The Meg and Amy Show

The Meg and Amy Show

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The Meg and Amy Show episodes

  • Episode 22 | Dr. Kirstin Ferguson on The Curse of Expertise in the AI Age

    🚀 Why "I Don't Know Yet" Is the Most Valuable Leadership Skill in the AI Age: Dr. Kirstin Ferguson reveals how expertise becomes your biggest enemy and why intellectual humility beats certainty every time.

    ⏰ TIMESTAMPS:
    00:00 Introduction & Antarctica Adventures
    02:06 Welcome to Dr. Kirstin Ferguson
    04:38 Why Travel Reduces Blindspots
    05:49 The UK Post Office Scandal: When "The Computer Is Always Right"
    08:44 How Success Becomes the Enemy of Adaptation
    10:50 The Power & Authority Problem: Why People Won't Tell You You're Wrong
    12:45 Why Leaders Are Trained to Have All the Answers (And Why It's Wrong)
    20:13 Meg's SuccessFactors Story: Leading Through "I Don't Know"
    26:32 What If the Post Office Had Been Curious Instead of Certain?
    35:48 Meg's Oracle Epiphany: When Everyone's Pretending to Know
    38:11 Reading the Room: When NOT to Say "I Don't Know Yet"
    46:33 Kirstin's Work-From-Home Pivot: How to Change Your Mind Publicly
    49:06 The Career Advice Blindspot: Why Parents Give Terrible Job Advice
    51:50 The Three Practices: Be Honest, Be Curious, Be Flexible
    53:22 Leadership Corner: Should You Pursue Leadership During Uncertain Times?
    🔑 KEY INSIGHTS:
    - The "curse of expertise": Why being right makes you worse at knowing when to doubt yourself
    - How 900+ innocent people were prosecuted due to blind faith in technology
    - Why "I don't know yet" builds more trust than false certainty
    - The art of reading the room while admitting uncertainty
    - How to unlearn outdated expertise for the AI age
    📚 RESOURCES:
    Blindspotting: How to See What Others Miss | https://amazn.so/97uYE8w
    Head & Heart | https://amazn.so/oOLPfL2
    Dr. Kirstin Ferguson's weekly column "Got a Minute?" - Sydney Morning Herald/The Age
    How Travel Rewires Your Brain | https://superage.com/one-creativity-habit-nobel-scientists-swear-by/
    SAP SuccessFactors Migration | https://news.sap.com/2023/02/sap-successfactors-next-generation-cloud-delivery/
    Think Again, Adam Grant | https://amazn.so/wglEb5N
    **🔗 CONNECT:**
    Kirstin's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstinferguson/
    Kirstin's Website: https://www.kirstinferguson.com/
    Leadership Questions: [email protected]
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show
    #Blindspotting #Leadership #AI #IntellectualHumility #BusinessTransformation #MegAndAmyShow

    1 hr 3 min
  • Episode 21 | Female Leadership in a World Built for Men

    🚀 BREAKING OUT OF THE DEFAULT MALE WORLD: Meg and Amy reveal the hidden challenges of female leadership in a world designed by and for men. Learn how to navigate bias, own your power, and redefine what leadership looks like in the AI era in this raw and empowering conversation.

    ⏰ TIMESTAMPS:
    00:00 Introduction to Female Leadership Challenges
    05:55 WNBA Success and Equal Pay Movement
    07:06 Fiji Simo's Historic OpenAI Appointment
    08:09 AI Bias: ChatGPT Recommends Lower Salaries for Women
    14:17 Invisible Women: The Default Male Design Problem
    18:46 Power vs. Pleasant Language in Performance Reviews
    24:42 Media Bias: Men Talk Money, Women Talk Culture
    30:05 When Did You First Notice You Were "Other"?
    33:49 From Mentee to Threat: How Power Changes Everything
    42:42 "Everyone's Full of Shit" - Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
    46:09 Hope for the Future: AI Era Leadership
    48:50 Leadership Corner: New Mom Executive Concerns
    🔑 KEY INSIGHTS:
    - Why AI systems perpetuate gender bias by recommending lower salaries for women
    - The "default male" problem affects everything from T-shirts to car safety systems
    - How women are described as "pleasant" while men get "powerful" language in reviews
    - The shift from welcomed mentee to perceived threat as women gain real power
    - Why balancing confidence with warmth is a uniquely female leadership challenge
    📚 RESOURCES:
    - Kieran Snyder's LinkedIn Post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kieran-snyder_35-of-people-in-the-nerd-processor-survey-activity-7358858695188901888-Yd6-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAB5eYzoBji0hRFR25InbUtOYcrXhHjARevM
    - Surface Fairness, Deep Bias: A Comparative Study of Bias
    in Language Models: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.10491
    - Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez: https://amazn.so/Ie3mLd9
    - Freakonomics: https://amazn.so/NeeOmhN
    - Likeable Badass by Alison Fragale: https://amazn.so/o1suXHW
    - Kieran's Interview Study: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kieran-snyder_35-of-people-in-the-nerd-processor-survey-activity-7358858695188901888-Yd6-/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAAVeN8BrXyqZRtd37eT9lCYDRykSAdLh5A
    - Jingjin Liu's Post on Diary of a CEO: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jingjin-liu_ive-been-a-long-time-admirer-of-diary-activity-7341970108489093121-nlu_?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAB5eYzoBji0hRFR25InbUtOYcrXhHjARevM
    - Meg's Podcast with Charlotte Otter: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6jTHKO5ieg1PPErWb6BndQ
    - Amy's Podcast with Charlotte Otter: https://open.spotify.com/episode/164CQ4o14jqgRPWB40cKAC?si=Ytj7HsCeRQG8xGzhcUHT3ghttps://open.spotify.com/episode/164CQ4o14jqgRPWB40cKAC?si=Ytj7HsCeRQG8xGzhcUHT3g
    - Becoming by Michelle Obama: https://amazn.so/baf6fwF
    - The Insight Loop Newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7357876676623544322
    **🔗 CONNECT:**
    Leadership Questions: [email protected]
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show
    #FemaleLeadership #WomenInTech #AIBias #LeadershipDevelopment #MegAndAmyShow

    56 min
  • Episode 20 | Angela Le Mathon: Speaking the Language of Business – From Skills to AI ROI

    Angela Le Mathon reveals how HR leaders can move beyond the "skills data trap" to drive real business outcomes with AI. Learn how to speak the language of business, avoid the employee experience trap, and design AI-native organizations in this thought-provoking conversation on business transformation and leadership.

    **🔑 KEY INSIGHTS:**

    • Skills data works for talent marketplaces but doesn't drive business outcomes
    • HR must shift from talking about programs and platforms to speaking outcomes language
    • Treat AI as experimental technology and focus on safe use cases first
    • Employee experience initiatives need specific productivity unlocks, not general improvements
    • Future organizations will be designed AI-native from the ground up
    • **⏰ TIMESTAMPS:**
      00:00 Introduction to Angela Le Mathon
      02:05 Culture shock: Coming back to America
      03:57 Angela's journey into analytics
      07:29 Evolution from "what's happening" to "what's possible"
      15:28 Building cross-functional analytics teams
      16:50 Why everyone needs to become a unicorn
      19:53 The analytics evolution moment
      23:14 AI advisory tips for CHROs
      26:31 The employee experience trap
      42:46 AI native org design and workforce planning
      45:30 Speaking the language of business
      47:00 The skills data reality check
      49:11 Final advice: Embrace experimentation
      50:23 Leadership Corner: Getting senior colleagues to listen


      **📚 RESOURCES:**
      Angela's Guest Lecture at Stanford: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7358923352830296065/
      Everything is Figureoutable: https://amazn.so/mOs1fUJ
      Range: https://amazn.so/iUn324r

      **🔗 CONNECT:**
      Angela: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lemathon/
      Leadership Questions: [email protected]
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show

      #AILeadership #PeopleAnalytics #SkillsData #BusinessTransformation #HRStrategy #MegAndAmyShow

      1 hr 1 min
    • Episode 19 | Seth Wylie: Stop Training, Start Harvesting – The Grassroots AI Revolution

      🌐 Most companies are approaching AI adoption backwards. While executives push top-down strategies, the real innovation is happening in the trenches.

      Seth Wylie reveals why successful AI transformation starts with the people already experimenting - not training programs or executive mandates.

      **🔑 KEY INSIGHTS:**
      - Why mandatory AI training kills experimentation before it starts
      - The one question that gets everyone talking: "What have you been experimenting with this week?"
      - How to connect grassroots innovation to executive priorities
      - Why executives are disconnected from AI tools (and what to do about it)
      - Building "AI Clubs" that people actually want to join
      - Creating psychological safety for awkward first attempts

      **⚡ SETH'S APPROACH:**
      Find the experimenters already on your team → Create space for them to share → Let insights bubble up naturally → Then add training when there's momentum

      "Companies need to harvest the experimentation that's already happening, not mandate what should be happening."

      **⏰ TIMESTAMPS:**
      **01:00** - Meet Seth Wylie: AI Transformation Expert & Acapella Singer
      **08:32** - Finding Signal: How to Spot AI Innovation in Your Organization
      **10:45** - **The Magic Question: "What Have You Been Experimenting With This Week?"**
      **13:18** - Why Executives Are Disconnected from AI Tools
      **14:11** - What Companies Get Wrong: Training Before Mindset
      **18:08** - Leadership by Example: When CEOs Use AI for Poetry
      **19:26** - The Translation Problem: Executive vs. Individual Priorities
      **20:23** - Emergence Capital's Offsite Success Story
      **28:36** - Organizational Structure Changes for AI Transformation
      **32:22** - Creating Value Categories: ROI vs. Engagement vs. Innovation
      **34:48** - The Spreadsheet Story: How Leaders Kill Innovation and The Power of Executive Curiosity
      **37:10** - **Seth's Favorite Tool: AI for Self-Knowledge**
      **40:29** - Amy's Claude Projects Discovery (Life-Changing!)
      **42:19** - Wrap-up & Gratitude
      **💼 LEADERSHIP CORNER**
      **42:47** - Question: Should I Dive Into AI Tools or Let My People Mature First?
      **43:03** - Meg's Take: Get Context First, Model Curiosity Over Perfection
      **44:56** - The Learning Paradox: Being Bad at Things Builds Empathy
      **47:15** - Practical Advice for AI Leadership Balance
      **53:58** - Final Thanks & Sign-off

      🎵 **BONUS:** Seth performs an acapella song live on the show!

      **📚 RESOURCES:**
      New York Times: CEOs Adopt AI: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/business/ceos-adopt-ai.html
      Meg's AI Fluency Blog: https://www.megbear.com/post/stop-wasting-time-on-ai-fluency-projects
      Emergence Capital Offsite: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jakesaper_at-emergence-capitals-investment-team-offsite-activity-7328060051531747328-v3on/
      Reshuffle Book: https://amazn.so/Rrd62oi

      **🔗 CONNECT:**
      Seth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethwylie/
      Leadership Questions: [email protected]
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show

      #AITransformation #BottomUpInnovation #AIStrategy #OrganizationalChange #Leadership #Innovation #AIAdoption #BusinessTransformation #WorkplaceInnovation #AIExperimentation

      56 min
    • Episode 18 | Sangeet Paul Choudary: The Winning AI Strategy – Reshuffling Systems, Not Adding Smarts

      Meg and Amy welcome Sangeet Paul Choudary, author of Reshuffle. Their discussion explores how companies must evolve beyond traditional operating models to embrace structural change. Sangeet highlights the often-overlooked role of coordination costs in organizations, how AI can help manage these costs, and why rethinking business models is central to AI transformation. He also shares insights on creating structural optionality and reimagining software development for a rapidly changing landscape.

      Workflowy Note Organization | https://workflowy.com/

      Books:
      Reshuffle, Sangeet Paul Choudary | https://amazn.so/wxNJYbB
      Platform Scale, Sangeet Paul Choudary | https://amazn.so/5Rret0U
      Platform Revolution, Sangeet Paul Choudary and others | https://amazn.so/3LgCWFT

      Blogs:
      Platforms, AI, and the Economics of BigTech, Sangeet Paul Choudary | https://platforms.substack.com/p/the-many-fallacies-of-ai-wont-take
      Centaurs and Cyborgs on the Jagged Frontier, Ethan Mollick | https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/centaurs-and-cyborgs-on-the-jagged
      Pipelines, Platforms, and the New Rules of Strategy, Marshall W. Van Alstyne, Geoffrey G. Parker and Sangeet Paul Choudary | https://hbr.org/2016/04/pipelines-platforms-and-the-new-rules-of-strategy

      Connect with Sangeet, Meg, and Amy:
      Sangeet's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangeetpaul/
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show
      Meg’s Website: https://www.megbear.com

      Submit Leadership Corner questions to:
      1 hr 6 min
    • Episode 17 | Angie Mercado: Finding the Joy in Fitness

      This week on The Meg & Amy Show, Meg and Amy welcome fitness expert and wellness coach Angie Mercado. Angie shares her decades of experience helping women find joy in movement, balance demanding lives, and stay consistent with their health goals even when work, travel, and family make it difficult.The conversation explores breaking free from the “one-hour workout” mindset, strategies for staying fit while traveling, the importance of jumping for bone health and longevity, and how community and accountability create lasting motivation.

      Angie's Links:
      Angie's Website: https://fit2beat.com
      Angie's Instagram: instagram.com/fit2beat3474/?hl=en

      Matt Adams' Dance Sweat Smile Group: https://www.youtube.com/@dancesweatsmile

      Connect with Angie, Meg, and Amy:
      Angie's Website: https://fit2beat.com
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show
      Meg’s Website: https://www.megbear.com

      Submit Leadership Corner questions to:
      1 hr 3 min
    • Episode 16 | Kyle Poyar: Software Pricing in the AI Era

      In the business of software, how you charge is just as important as what you build. In this episode of The Meg & Amy Show, Meg and Amy sit down with Kyle Poyar, creator of Growth Unhinged and one of the leading voices in SaaS pricing and monetization. Kyle coined the term Product-Led Growth, and in this conversation he unpacks the seismic shifts happening in pricing – from the rise of hybrid and usage-based pricing to the new frontier of AI ARR.

      Save your spot for Kyle's upcoming keynote:
      How to Monetize Your Product in the AI Era | https://productdrive.userpilot.com/talks/how-to-monetize-your-product-in-the-ai-era/

      Kyle's Substack:
      https://www.growthunhinged.com/

      Kyle's Blogs:

      Usage-Based Pricing 2.0 | https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/usage-based-pricing-20

      I'm Roasting Your Pricing Model | https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kyle-poyar_today-im-roasting-your-pricing-model-flat-fee-activity-7341873621071523841-ey8F?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAB5eYzoBji0hRFR25InbUtOYcrXhHjARevM

      Intercom's Decisive Bet on AI | https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/intercoms-bet-on-ai
      The State of B2B Monetization in 2025 | https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/2025-state-of-b2b-monetization
      Blogs:

      How Top Tech Companies Define ARR | https://www.mostlymetrics.com/p/how-top-tech-companies-define-arr

      Books:

      Likeable Badass | https://amazn.so/kQLSuBp

      Connect with Kyle, Meg, and Amy:

      Kyle's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-poyar/
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show
      Meg’s Website: https://www.megbear.com

      Submit Leadership Corner questions to:
      1 hr 3 min
    • Episode 15 | John Wookey: Strategy, AI, and the Art of Leadership

      This week, Meg and Amy sit down with John Wookey, a legend in the enterprise software world, to explore the power of mission and values in organizations, why transparency is essential for strong leadership, and how AI is reshaping the way we work. John also reflects on the importance of unlearning outdated structures to foster innovation, and shares advice for first-time people managers.

      John's Strategy 101 Paper: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-wookey/recent-activity/documents/
      Books:
      The Silk Roads, Peter Frankopan | https://amazn.so/Qb6LoCe
      Radical Candor, Kim Scott | https://amazn.so/aLlnUwb
      Articles:
      Organizational Jazz and New Ways to Work, Tom Winans, John Seely Brown, Ann Pendleton-Jullian | https://ai.gopubby.com/organizational-jazz-and-new-ways-to-work-5d51b6d0cdf6
      On Becoming a Manager, John Wookey | https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/becoming-manager-john-wookey/
      Connect with John, Meg, and Amy:
      John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-wookey/
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show
      Meg’s Website: https://www.megbear.com
      Submit Leadership Corner questions to:
      1 hr 1 min
    • Episode 14 | Our Health Journeys

      In this episode of The Meg and Amy Show, Meg and Amy get personal, opening up about their individual health journeys and what inspired them to make wellness a priority. They share the turning points that pushed them to take action, what they discovered through their initial health scans, and the lifestyle changes they’ve embraced — from fitness routines to nutrition to smart supplementation.

      Submit questions for future Leadership Corner segments to: [email protected]
      Resources & Mentions
      Glucose Goddess: https://www.instagram.com/glucosegoddess/?hl=en
      Prove It Supplement Scanner: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/prove-it-supplement-scanner/id6740288836
      The 7-Minute Workout: https://archive.nytimes.com/well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/the-scientific-7-minute-workout/
      Books:
      Outlive | https://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Longevity-Peter-Attia-MD/dp/0593236599
      Blogs:
      What I Learned From Exercising 100 Days in a Row, Patty Azzarello | https://azzarellogroup.com/web/what-i-learned-from-exercising-100-days-in-a-row/
      Podcasts:
      Huberman Lab: Dr. Stacy Sims | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZX8ikmWvEU
      Connect with Meg and Amy
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show
      Meg’s Website: https://www.megbear.com

      1 hr 4 min
    • Episode 13 | Gustavo Alba: Why Yesterday's Star CEOs Won't Survive Tomorrow's AI Economy

      Join Meg, Amy, and Gustavo Alba as they dive into the new rules of executive search, the evolution of talent profiles in the AI economy, and the new characteristics required for transformational leadership. Listen in to learn more about the challenges of navigating AI transformations in legacy companies, the need for bravery and vision in leadership, and survival tips for CEOs in the AI era.

      Heidrick and Struggles | https://www.heidrick.com/en
      Articles:
      Thrive-backed accounting firm Crete to spend $500 million in AI roll-up | https://www.reuters.com/business/thrive-backed-accounting-firm-crete-spend-500-million-ai-roll-up-2025-06-04/
      Books:
      The Innovators Dilemma, Clayton M. Christensen | https://amazn.so/Ue6AruB
      Connect with Gustavo, Meg, and Amy:
      Gustavo's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavoalba/
      Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/
      LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show
      Meg’s Website: https://www.megbear.com

      1 hr 3 min

    About The Meg and Amy Show

    From the publisher's feed

    Join best friends Meg Bear and Amy Wilson on The Meg and Amy Show – a podcast for big-picture thinkers who are ready to challenge the status quo. As former tech executives and seasoned business…