Grounding AI
The Grounding AI Podcast is designed for senior executives navigating the practical realities of AI adoption and modern B2B growth.
Hosted by Donna Peterson, President of World Innovators, each episode addresses the questions leaders are asking right now: how to apply AI in a way that strengthens decision-making, aligns teams, and delivers measurable business impact.
In each episode, you’ll gain clear, actionable perspectives on:
- Aligning AI initiatives with business strategy and revenue goals
- Strengthening market positioning and trust with high-value audiences
- Improving team efficiency without adding complexity
- Making smarter, faster decisions in an evolving landscape
With over 30 years of experience working with...
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All Episodes
Does Your B2B Company Have a Backup Plan for AI?
<p>What would happen if the AI platform your team uses every day disappeared tomorrow?</p> <p>Would you still have the instructions, messaging, research, ideas, processes, and other company knowledge you have built there?</p> <p>In this episode of Grounding AI, Donna Peterson shares a simple reminder for B2B leaders: AI can be a useful place to work, but it should not become the only place your company's knowledge lives.</p> <p>Donna explains why World Innovators has always believed in keeping important business assets in-house, whether that means your customer database, marketing information, company processes, or the knowledge your team is developing with AI.</p> <p>She also shares a practical weekly backup habit you can use to review what you created with AI and determine what should be saved internally. The goal is not to stop using AI. It is to use AI responsibly while making sure your company can continue operating with confidence if a platform, feature, or tool changes.</p> <p>In the episode instructions, you will also find a simple AI backup prompt you can adapt for your own company --> <a href="https://www.worldinnovators.com/hubfs/AI%20Worksheet%2c%20Give%20Aways/World_Innovators_Weekly_Business_Knowledge_Review.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.worldinnovators.com/hubfs/AI%20Worksheet%2c%20Give%20Aways/World_Innovators_Weekly_Business_Knowledge_Review.pdf</a></p> <p>Grounding AI is a World Innovators podcast for B2B leaders who want practical conversations about AI, marketing, communication, relationships, and better business decisions.</p> <p></p> <p>*** Reach out to <a href="mailto:dpeterson@worldinnovators.com" rel="nofollow">dpeterson@worldinnovators.com </a>if you’d like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.</p> <p>*** Visit <a href="http://www.worldinnovators.com/" rel="nofollow">www.worldinnovators.com </a>for more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.</p> <p>*** Subscribe to the Grounding AI podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.</p> <p></p>
Why Are My AI Answers Getting Worse?
<p>Why do AI answers sometimes seem less useful, even as AI tools keep getting better? Before blaming the AI, it may be time to look at the instructions you gave it.</p> <p>In this episode of Grounding AI, Donna Peterson explains why custom instructions should not be something you set once and forget. Your business changes. Your communication changes. The way you use AI changes. And the AI tools themselves continue to add new capabilities.</p> <p>Donna shares a practical exercise you can use to review how you've worked with AI over the last 30 days and identify where your custom instructions may need to catch up.</p> <p>You'll hear how to look for:</p> <ul> <li>Instructions you find yourself repeating</li> <li>Corrections you continually make to AI responses</li> <li>Context you're adding to prompts over and over</li> <li>Changes in your business, audience, tone, or goals</li> <li>Guardrails that may need to be reconsidered as AI gains new features and integrations</li> </ul> <p>Donna also explains why leaders should review permissions and access when AI tools are connected to other applications. The goal isn't to add more AI. It's to make sure the AI you're already using understands how you work today.</p> <p>A simple place to start: Ask your AI tool to evaluate how you've used it over the last 30 days. What have you repeatedly corrected, added, or asked it to change? Then compare what it finds with your current custom instructions.</p> <p>If your AI answers aren't as useful as they used to be, the problem may not be the tool. Your instructions may simply need an update.</p> <p>Grounding AI is a World Innovators podcast for leaders looking for practical ways to use AI to improve communication, build trust, and make better business decisions without losing the human thinking behind the work.</p> <p></p> <p>*** Reach out to <a href="mailto:dpeterson@worldinnovators.com" rel="nofollow">dpeterson@worldinnovators.com </a>if you’d like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.</p> <p>*** Visit <a href="http://www.worldinnovators.com/" rel="nofollow">www.worldinnovators.com </a>for more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.</p> <p>*** Subscribe to the Grounding AI podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.</p> <p></p>Human Side of AI Adoption
<p>Buying AI tools does not mean your team will actually use them.</p> <p>In this episode of Grounding AI, Donna Peterson talks with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts and author of The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results, about why AI adoption is often more of a people issue than a technology issue.</p> <p>Why do some employees avoid AI? Why are others using it but hesitant to admit it? And what can leaders do to help their teams become more comfortable without forcing change too quickly?</p> <p>Donna and Gleb discuss the psychology behind AI adoption, the role leadership plays in creating the right culture, and why starting with the right kind of task can make a real difference.</p> <p>They also look at an important question for every business investing in AI: How do you know if AI is actually helping your company, rather than simply adding another tool?</p> <p>If your company is introducing AI but struggling to get real participation from the team, this conversation will give you a different way to think about the problem.</p> <p>In this episode:</p> <p>• Why employees may resist AI even when the tools are easy to use<br> • What leaders may be overlooking when introducing AI<br> • How company culture influences adoption<br> • A practical way to help employees get started<br> • How to think about whether AI is producing real business value</p> <p>Grounding AI | World Innovators</p> <p>Practical conversations for B2B leaders who want to use AI thoughtfully, improve communication, and keep people at the center of the process.</p> <p></p> <p>*** Reach out to <a href="mailto:dpeterson@worldinnovators.com" rel="nofollow">dpeterson@worldinnovators.com </a>if you’d like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.</p> <p>*** Visit <a href="http://www.worldinnovators.com/" rel="nofollow">www.worldinnovators.com </a>for more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.</p> <p>*** Subscribe to the Grounding AI podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.</p> <p></p>Are B2B Leaders Making AI More Confusing?
<p>With all the excitement around AI, are we forgetting some of the business lessons that helped us become successful leaders in the first place?</p> <p>In this episode of the World Innovators Grounding AI Podcast, I talk about something I have been thinking about a lot lately. AI may not be what is creating confusion inside our companies. As leaders, we may be creating some of that confusion ourselves.</p> <p>We have spent years learning how to lead, communicate, build trust, make decisions, and understand our people. Those lessons still matter when we introduce AI into our businesses.</p> <p>I look back at lessons from four business books that have influenced how I work:</p> <ul> <li>Start With Why by Simon Sinek</li> <li>The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey</li> <li>Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin</li> <li>The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling</li> </ul> <p>These books were not written about AI, but the leadership lessons apply.</p> <p>Before asking your team to use AI, do they understand:</p> <ul> <li>Why you are bringing it into the company?</li> <li>Do they know what you are trying to accomplish?</li> <li>Are you using it yourself?</li> <li>And are you continuing to coach your team after the initial training?</li> </ul> <p>One of the most important things I learned as a swim coach was that you cannot coach everyone the same way. The same applies to AI. Some employees are excited to try every new technology. Others need more time, examples, and guidance. Good leadership means understanding the people on your team and helping each person move in the right direction.</p> <p>In this episode, I discuss:</p> <ul> <li>Why AI adoption starts with leadership, not technology</li> <li>How to explain the "why" behind AI to your team</li> <li>Why leaders need to define what they actually want AI to accomplish</li> <li>How different employees may need different levels of AI coaching and support</li> <li>Why leaders need to model the AI behavior they want from their teams</li> <li>How regular AI discussions can encourage learning and implementation</li> <li>Why human experience, judgment, and business knowledge still need to guide AI</li> <li>How inconsistent AI use can eventually affect your marketing, sales communication, and customer trust</li> </ul> <p>A Simple Action to Take at your next team meeting, ask: Why are we using AI in our company?</p> <p>Then ask: What do we actually want AI to help us accomplish?</p> <p>Listen to your team's answers. You may find that people are not as aligned as you thought.</p> <p>AI should not make your business more confusing. Used with clear leadership, good judgment, and the business knowledge your team already has, it should help people work and communicate more effectively.</p> <p>If your team is trying to determine how AI fits into your business, I would be happy to talk through it with you.</p> <p></p> <p>*** Reach out to <a href="mailto:dpeterson@worldinnovators.com" rel="nofollow">dpeterson@worldinnovators.com </a>if you’d like help building a marketing strategy that builds relationships and/or AI training for individuals or full teams.</p> <p>*** Visit <a href="http://www.worldinnovators.com/" rel="nofollow">www.worldinnovators.com </a>for more resources on building stronger marketing and leadership strategies.</p> <p>*** Subscribe to the Grounding AI podcast for weekly insights into marketing, leadership, and the future of AI.</p> <p></p>