Intro

"In AI, speed matters—but trust compounds."

Naomi Lariviere, Chief Product Owner and VP of Product Management at ADP, leads product strategy for a company that processes payroll for millions of people. When even the smallest error can mean someone doesn't get paid on time, there's no room for "move fast and break things."

In this episode of Hard Calls, Naomi and host Trisha Price dig into the decision that defined ADP's AI strategy: choosing to slow down full automation on ADP Assist to protect client confidence. It's a masterclass in what responsible innovation actually looks like when the stakes are real.

"We could have shipped faster. But in payroll, trust isn't something you rebuild easily." - Naomi Lariviere

Here's what you'll discover:

Why ADP paused automation to preserve accuracy. Naomi walks through the hard call to prioritize explainability and reliability over speed-to-market. In high-stakes environments like payroll, trust compounds—and so does the cost of getting it wrong.

The 3-question rubric to prioritize what to ship. Naomi shares the simple framework her team uses to evaluate every feature: Does it solve a real problem? Can we explain how it works? Does it protect user trust?

How to embed ethics from day one. ADP doesn't treat privacy, compliance, and bias as checkboxes at the end. Naomi reveals how "shift-left ethics" means involving legal and privacy teams at the earliest stages of product development.

Why diverse teams build safer AI. Homogeneous teams miss blind spots. Naomi explains how diversity across backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences leads to more resilient products—especially in regulated industries.

Building psychological safety in high-pressure environments. Innovation requires teams that feel safe to challenge assumptions, raise concerns, and kill their darlings. Naomi shares how she creates that culture while still delivering outcomes.

Whether you're building AI in a regulated industry, leading teams through complex trade-offs, or trying to balance innovation with responsibility, this episode shows you how to make the hard calls that protect what matters most.

Episode Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction and Naomi’s Path to Product Leadership 
• 04:32 The Hard Call: Trust Before Speed in AI 
• 07:16 Balancing Innovation and Reliability 
• 09:41 A Simple Product Rubric for What to Ship 
• 11:51 Killing Your Darlings with Outcome-Based OKRs 
• 15:15 Shift-Left Ethics: Privacy and Compliance from Day One 
• 20:10 The Payroll Anomalies Breakthrough 
• 28:02 Upskilling Teams for AI Innovation 
• 36:51 Building Psychological Safety 
• 38:54 Why Diverse Teams Ship Better, Safer AI 
• 42:27 Closing Takeaways

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Presented by Pendo. Discover more insights at pendo.io or connect with Trisha Price on LinkedIn.