The Human Architecture of AI Transformation | Patrick McGarry on Powered by Data

Every leader claims to be "data-driven," yet most organizations still can't turn data and AI ambition into operational reality. In this episode of the Powered by Data Show, Ben Jones sits down with Patrick McGarry, Federal Chief Data Officer at ServiceNow, to talk about his new book, The Adaptive Organization: Leading Change in the AI Era.Patrick makes the case that transformation rarely fails because the technology is wrong. It fails because organizations treat a human and systemic challenge as a technology problem. We get into the CATALOG Framework at the heart of his book, why governance is infrastructure rather than overhead, and why the real constraint on AI is the human architecture around it.Ben also presses Patrick on the harder questions: whether governance slows you down in a world where models change weekly, where the "AI frees people up for higher-value work" story breaks down, and what honest leadership looks like when the math on headcount doesn't add up.📘 Pre-order The Adaptive Organization (paperback, hardback, and ebook), available now on Amazon ahead of the June 8th launch: https://www.amazon.com/Adaptive-Organization-Leading-Change-Era/dp/1960907123/Check out Patrick's book site: https://mcgarrycdo.com/In this conversation:00:00 Meet Patrick McGarry and the "accidental" origin of the book03:14 The CATALOG Framework and why transformation is a socio-technical problem05:19 Governance as infrastructure, not overhead: the Deming argument06:52 Does governance slow you down? Addressing the skeptical executive08:39 Building two identities: experimenting fast and scaling responsibly09:33 Governance should scale to consequences, not calendars11:44 The elephant in the room: AI, headcount, and job displacement17:53 The single highest-leverage move a leader can make today19:35 Why adapting once isn't enough, and what "choose to lead" really meansAbout the show:Powered by Data is where Ben Jones hosts candid conversations with data leaders, practitioners, and innovators. Each episode digs into the real challenges and practical approaches behind data strategy, BI modernization, AI adoption, and building data-literate organizations, all at the intersection of humans, data, and AI.