Description

Summary

In this urgent episode of Highly Adaptive, Jeff Pelliccio and Erin MacKenzie welcome Lauren Jones, founder of Leap Advisory Partners and self-proclaimed tech optimist, to deliver a wake-up call every staffing executive needs to hear: AI adoption is no longer optional—it's table stakes.

Opening with the delightful revelation that Lauren's goats (including Justin Timber-goat) aren't using AI yet, the conversation quickly shifts to a sobering reality. When Lauren asked a room full of large agency leaders in January 2025 who was using AI, not a single hand went up. This moment crystallized her mission: evangelizing a sense of urgency about AI adoption across the industry.

With her characteristic blend of tough love and practical wisdom, Lauren dismantles the excuses holding firms back. Enterprise companies struggle with agility (one tugboat turning a cruise ship), while SMBs wrongly assume they can't compete. The truth? AI has democratized technology—million-dollar firms and billion-dollar firms have access to the same tools at the same cost.

Drawing from her work with over 500 staffing firms and recent partnerships with PE firms, Lauren reveals that exit valuations are now being impacted by technology investments. The conversation provides a clear roadmap: start with one question ("What gets in your way every day?"), build bridges between change management and change acceptance through communication, discipline, and accountability, and remember that Gen Z will talk to a bot 16 minutes longer than a human—but they're getting the worst candidate experience in the industry.

• It's Not Optional Anymore – This is the internet all over again; get engaged now or get left behind, period and full stop
• One Question Changes Everything – Ask "What gets in your way every day?" internally and externally for 90%+ response rates
• Agility Beats Size – SMBs have the one advantage enterprises lack: ability to pivot quickly with AI tools
• Gen Z Speaks Bot – They'll engage 16 minutes with AI vs humans but report the worst candidate experience—fix this disconnect
• Policy, Education, Enablement – In that order; give guardrails before tools to avoid resume-dumping disasters
• 20 Days to 7 Days – Real client example: AI cut submittal time by two-thirds through smart training and implementation

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