Join Jeremy Utley, a Stanford design thinking professor, alongside Krista Stout, EVP of the Trailblazers, and David Long, VP of digital innovation, as they unpack innovative strategies for organizational change. The trio dives into how voicing employee complaints can lead to significant improvements. They share insights from 'Lunch and Launch' sessions that helped uncover pain points, emphasizing that understanding what employees dislike about their jobs can spark meaningful transformation and enhanced productivity through AI.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
AI Cuts Survey Work Drastically
The Trailblazers reduced 40 hours of manual survey response work to seconds with AI tools named "David Detractor" and "Kelly Kindness."
They improved customer response and increased revenue by surfacing positive and negative feedback efficiently.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Use AI To Brainstorm Uses
If unsure how to use AI, ask it to interview you about your job to suggest ways it can help.
This method sparks imagination and reveals unexpected AI use cases relevant to your work.
insights INSIGHT
Complaints Illuminate Innovation Path
Encouraging employees to share what they hate about their jobs reveals pain points that AI can address.
This catharsis process catalyzes innovation and potential transformation across the business.
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A live SXSW panel on how employee complaints illuminate the path to organizational innovation.
Wrong question: How can AI revolutionize productivity in my organization?
Right question: What do my employees hate most about their jobs?
For the Portland Trail Blazers, a winning game plan for AI implementation didn’t begin with a tech-first approach — it began with a talk-first one. “The whole concept was to talk about pain points," explains David Long, VP of Digital Innovation, describing the "Lunch and Launch" sessions where employees could openly share frustrations about their daily work. “People really enjoy talking about what they hate about their jobs,” says Christa Stout, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, and as they did, they illuminated opportunities for optimization. “By getting this insight across the whole company, it is already opening our eyes [to how] we can potentially transform the business more broadly,” Stout says.
In this special live episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, recorded at SXSW, host Matt Abrahams leads a panel with Long, Stout, and Stanford colleague Jeremy Utley, exploring how "catharsis catalyzes change.” For any team wanting to implement new technology or rethink workflows, these experts reveal how creating space for complaints can catalyze meaningful innovation throughout an organization.
(30:16) - Change Management: Iteration Over Perfection
(34:02) - Start with Curiosity and Empower Action
(37:45) - Communication Ingredients
(39:17) - Conclusion
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Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques 
