through your team or organization? How can visualizing your workflow and regulating for flow transform productivity? What small, incremental changes might lead to dramatic improvements in both output and job satisfaction?

Nelson P. Repenning is the Faculty Director of the MIT Leadership Center and the School of Management Distinguished Professor of System Dynamics and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His early work focused on understanding the inability of organizations to leverage well-established tools and practices. He has worked extensively with organizations trying to develop new capabilities in both manufacturing and new product development. Nelson has also studied the failure to use the safety practices that often lead to industrial accidents and has helped investigate several major incidents. This line of research has been recognized with several awards, including best paper recognition from both the California Management Review and the Journal of Product Innovation Management. Building on his earlier work, Nelson now focuses on developing the theory and practice of Dynamic Work Design—a new approach to designing work that is both effective and engaging—and Dynamic Management Systems, a method for ensuring that day-to-day work is tightly linked to the strategic objectives of the firm. His book (co-authored with Don Kieffer) There Has Got to Be a Better Way describing Dynamic Work Design will be published by Public Affairs in 2025. He is also a partner at ShiftGear Work Design and serves as its chief social scientist. In 2003, Nelson received the International System Dynamics Society’s Jay Wright Forrester Award, which recognizes the best work in the field in the previous five years. In 2011 he received the Jamieson Prize for Excellence in Teaching. He was recently recognized by Poets and Quants as one of the country's top instructors in executive education.

Donald Kieffer is a Senior Lecturer in Operations Management at MIT Sloan.He is a career operations executive and co-creator of Dynamic Work Design. Kieffer started working running equipment in factories at age 17. He was VP of operational excellence at Harley-Davidson where he worked for 15 years. Since 2007, he has been advising executive teams around the globe in a range of areas including strategy deployment, product development, and operational improvement. Don has worked with industries as diverse as oil/gas, medical, biomedical, and banking. His guidance was instrumental in transforming both the production and technical development areas of a Cambridge-based genomic sequencing organization, now an industry leader, using the techniques of Dynamic Work Design. He is founder of ShiftGear Work Design, LLC and also teaches Operations Management at AVT in Copenhagen.

In the episode, Richie, Nelson and Don explore the challenges of daily firefighting at work, the principles of dynamic work design, how to improve productivity by addressing real problems, the role of AI in business, the importance of setting clear priorities, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Nelson & Don’s Book - There's Got to Be a Better Way: How to Deliver Results and Get Rid of the Stuff That Gets in the Way of Real Work
• Connect with Nelson & Don
• AI Business Fundamentals
• Related Episode: From Panic to Profit, Via Data with Bill Canady, CEO at Arrowhead Engineered Products
• Rewatch RADAR AI 

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Combining LLMs with enterprise knowledge bases is creating powerful new agents that can transform business operations. These systems are dramatically improving on traditional chatbots by understanding context, following conversations naturally, and accessing up-to-date information. But how do you effectively manage the knowledge that powers these agents? What governance structures need to be in place before deployment? And as we look toward a future with physical AI and robotics, what fundamental computing challenges must we solve to ensure these technologies enhance rather than complicate our lives?

Jun Qian is an accomplished technology leader with extensive experience in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Currently serving as Vice President of Generative AI Services at Oracle since May 2020, Jun founded and leads the Engineering and Science group, focusing on the creation and enhancement of Generative AI services and AI Agents. Previously held roles include Vice President of AI Science and Development at Oracle, Head of AI and Machine Learning at Sift, and Principal Group Engineering Manager at Microsoft, where Jun co-founded Microsoft Power Virtual Agents. Jun's career also includes significant contributions as the Founding Manager of Amazon Machine Learning at AWS and as a Principal Investigator at Verizon.

In the episode, Richie and Jun explore the evolution of AI agents, the unique features of ChatGPT, the challenges and advancements in chatbot technology, the importance of data management and security in AI, and the future of AI in computing and robotics, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Oracle
• Connect with Jun
• Course: Introduction to AI Agents
• Jun at DataCamp RADAR
• Related Episode: A Framework for GenAI App and Agent Development with Jerry Liu, CEO at LlamaIndex
• Rewatch RADAR AI 

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The relationship between AI and data professionals is evolving rapidly, creating both opportunities and challenges. As companies embrace AI-first strategies and experiment with AI agents, the skills needed to thrive in data roles are fundamentally changing. Is coding knowledge still essential when AI can generate code for you? How important is domain expertise when automated tools can handle technical tasks? With data engineering and analytics engineering gaining prominence, the focus is shifting toward ensuring data quality and building reliable pipelines. But where does the human fit in this increasingly automated landscape, and how can you position yourself to thrive amid these transformations?

Megan Bowers is Senior Content Manager, Digital Customer Success at Alteryx, where she develops resources for the Maveryx Community. She writes technical blogs and hosts the Alter Everything podcast, spotlighting best practices from data professionals across the industry.

Before joining Alteryx, Megan worked as a data analyst at Stanley Black & Decker, where she led ETL and dashboarding projects and trained teams on Alteryx and Power BI. Her transition into data began after earning a degree in Industrial Engineering and completing a data science bootcamp. Today, she focuses on creating accessible, high-impact content that helps data practitioners grow. Her favorite topics include switching career paths after college, building a professional brand on LinkedIn, writing technical blogs people actually want to read, and best practices in Alteryx, data visualization, and data storytelling.

Presented by Alteryx, Alter Everything serves as a podcast dedicated to the culture of data science and analytics, showcasing insights from industry specialists. Covering a range of subjects from the use of machine learning to various analytics career trajectories, and all that lies between, Alter Everything stands as a celebration of the critical role of data literacy in a data-driven world.

In the episode, Richie and Megan explore the impact of AI on job functions, the rise of AI agents in business, and the importance of domain knowledge and process analytics in data roles. They also discuss strategies for staying updated in the fast-paced world of AI and data science, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Alter Everything
• Connect with Megan
• Skill Track: Alteryx Fundamentals
• Related Episode: Scaling Enterprise Analytics with Libby Duane Adams, Chief Advocacy Officer and Co-Founder of Alteryx
• Rewatch RADAR AI 

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Data science continues to evolve in the age of AI, but is it still the 'sexiest job of the 21st century'? While generative AI has transformed the landscape, it hasn't replaced data scientists—instead, it's created more demand for their skills. Data professionals now incorporate AI into their workflows to boost efficiency, analyze data faster, and communicate insights more effectively. But with these technological advances come questions: How should you adapt your skills to stay relevant? What's the right balance between traditional data science techniques and new AI capabilities? And as roles like analytics engineer and machine learning engineer emerge, how do you position yourself for success in this rapidly changing field?

Dawn Choo is the Co-Founder of Interview Master, a platform designed to streamline technical interview preparation. With a foundation in data science, financial analysis, and product strategy, she brings a cross-disciplinary lens to building data-driven tools that improve hiring outcomes. Her career spans roles at leading tech firms, including ClassDojo, Patreon, and Instagram, where she delivered insights to support product development and user engagement.

Earlier, Dawn held analytical and engineering positions at Amazon and Bank of America, focusing on business intelligence, financial modeling, and risk analysis. She began her career at Facebook as a marketing analyst and continues to be a visible figure in the data science community—offering practical guidance to job seekers navigating technical interviews and career transitions.

In the episode, Richie and Dawn explore the evolving role of data scientists in the age of AI, the impact of generative AI on workflows, the importance of foundational skills, and the nuances of the hiring process in data science. They also discuss the integration of AI in products and the future of personalized AI models, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Interview Master
• Connect with Dawn
• Dawn’s Newsletter: Ask Data Dawn
• Get Certified: AI Engineer for Data Scientists Associate Certification
• Related Episode: How To Get Hired As A Data Or AI Engineer with Deepak Goyal, CEO & Founder at Azurelib Academy
• Rewatch RADAR AI 

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The structured data that powers business decisions is more complex than the sequences processed by traditional AI models. Enterprise databases with their interconnected tables of customers, products, and transactions form intricate graphs that contain valuable predictive signals. But how can we effectively extract insights from these complex relationships without extensive manual feature engineering?

Graph transformers are revolutionizing this space by treating databases as networks and learning directly from raw data. What if you could build models in hours instead of months while achieving better accuracy? How might this technology change the role of data scientists, allowing them to focus on business impact rather than data preparation? Could this be the missing piece that brings the AI revolution to predictive modeling?

Jure Leskovec is a Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, where he is affiliated with the Stanford AI Lab, the Machine Learning Group, and the Center for Research on Foundation Models.

Previously, he served as Chief Scientist at Pinterest and held a research role at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. He is also a co-founder of Kumo.AI, a machine learning startup. Leskovec has contributed significantly to the development of Graph Neural Networks and co-authored PyG, a widely-used library in the field. Research from his lab has supported public health efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and informed product development at companies including Facebook, Pinterest, Uber, YouTube, and Amazon.

His work has received several recognitions, including the Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship (2011), the Okawa Research Award (2012), the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship (2012), the Lagrange Prize (2015), and the ICDM Research Contributions Award (2019). His research spans social networks, machine learning, data mining, and computational biomedicine, with a focus on drug discovery. He has received 12 best paper awards and five 10-year Test of Time awards at leading academic conferences.

In the episode, Richie and Jure explore the need for a foundation model for enterprise data, the limitations of current AI models in predictive tasks, the potential of graph transformers for business data, and the transformative impact of relational foundation models on machine learning workflows, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Jure’s Publications
• Kumo AI
• Connect with Jure
• Course - Transformer Models with PyTorch
• Related Episode: High Performance Generative AI Applications with Ram Sriharsha, CTO at Pinecone
• Rewatch RADAR AI 

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Healthcare AI is rapidly evolving beyond simple diagnostic tools to comprehensive systems that can analyze and predict patient outcomes. With the rise of multimodal AI models that can process everything from medical images to patient records and genetic information, we're entering an era where AI could fundamentally transform how healthcare decisions are made. But how do we ensure these systems maintain patient privacy while still leveraging vast amounts of medical data? What are the technical challenges in building AI that can reason across different types of medical information? And how do we balance the promise of AI-assisted healthcare with the critical role of human medical professionals?

Professor Aldo Faisal is Chair in AI & Neuroscience at Imperial College London, with joint appointments in Bioengineering and Computing, and also holds the Chair in Digital Health at the University of Bayreuth. He is the Founding Director of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI for Healthcare and leads the Brain & Behaviour Lab and Behaviour Analytics Lab at Imperial’s Data Science Institute. His research integrates machine learning, neuroscience, and human behaviour to develop AI technologies for healthcare. He is among the few engineers globally leading their own clinical trials, with work focused on digital biomarkers and AI-based medical interventions. Aldo serves as Associate Editor for Nature Scientific Data and PLOS Computational Biology, and has chaired major conferences like KDD, NIPS, and IEEE BSN. His work has earned multiple awards, including the $50,000 Toyota Mobility Foundation Prize, and is regularly featured in global media outlets.

In the episode, Richie and Aldo explore the advancements in AI for healthcare, including AI's role in diagnostics and operational improvements, the ambitious Nightingale AI project, challenges in handling diverse medical data, privacy concerns, and the future of AI-assisted medical decision-making, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Aldo’s Publications
• Connect with Aldo
• Project: What is Your Heart Rate Telling You?
• Related Episode: Using Data to Optimize Costs in Healthcare with Travis Dalton and Jocelyn Jiang President/CEO & VP of Data & Decision Science at MultiPlan
• Rewatch RADAR AI

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The relationship between humans and AI in the workplace is rapidly evolving beyond simple automation. As companies deploy thousands of AI agents to handle everything from expense approvals to customer success management, a new paradigm is emerging—one where humans become orchestrators rather than operators. But how do you determine which processes should be handled by AI and which require human judgment? What governance structures need to be in place before deploying AI at scale? With the potential to automate up to 80% of business processes, organizations must carefully consider not just the technology, but the human element of AI-driven transformation.

Steve Lucas is the Chairman and CEO of Boomi, marking his third tenure as CEO. With nearly 30 years of enterprise software leadership, he has held senior roles at leading cloud organizations including Marketo, iCIMS, Adobe, SAP, Salesforce, and BusinessObjects. He led Marketo through its multi-billion-dollar acquisition by Adobe and drove strategic growth at iCIMS, delivering significant investments and transformation. A proven leader in scaling software companies, Steve is also the author of the national bestseller Digital Impact and holds a business degree from the University of Colorado.

In the episode, Richie and Steve explore the importance of choosing the right tech stack for your business, the challenges of managing complex systems, the role of AI in transforming business processes, and the need for effective AI governance. They also discuss the future of AI-driven enterprises and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Boomi
• Steve’s Book - Digital Impact: The Human Element of AI-Driven Transformation
• What is the OSI Model?
• Connect with Steve
• Skill Track: AI Business Fundamentals
• Related Episode: New Models for Digital Transformation with Alison McCauley Chief Advocacy Officer at Think with AI & Founder of Unblocked Future
• Rewatch RADAR AI 

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Business intelligence has been transforming organizations for decades, yet many companies still struggle with widespread adoption. With less than 40% of employees in most organizations having access to BI tools, there's a significant 'information underclass' making decisions without data-driven insights. How can businesses bridge this gap and achieve true information democracy? While new technologies like generative AI and semantic layers offer promising solutions, the fundamentals of data quality and governance remain critical. What balance should organizations strike between investing in innovative tools and strengthening their data infrastructure? How can you ensure your business becomes a 'data athlete' capable of making hyper-decisive moves in an uncertain economic landscape?

Howard Dresner is founder and Chief Research Officer at Dresner Advisory Services and a leading voice in Business Intelligence (BI), credited with coining the term “Business Intelligence” in 1989. He spent 13 years at Gartner as lead BI analyst, shaping its research agenda and earning recognition as Analyst of the Year, Distinguished Analyst, and Gartner Fellow. He also led Gartner’s BI conferences in Europe and North America. Before founding Dresner Advisory in 2007, Howard was Chief Strategy Officer at Hyperion Solutions, where he drove strategy and thought leadership, helping position Hyperion as a leader in performance management prior to its acquisition by Oracle. 

Howard has written two books, The Performance Management Revolution – Business Results through Insight and Action, and Profiles in Performance – Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change - both published by John Wiley & Sons.

In the episode, Richie and Howard explore the surprising low penetration of business intelligence in organizations, the importance of data governance and infrastructure, the evolving role of AI in BI, and the strategic initiatives driving BI usage, and much more.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

• Dresner Advisory Services
• Howard’s Book - Profiles in Performance: Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change
• Connect with Howard
• Skill Track: Power BI Fundamentals
• Related Episode: The Next Generation of Business Intelligence with Colin Zima, CEO at Omni
• Rewatch RADAR AI 

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