AI Transformation, or AI Theater? - with Anne Green | The Trending Communicator

Your company says it's "all in on AI." But what does that actually mean? A restrictive policy, some low-capability tools, and an hour of DIY training?

That's not transformation. That's theater.

In this episode, I sit down with Anne Green, CEO of G&S Integrated Marketing Communications and host of the Building Brand Gravity podcast, for a reality check on what's actually happening with AI adoption behind corporate doors. Anne's been on both sides—building an agency from startup to acquisition, then leading another through strategic growth during what she calls our industry's "AI identity crisis."

We grapple with the fact that AI doesn't automatically make anyone smarter. It intensifies what's already there. Great workers get better. Mediocre workers produce more mediocre work, faster. And the workforce? Too overwhelmed to upskill, too stressed to experiment, stuck between existential dread and executive pressure to transform.

Anne and I explore why agencies might be cracking this code better than corporate teams, what the dot-com bubble teaches us about today's AI hype, and why nobody can agree on whether entry-level, mid-level, or senior talent is most at risk.

Her advice for navigating this moment: "Hold less tightly. Unclench."

WHAT WE COVER:
→ Why "AI transformation" is often just performative box-checking
→ The dot-com parallels that should worry (and reassure) you
→ How AI acts as a personality intensifier in the workplace
→ The psychological bandwidth problem stalling real adoption
→ Why transparency about AI use builds trust—and hiding it destroys it
→ What agencies are doing differently
→ The talent pipeline crisis nobody can pin down
→ Finding grace in an overwhelming moment of change

CONNECT WITH ANNE GREEN:
→ G&S Integrated Marketing Communications: https://gscommunications.com
→ Building Brand Gravity Podcast: Available wherever you get podcasts
→ LinkedIn:   / anne-e-green  

CONNECT WITH DAN NESTLE:
→ Inquisitive Communications: https://be-inquisitive.com
→ The Trending Communicator: https://trendingcommunicator.com
→ Substack: https://trendingcommunicator.substack...
→ LinkedIn:   / nestle  

SUBSCRIBE for more conversations on the future of communications, marketing, and leadership in the AI age.

#AITransformation #Communications #PRIndustry #Leadership #FutureOfWork #AgencyLife #MarketingStrategy #TheTrendingCommunicator