260 - What we learned from MPL Live New York City
The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR
Planned Improvements for Future MPL Live Events
Stephen outlines event changes including replacing speed networking with two intentional networking rounds based on participant feedback.
Angela Crossman, Hernan Chiosso, and Jean-Luc Charles joined us to debrief the “Yellow Pod” conversation from MPL Live NYC and what the group is actually doing with AI at work.
We covered opportunities vs blockers, “AI as coach” guardrails, why HR should own enablement, actionable next steps, and predictions for the AI-powered workplace.
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(09:40) Why structured spaces help leaders make sense of AI noise
(11:40) Untangling AI talk: personal vs professional; HR practice vs company strategy
(12:47) State of adoption: ahead of the curve vs “head in the sand”
(14:00) Panel reflections: Dropbox digital twins, Duolingo’s AI mandate, leadership buy-in spectrum
(15:43) HR’s role with tech + legal: ethics, generational views, and people experience
(16:27) “Who owns AI?”—budget, skills, and priorities across functions
(19:36) Change management over pure tech: why HR is primed to lead adoption
(21:01) Community accelerates AI: the prompt for pods (biggest blocker and opportunity)
(23:31) Why the small-group format worked: quiet room, trust, generosity
(25:08) Opportunities first: practical use cases; AI for manager coaching (pros/cons)
(27:28) Blockers: ownership, resources, risk, and vendor noise
(28:05) Quick poll: Should AI be a “coach”? Alignment with values and judgment
(29:21) Using AI as a thinking partner—not a verdict
(31:43) People team enablement: prompt patterns, values-trained GPTs, internal guardrails
(32:20) Example from MPL: iterating a “super prompt” after guest feedback
(33:50) One action to take now: targeted demos to learn real use cases
(34:42) Don’t ban—enable: intentional adoption beats resistance
(35:30) Practical rollout ideas: leadership exercises with starter prompts
(37:07) Resource tip: OpenAI Academy prompts for HR (as a baseline to build on)
(38:13) Mind-blower: executive digital twins; event improvements for Austin (Dec 11)
(39:43) Feedback: design for introverts; keep a light warm-up
(40:26) Preserve the magic: curated room + structured but flexible prompts
(41:55) Rapid-fire predictions: the AI-powered workplace
(42:29) Prediction #1: AI is both disruption and solution (reskilling at scale)
(43:48) Prediction #2: A new kind of creativity—partnering with “semi-intelligent” tools
(44:31) Prediction #3: Hiring shifts toward problem framing and critical thinking
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Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.
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