Sept. 19, 2025

Playstorm: Why Your CEO Needs to Get Dirty with AI - with Sandy Carter

Playstorm: Why Your CEO Needs to Get Dirty with AI - with Sandy Carter
The player is loading ...
Playstorm: Why Your CEO Needs to Get Dirty with AI - with Sandy Carter
Playstorm: Why Your CEO Needs to Get Dirty with AI - with Sandy Carter
Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon iHeartRadio podcast player icon Audible podcast player icon YouTube podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon

MIT just dropped a bomb: 95% of corporate AI initiatives are failing. Not struggling. Failing. And Sandy Carter knows exactly why.

In this episode of The Trending Communicator, I sit down with Sandy, currently Chief Business Officer at Unstoppable Domains, former VP at Amazon Web Services, and the person who turned IBM's "social business" concept nobody understood into a $200 billion market. Sandy's written seven books, been named to every power list that matters (CNN's Top 10 Most Powerful Women in Tech, Forbes 50 Over 50), but what caught my attention is her philosophy: "AI First, Human Always."

While everyone's either selling AI snake oil or running scared, Sandy's figured out something crucial. Companies aren't failing at AI because the technology doesn't work. They're failing because they're treating it like any other IT rollout: layer it on top of broken processes and hope for magic. Sandy shares why CEOs need to stop brainstorming and start "playstorming," what happens when you ignore Reddit for three years, and why your daughter talking to Grok about party outfits might be the most important trend in communications.

Listen in and hear about:

  • The real reason 95% of corporate AI fails (hint: it's not the technology)
  • Moving beyond productivity theater to genuine transformation
  • Why GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) changes everything for communicators
  • The "play storm" revolution and why your CEO needs to get their hands dirty
  • How ignoring Reddit and Wikipedia is killing your AI presence
  • The generational divide in AI adoption and what it means for business

Notable Quotes

"Audiences today are ready to move on from 'how do I use gen AI for productivity?' into something deeper: What does it mean for us as humans?" - Sandy Carter [00:05:14]

"If your process already didn't work, there's no magic in AI that's going to make it wake up and work." - Sandy Carter [00:18:42]

"You have to experience it. You have to get your hands into it. You have to play with an agent." - Sandy Carter [00:27:38]

"If you take one thing from this whole podcast, put your company in [AI search], put yourself in too, and see what comes out." - Sandy Carter [00:50:54]


Resources and Links

Dan Nestle

Sandy Carter


Timestamps

0:00 Intro: Host welcomes Sandy Carter

5:23 AI's impact on human meaning and work

10:24 Why 95% of corporate AI projects fail

15:23 Redesigning workflows for AI integration

20:44 Generational differences in AI adoption

26:58 The importance of "play storming" with AI

32:13 Training everyone on AI, not just tech teams

37:05 Voice interfaces and generational preferences

41:32 Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies

48:43 Checking your company's AI presence

54:41 Closing thoughts on AI and communications



(Notes co-created by Human Dan, Claude, and  Flowsend.ai )

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices