AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
by Northlight AI
"AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs", with host Susan Diaz, helps you integrate artificial intelligence into your business operations. We'll help you understand and apply AI generative in a way that is accessible and actionable for entrepreneurs at all levels. With each episode, you'll gain practical insights into effective AI strategies and tools, hear from leading practitioners with deep expertise and diverse use cases, and learn from the successes and challenges of fellow business owners in their AI adoption journey. Join us for the simplified knowledge and inspiration you need to leverage AI effectively to level up your business.
Episodes
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EP282 Your Body Is the First Technology - Victoria Chemko on Leading Through the AI Noise
Victoria Chemko has spent 24 years building businesses. She helped start companies and grow them from six people to 170, ran her own digital marketing agency for more than a decade, then consulted for everyone from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Across all of it she kept seeing the same…
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EP281 Your Team's Nervous System Is Infrastructure - Sira Laurel on Load-Bearing Trust
Most of the leaders Sira Laurel works with look like they're winning. Inside, they're exhausted. Sira is an executive coach and facilitator who works on leadership, organizational design, cognitive load, trust and nervous system capacity. She has watched organizations get very good at making work...
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EP280 Faster Than a Generation - Ian Alden Russell on Change That Outruns Us
This episode skips the tools, the prompts, and the latest model release. It goes somewhere more philosophical. Ian Alden Russell started out as an archaeologist and anthropologist. He was the kid who loved museums and Indiana Jones. Since then he has worked across history, contemporary art and...
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EP279 How higher ed moves from AI interest to governed use with James Hutson
A previous president from Lindenwood University (a former IBM executive) stands up in town halls and tells people he uses Claude - that it helped him organize the financial report. HR follows and says they used Gemini for an employee questionnaire. Then James Hutson PhD. goes and asks employees...
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EP278 AI Governance in Higher Ed with Dr. Eugene Chan
Most organizations govern AI the same way cities govern speeding. They set a rule, then punish people who break it. Dr. Eugene Chan thinks that's the least interesting tool available. He's a behavioural scientist - founder of the consultancy Behavieural and Professor of Business at Tyndale...
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EP277 Is AI Going to Take the Gift of Failure Away? asks Julie Cole
Episode description Julie Cole and her co-founders started Mabel's Labels in a Hamilton basement 23 years ago, back when customers were still nervous about typing a credit card number into a computer. They figured out early that they weren't really running a label company - they were running a…
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EP276 Your AI Strategy Is a Hammer. Where's the Nail? - with David Cohen
"We need AI" is the most common brief in business right now. David Cohen's read on what it means: usually nothing in particular. David is the founder of Superposition, a consultancy for data and AI consultancies - a meta consultancy, as he calls it. He's spent his career inside both big and...
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EP 275 "Do I Trust Myself?" Grace Gravestock on the Real Reason AI Adoption Stalls
Episode description Everyone's arguing about whether AI can be trusted. Almost nobody's asking the harder question underneath it. Grace Gravestock has spent more than twenty years leading change management on some of the highest-profile technology projects around - including the team that set the...
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EP 274 The Human OS - AI Adoption With Curiosity, Safety, and Monday Ease ft. Melissa Penton
In the final episode of the Podcast-to-Book series, host Susan Diaz sits down with change leader and AI education lead Melissa Penton (Sun Life) for a human-first conversation about what actually makes AI adoption work. They talk productivity vs room-for-life, why one-prompt culture is snake oil,...
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273 - Future-proofing your organization through continuing AI literacy
Most companies do a few AI trainings, run some pilots, and then stall. In this episode, host Susan Diaz argues the only real future-proofing strategy is continuous AI literacy. She breaks down what "continuous literacy" actually includes (skill, judgment, workflow, norms), the predictable failure...
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EP 272 - Mindset, Sales, and AI That Actually Helps with Gazzy Amin
Host Susan Diaz sits down with sales strategist Gazzy Amin, founder of Sales Beyond Scripts, to talk about the real ways AI is changing revenue, planning, and scale. They cover AI as a thinking partner, how to use it across departments in a small business, why audits matter more than hype, and…
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EP 271 - How to Quantify AI ROI Beyond 'Time Saved'
If you're measuring AI success by "hours saved" you're playing the easiest game in the room. In this episode, Host Susan Diaz explains why time saved is weak and sometimes harmful, then shares a better "AI ROI stack" with five metrics that map to real business value and help you build dashboards...
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EP 270 - From AI Awareness → AI Readiness → AI Adoption with Jennifer Hufnagel
Host Susan Diaz sits down with Jennifer Hufnagel (Hufnagel Consulting), an AI educator and AI readiness consultant who's trained 4K+ people. They break down what "AI readiness" actually means (spoiler: it's not buying Copilot), why AI doesn't fix broken processes or dirty data, and how leaders…
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EP 269 - Why One-Off AI Training Fails (and What to Do Instead)
If your organization ran an "AI 101" lunch-and-learn… and nothing changed after, this episode is for you. Host Susan Diaz explains why one-off workshops create false confidence, how AI literacy is more like learning a language than learning software buttons, and shares a practical roadmap to…
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EP 268 Women, AI, and 'Hold the Door' Leadership with Chris McMartin
Host Susan Diaz is joined by Chris McMartin, National Lead for the Scotiabank Women Initiative (Business Banking), for a real-world conversation about how women are approaching AI. They talk about time poverty, fear of asking "dumb" questions, the shame myth of "AI is cheating", and why the most...
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EP 267 Does AI Make you More or Less Creative? (Paintbrush vs Photocopier)
AI can feel like a creativity cheat code… or like the death of originality. In this short, punchy solo episode, Susan argues the truth is simpler: AI doesn't create creativity. It creates options. Creativity still belongs to the driver—your taste, courage, and point of view. Episode summary Susan...
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EP 266 - Literacy, Leadership, and the 'AI for the Sake of AI' Trap with Shona Boyd
Host Susan Diaz is joined by Shona Boyd, a product manager at Mitratech, a SaaS company, and a proudly AI-curious early adopter, for a grounded conversation about what AI literacy actually means now. They talk about representation, critical thinking, everyday meet-you-where-you-are workflows,...
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265 Buying AI vs Building AI - A Leader's Decision Guide
Most teams are stuck in tool obsession: "Should we build agents?" "Should we buy this AI platform?" In this solo, workshop-style episode, host Susan Diaz pulls you back to reality with a simple decision guide: buy vs bolt-on vs build, four leadership filters, and a practical workflow exercise to...
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EP 264 How AI Changed Marketing with Suzanne Huber
Host Susan Diaz sits down with her business buddy and go-to-market consultant Suzanne Huber to talk about what AI has actually changed in marketing. Together they explore AI as "robot arms" (an extension of expertise), why first-draft AI content gets a bad rap, how modern marketers use AI for...
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EP 263 AI is the App. Culture is the OS.
AI doesn't fail in organizations because the tools are bad. It fails because culture is glitchy. In this solo episode, host Susan Diaz explains why AI is just the "app" while your organizational culture is the real operating system - and she shares six culture pillars (plus practical steps) that...
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EP 262 Women, AI, and the Invisible Load (with Heather Cannings)
Why are women adopting AI at lower rates than men - and what's really going on underneath the stats? In this episode, host Susan Diaz and Heather Cannings, Women Entrepreneurship Program Lead at InVenture and producer of StrikeUP Canada, dig into time poverty, "cheating" fears, late-night...
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EP 261 The Four AI Cliff Archetypes
Some AI projects in your organization feel weirdly easy. Others feel impossible. In this solo workshop-style episode, host Susan Diaz introduces the Four AI Cliff Archetypes - Divers, Pathfinders, Operators, and Bridge Builders - and shows how understanding your mix of people (not just your…
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EP 260 Human-First in an AI-Forward World with Helen Patterson
What does it really mean to build an AI-forward company that is still deeply human-first? In this episode, host Susan Diaz and senior HR leader and mentor culture advocate Helen Patterson talk about jobs, guardrails, copyright, environmental impact, and why mentorship and connection matter more...
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EP 259 What Is an AI Flywheel? (And Why your Pilots Stall)
Most leaders talk about AI in terms of pilots, projects, and one-off tools. In this solo episode, host Susan Diaz explains why that mindset stalls adoption - and introduces the idea of an AI flywheel: a simple, compounding loop of audit → training → personalized tools → ROI that quietly turns...
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EP 258 AI, Scale, and Outcome-Over-Output Leadership (with Kirsten Schmidtke)
What does modern sales leadership look like when AI is in the mix? In this episode, host Susan Diaz and sales leadership coach Kirsten Schmidtke unpack how AI and humanity can peacefully coexist in sales, why scale starts with clarity and process (not tools), and how leaders can shift from...
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EP 257 What My 30-Episode Sprint Is Teaching Me About AI, Energy, and Experimenting in Public
Midway through a 30-episodes-in-30-days podcast-to-book sprint, host Susan Diaz gets honest about what's working, what's hard, and how she's actually using AI as a thinking partner, draft machine, pattern spotter, and quiet project manager - plus what leaders can learn from this for their own AI...
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EP 256 From Secret Power Users to Visible AI Champions
In every organization there's at least one person quietly doing wild things with AI - working faster, thinking bigger, and building their own personal AI stack. In this episode, host Susan Diaz explains how to find those secret power users, support them properly, and turn their experiments into…
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EP 255 How to Run an AI Audit in your Organization (Without Boiling the Ocean)
Most leaders have no clear, single picture of how AI is actually being used inside their organization. In this solo episode, host Susan Diaz walks through a practical, human-first AI audit you can run in weeks (not years) to map tools, workflows, adoption patterns, and risks - so your AI strategy...
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EP254 Should You Build Custom GPTs or Just Prompt Better
Should you build custom GPTs, agents, digital interns, Gems, and artefacts… or just learn to prompt better? In this roundtable, Susan, social media + AI power user Andrew Jenkins, and GTM + custom GPT builder Dr. Jim Kanichirayil unpack when you actually need a custom build, when a strong prompt…
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EP 253 Swan Dive Backwards (The Story and Framework Behind the Book)
You may have heard host Susan Diaz say she "swan dove backwards off the cliff into AI". In this episode, she unpacks what that actually means, how it became the working title of her book, and the concrete frameworks leaders can use to move boldly into AI without being reckless. This is a…
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EP252 Turning Prompts into Real AI Workflows with Jason Dea
Many teams have a Notion page full of prompts. Very few have real, repeatable AI workflows. In this episode, host Susan Diaz and product/go-to-market leader Jason Dea dig into how to move from playing with prompts to designing workflows, building tiny specialist agents, and avoiding a new wave of...
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EP251 The AI Literacy Divide is Why your AI Adoption is Stalling
Most enterprises don't have an AI problem. They have a literacy problem. In this episode, host Susan Diaz breaks down the "AI literacy divide" inside organizations, why it quietly creates haves and have-nots, and what baseline literacy actually looks like in practice. AI literacy should be…
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EP 250 - The Hidden Cost of Experiment-Only AI Literacy
Lots of teams are playing with AI. Few are documenting, sharing, or governing what actually happens. In this episode, Susan unpacks the hidden cost of experiment-only AI literacy inside enterprises, from duplicate spend to shadow AI, and offers a path from Wild West to structured innovation....
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EP249 The Podcast-to-Book with AI Challenge (Day 1 of 30)
What if you didn't have to disappear into a cabin for a year to write a meaningful book on AI? In this episode, host Susan Diaz kicks off a 30-day podcast-to-book challenge, sharing why her first book changed everything in her business and how she's now using AI and this podcast as a live…
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EP248 AI for Sales Enablement at Founder Scale (without sounding robotic)
Founder-led teams can use AI to run effective, specific outreach - without sounding robotic. In this episode of 'AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs', I share a five-part "non-cringe" follow-up, a reusable variable-block system, tone/quality checks, a 5-step SOP you can paste into your AI tool, and a...
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EP247 Data, Docs, and your AI Knowledge Base - the 4-Folder System that Makes AI Work
"AI can't use what you haven't organized." In this solo teaching episode, host Susan Diaz lays out a lightweight, repeatable structure for an internal knowledge base that actually powers your AI - so custom GPTs, Gems, or projects stop guessing and start producing on-brand, accurate work. You'll...
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EP246 From AI Literacy To Implementation That Ships (Introducing Northlight)
Episode summary Three different leaders told me the same thing last quarter: "We tried AI. It felt cool. It didn't change any results." Northlight exists to fix that gap. In this episode I introduce Northlight - my AI literacy + implementation firm for teams that are done dabbling and ready for...
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EP 245 AI Meets DEI - Building Inclusive Workplaces in the Age of Automation with Gabby Zuniga
How do diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals evolve in a world being rapidly reshaped by AI? In this episode, I sit down with Gabby Zuniga, founder of InclusiveKind, where she helps organizations across nonprofit and corporate sectors do DEI right through assessments, strategy, training…
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EP244 Getting Found on AI (and Why SEO Foundations Still Matter) with Andrew Jenkins
AI search is here. People are using ChatGPT and other tools to discover businesses - but my guest today on the podcast, Andrew Jenkins shows why the foundations of SEO still matter. Andrew is CEO of Volterra Digital, a top-ranked social media agency, and a long-time member of my Marketing Power...
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EP243 Canva, AI, and the Future of Design for Non-Designers with Emily Baillie
In this episode of AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs, I sit down with Emily Baillie, founder of Compass Content Marketing and longtime digital marketing strategist turned AI literacy expert. Emily has been helping businesses navigate digital change for over 15 years. When ChatGPT first launched, she...
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EP242 Prototype > Perfection - Deborah Carraro on Learning AI by Doing
This episode dives into the evolving space where entrepreneurship, education, and AI collide. Host Susan Diaz sits down with Deborah Carraro, an educator, AI leader, and founder of ideborah, to unpack how early-stage entrepreneurs can approach AI with creativity, experimentation, and values...
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EP241 Winning Mindset in the Age of AI with Melissa Lloyd
In this episode, Melissa Lloyd, founder of Aigility Hub, joins host Susan Diaz to explore the mindset-first approach to adopting AI. We unpack why tools and tactics should follow clarity, confidence, and intentional leadership. This conversation is a must-listen for entrepreneurs and leaders...
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EP240 Why your Custom GPT Won't Work (and the 48-Hour Rescue Mission)
Ready to stop cursing at that under-performing GPT (that you lovingly built - only to watch it spit out meh)? In this short episode, host Susan Diaz breaks down five foundations every custom GPT needs before it can truly earn a spot on your team, plus a 48-hour challenge to tune-up (or totally...
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EP 239 How 3 founders use AI to think 100x
In this week's 'AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs' I tap three founders who turned very human skill-sets - strategy, street-level video, personal style - into AI-fuelled growth engines. What we cover Quiz funnels that work while you sleep Growth strategist Maiko Sakai dissects why most quizzes flop,...
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EP238 Success, Space and Systems-Rebel Energy (with Bárbara Daroca)
'AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs' gets a role-reversal this week: host Susan is in the hot-seat, guesting on Bárbara Daroca's Hello, Success! Podcast and the convo was too good not to syndicate here. If you're building a business on your own terms (and wondering how AI fits into that life-by-design...
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EP237 AI for Impact - Jesse Clarke on Grant Writing, Equity and Smarter Funding
In this episode of 'AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs', Susan Diaz chats with Jesse Clarke - founder of JN Clarke Consulting and a strategic advisor to nonprofits and social impact entrepreneurs. With deep roots in both federal government and charitable sectors, Jesse brings a pragmatic, values-first...
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EP237 AI for Impact - Jesse Clarke on Grant Writing, Equity and Smarter Funding
In this episode of 'AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs', Susan Diaz chats with Jesse Clarke - founder of JN Clarke Consulting and a strategic advisor to nonprofits and social impact entrepreneurs. With deep roots in both federal government and charitable sectors, Jesse brings a pragmatic, values-first...
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EP236 The Soul of Strategy - Human-Centered Growth in a Tech-Driven World with Liat Horovitz
In this heartfelt and thought-provoking conversation, host Susan Diaz sits down with Liat Horovitz - results coach, founder of Revival Retreats, and host of The Results Club Podcast - to explore what it really means to grow a business (and a life) in the age of AI without losing your humanity.…
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EP235 AI 101 for Founder-Led Teams – The Building Blocks
In this foundational solo episode, host Susan Diaz breaks down the three core concepts every founder-led team needs to understand to build a meaningful relationship with AI. Whether you're just dipping your toes into AI or looking to sharpen your implementation strategy, this is your no-fluff...
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EP234 Websites that Work: Accessibility, SEO, and Essentialism with Steph Sedgwick
In this insightful episode of 'AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs', host Susan Diaz sits down with Steph Sedgwick, founder of Clarity Web Design, to explore how good web design is evolving in the age of AI, accessibility, and changing SEO dynamics. About Steph Sedgwick: Steph specializes in creating...
About this show
"AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs", with host Susan Diaz, helps you integrate artificial intelligence into your business operations. We'll help you understand and apply AI generative in a way that is accessible and actionable for entrepreneurs at all levels. With each episode, you'll gain practical insights into effective AI strategies and tools, hear from leading practitioners with deep expertise and diverse use cases, and learn from the successes and challenges of fellow business owners in their AI adoption journey. Join us for the simplified knowledge and inspiration you need to leverage AI effectively to level up your business.
Hosted by
Northlight AI
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