Telco in 20 Ep 127 - The courage to change (Jim Abolt)
If AI is so awesome, why isn't it having a bigger impact on your bottom line? I hate to break it to you, but the problem isn't with AI—it's with your leadership. Look no further than the quality of your ideas and capability of your execution to figure out why your team is not getting better results with AI.
In this episode, I sit down with strategic HR and transformation leader Jim Abolt. He has decades of experience helping organizations navigate major transformations successfully, and isn’t surprised that AI initiatives are failing to deliver. Listen to our conversation as we discuss the hard truths about “Big C” Change leadership, why you need big ideas and bold execution to be successful with AI, and why you should listen to me, DR, the “Disruptor Who’s Right.” We dive into how I'm delivering real results when it comes to implementing AI in my own organization.
Listen now to hear:
- Why AI ROI failure is a leadership problem, not a technology problem [02:56];
- How Totogi redesigned work to achieve 20x developer productivity [06:28];
- Why telling employees the truth about AI's impact isn't reckless—it's responsible [13:05]; and
- How thinking like a business person rather than a functional expert enables bold AI execution [15:27].
Links and Resources:
- I have a big idea that needs bold execution: my BSS vision for telcos. I want to use AI to help operators solve their vendor interoperability mess by creating a product that helps them build their own BSS. Learn how Totogi generated over 500,000 lines of production BSS Code in one day—live—at the TelecomTV Forum event to show that BSS Magic is the real deal. Check out our results.
- Watch my latest interview with Ray Le Maistre from TelecomTV where I discuss how coding with LLMs is approaching human-level capability.
- Check out my conversation with Scott Bicheno and Iain Morris on the Telecoms.com podcast. We talk about Totogi’s amazing feat at the recent AI-Native Telco Forum and answer all the questions people have about it.
- Read my blogs to learn why telco is the perfect use case for AI-assisted development, how context engineering enables production-ready AI applications, and why your legacy BSS vendors won't rebuild as AI-native.
- Read the blog that Jim raved about, To get AI value, shift left (and eliminate jobs), to learn how to maximize the impact of AI in your organization.
- Listen to Jim’s previous episode, “How to build an AI-first organization” where he shares a practical framework for AI transformation and AI's impact on jobs.
- Listen to the “Invest Like the Best” podcast in which Joe Liemandt calls Jim "one of the most influential people in my career."
- Jim mentioned that I am always right—with the public cloud and now with AI! Watch this clip from the movie, Groundhog Day, where life insurance agent Ned Ryerson tries to convince Phil that he’s right. “Am I right or am I right or am I right? I’m right.”
- Check out this episode on our YouTube channel.
- You can find the episode transcript here.
Wanna talk AI and public cloud? Telco execs, set up a meeting with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring.
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This week’s guest
Jim Abolt is a retired HR executive who is widely regarded as an expert in leadership development, culture shaping, and large-scale organizational change. His career spanned multiple industries, disciplines, and continents. Starting as a labor relations specialist in a Midwest steel mill, he ultimately held global senior management positions with leading companies in the consumer packaged goods, pharmaceutical, and software development industries. Jim holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College, and a J.D. and M.A. from the University of Illinois.
Podcast Credits
- Executive Producer and Host: Danielle Rios, TelcoDR
- Senior Producer: Lindsay Grubb, TillCo Media
- Senior Editor/Brand Manager: Alisa Jenkins, Springboard Marketing
- Audio Editor: Andrew Condell
- Supervising Producer: Amanda Avery
- Associate Producer: Kriselda Dionisio
- Music: Dyami Wilson
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