Episode 41: AI Adoption, ROI and Governance (Jess Yuen and Andrew Bartlow in Conversation)

Welcome to the People Leader Accelerator Podcast, where we go behind the curtain on building high-performing organisations with honest conversations between experienced leaders.

In this episode, we take a break from the traditional guest interviews and invite you into an informal conversation between hosts, Jess Yuen and Andrew Bartlow. Instead of sharing the spotlight with a guest, they dive into their own lived experiences and perspectives as people leaders, exploring what leadership, culture, and authenticity look like in practice.

This discussion centres on the realities and nuances of AI adoption in organisations, exploring not only the opportunities but also the pitfalls and unintended consequences. Andrew Bartlow and Jess Yuen examine how leaders can balance innovation with intentionality, ensuring that new tools drive business value rather than distraction or wasted investment.

Discussion highlights:

The risk of adopting AI for its own sake, versus focusing on clear use cases and business value

Why tracking token usage alone is a flawed metric for measuring AI impact

Lessons from other workplace tools like PowerPoint and Excel - the challenge of quantifying true utility

The concept of “financial gravity” and how incentives and costs shape behaviour and culture

Real-world examples of setting practical guardrails and prompts to manage AI usage

Emerging tools that monitor not only AI output but the work process itself for compliance and skill-building

Reflections on AI’s potential as both a productivity booster and a source of distraction

The importance of the Four Cs - clarity, communication, consistency, consequences - in guiding teams and AI systems