The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR

Diane Sadowski-Joseph, Co-Founder of Clarinet, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about why most AI adoption stalls at “talking the talk,” how to choose the right AI use cases using the “trifecta” and the Five Frictions framework, and how “click cutters” can unlock compounding gains by removing cognitive and workflow friction.
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Here’s everything Diane referenced: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/fivefrictions
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(07:08) Diane’s career story and path to founding Clarinet
(14:43) Why AI shows up in every episode and the “why companies are stuck” question
(15:58) Why AI adoption feels hard despite tool abundance (DIY, bandwidth, readiness)
(21:46) The “trifecta” criteria for identifying a good use case
(27:39) An example of a bad AI use case: what broke and why it was abandoned
(36:25) The “Five Frictions” framework and where to start
(42:50) Example 1: time-to-hire goal and candidate feedback GPT workflow
(47:03) Example 2: exec reporting and “hyper-personalized” dashboard pushes
(52:39) “Click cutters” and how to find them
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Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), 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.

Liz Bronson, VP of People at Skimmer, joined us on The Modern People Leader to talk about intentionally “flatlining” her career for a period of time to prioritize parenting. 
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Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode282
Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl
🔗 Learn more about Wellthy at wellthy.com/mpl
🔗 Try AskChartHop at ChartHop.com/AI
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(08:30) From teaching to HR: early roles, mentor, and learning the business
(10:54) VMware era: growth, recruiting focus, and family move to Austin
(11:55) Consulting chapter: building “Liz Bronson Consulting” and supporting startups
(13:18) COVID shift: reevaluating priorities and deciding “it’s my turn”
(15:12) Landing at Skimmer: growth, doubling, and why it is working
(20:53) Intentional career “flatlining” for parenting and how she made it work
(24:52) The “do it all” myth: stress, trade-offs, and household coping strategies
(30:57) The career trade-offs no one talks about
(32:14) Negotiating the partnership reset with her husband and what changed post-2020
(41:49) The “must-have list” and choosing roles that fit life stages
(45:08) The job-search grind after a reset, protecting mental health, and rebuilding momentum
(48:27) Building a caregiver-friendly workplace, parental leave returns, and flexibility in practice
(51:13) Influencing leaders, the business case, and the “why” behind policies and RTO mandates
(55:36) Career advice for HR leaders, understanding the business, and becoming a stronger partner
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📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps
💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn
---- 
Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), 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.

Isabel Naidoo, Chief People Officer at Wise, joined us on The Modern People Leader to share how Wise builds a cohesive employee experience across global offices while still honoring local identity. 
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Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode281
Sponsor Links:
🔗 Try Viva’s $950 one-month trial at execviva.com/mpl
🔗 Try AskChartHop at ChartHop.com/AI
🔗 Learn more about Wellthy at wellthy.com/mpl
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(05:23) Isabel’s Career Story and Path to Wise
(10:54) Shift to Culture and the Global Playbook Topic
(11:58) Why Wise Needs a Global Footprint: Customer Proximity and Regulation
(13:27) Designing a Seamless Employee Experience Across Locations
(14:27) Global Consistency vs Local Identity in Workplace Design
(16:38) How Wise Creates an Irresistible Office Experience
(19:22) Measuring Culture vs Driving Business Outcomes
(21:47) Product Operating Model and Avoiding “HR Theatre”
(23:05) Rituals That Maintain Mission Focus During Growth
(24:31) Company Calls, Demos, and Ownership Through Equity
(25:26) Quarterly Planning Rituals and Open Participation
(27:38) Observable Signals of Culture and Employee Pride
(28:25) AI and How It Changes Talent Strategy at Wise
(28:58) Three Focus Areas: AI Usage, Building AI Skills, and Leading AI Teams
(32:32) Measuring AI Impact Beyond Usage and Where to Start
(35:22) Prerequisites for AI: Data and Operating Model
(37:05) Choosing Use Cases, Human-in-the-Loop, and Reinforcing Human Skills
(39:33) In-Person Connection and What Sets Strong Cultures Apart
(40:34) Value of Community Learning in AI and HR Networks
(43:22) Collaboration Model, Flexible Work, and Benefits That Support Performance
(45:43) Sabbaticals and Work-From-Anywhere Policies
(47:24) AI Use Case Example: Feedback Coach and Scaling Support
(48:48) Innovation at Wise: Hiring for Excellence and Practicing Feedback
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📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps
💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn
---- 
Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), 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.

Chase Warrington, Head of Operations at Doist, joined us on The Modern People Leader to break down how async-first work enables faster decision-making, stronger culture, and scalable operations. We talked about building trust without offices, the systems and rituals behind Doist’s execution velocity, and why async workflows are foundational to effective AI adoption.
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Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode280
Sponsor Links:
🔗 Try AskChartHop at ChartHop.com/AI
🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl
🔗 Go deeper on Viva's AI Journey in Roundtable with Jani (only 10 seats)
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(07:30) Chase’s Origin Story
(11:15) What Doist Does: Productivity Tools, Todoist, and Async-First Principles
(14:45) Why Async Work Changes How Leaders Think, Decide, and Scale
(17:28) Independent Decision-Making as a Non-Negotiable at Doist
(20:44) The Doist Operating System: Squads, Quarterly Cycles, and Decision Frameworks
(23:17) Rituals That Power Execution: Async Standups, Demos, Retros, and Dashboards
(26:30) Communication as Infrastructure: Async Guidelines, Transparency, and Trust
(30:45) How Async Enables Better AI Adoption and an Organizational “Brain”
(33:44) Inside Doist’s AI Ops Squad: Redesigning Planning, Search, and Workflows with AI
(38:17) Vibe Coding, Non-Engineers, and the Rise of AI-Enabled Builders
(47:22) Partnering with Head of People Nadia Vatalidis and Scaling People Systems
(53:30) The Biggest Misconception About Remote and Async Culture
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📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps
💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn
---- 
Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), 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.

Jani Sanguino joined us on The Modern People Leader to share how Viva built an award-winning, manager-led AI transformation.
We talked about the three AI competencies they prioritized, their 13-week manager-led learning path, and the most impactful use cases for their business.
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Go deeper on Viva's AI Journey in Roundtable with Jani (only 10 seats): execviva.com/mpl
Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode279
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Sponsor Links:
🔗 Learn more about Wellthy at wellthy.com/mpl
🔗 Try AskChartHop at ChartHop.com/AI
🔗 Learn more about Tilt at hellotilt.com/mpl
MPL Links:
🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.
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(06:03) Jani’s Path Into People Ops
(09:28) What Music Taught Her About Org Design
(12:55) Why Viva Went All-In on AI
(13:46) Winning the Zapier Award
(17:32) Viva’s AI Adoption Strategy
(19:31) 3 AI Competencies: Prompting, Automation, Business Acumen
(22:09) The 13-Week Manager-Led Learning Path
(23:35) Picking Use Cases and Measuring ROI
(26:46) Handling Resistance and Fear
(30:16) Explorer to Builder to Multiplier
(32:42) Viva Ambassador Program and Content GPTs
(37:29) People Ops Slack Bots: Fixie and Aura
(40:04) TA Dashboard Using Lovable
(41:45) EAs Helping Clients Adopt AI
(43:14) What They’d Change Next Time
(45:18) AI Debt and Automation Pitfalls
---- 
📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps
💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn
😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn
---- 
Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), 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.