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Elevate Your AIQ

Elevate Your AIQ

Written by: WRKdefined
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 Bob Pulver is helping each of us navigate our respective journeys with artificial intelligence (AI) effectively and responsibly. Bob chats with AI and Future of Work experts, talent and transformation leaders, and practitioners who provide diverse perspectives on how AI is solving real-world challenges and driving responsible innovation.All rights reserved by WRKdefined Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Ep 102: Enabling an Intelligent, Efficient, and Human-Centered Hiring Experience with Adam Gordon

    Ep 102: Enabling an Intelligent, Efficient, and Human-Centered Hiring Experience with Adam Gordon
    Jan 23 2026
    In this insightful and forward-looking conversation, Bob Pulver speaks with Adam Gordon, co-founder and CEO of Poetry, about the rise of hiring enablement and how AI can be used to create consistency, speed, and scalability in talent acquisition. Adam reflects on his entrepreneurial journey from Candidate.ID to Poetry, unpacks the MOLT framework (Marketing, Operations, Learning, Tools), and explains how Poetry integrates AI to support recruiters and hiring managers with streamlined processes and guardrails to ensure quality and compliance. They also explore deeper workforce challenges like trust, burnout, and AI’s societal impact—especially in the context of shrinking employee tenure and the future of work. Keywords Adam Gordon, Poetry, hiring enablement, recruiter enablement, AI agents, MOLT framework, Candidate.ID, talent acquisition, recruiter productivity, ATS integration, AI guardrails, employer brand, candidate experience, AI governance, trust in leadership, DEI, burnout, workforce automation, staffing industry, responsible AI, talent intelligence Takeaways Adam Gordon’s journey from recruiting to tech entrepreneurship has been shaped by the need to empower recruiters with better tools and processes. Poetry was created as a hiring enablement workspace to reduce reliance on fragmented point solutions and to streamline recruiter workflows. The MOLT framework (Marketing, Operations, Learning, Tools) organizes recruiter needs in a way that supports end-to-end hiring activity. Poetry emphasizes product design simplicity and consistency, integrating AI without exposing users to the risks of hallucination or inconsistent prompts. Recruiters using Poetry can save up to 25% of their time per day, but there's concern about how organizations reinvest those gains. Guardrails are built into Poetry to ensure a consistent employer brand, tone, and candidate experience—especially important given drops in organizational trust. The move from “recruiter enablement” to “hiring enablement” reflects how recruiters and hiring managers must work together in today’s TA ecosystems. A new Poetry workspace tailored for staffing companies is set to launch in Q2 2026, signaling the platform’s evolution and market expansion. Quotes “Recruiting is a team sport.” “We’ve put such strong guardrails in place, it’s not possible for Poetry to hallucinate.” “We wanted to eliminate recruiters having to log into 30 different tools to do their job.” “I’ve described it as an age of employment brutality—CEOs don’t want more people on payroll.” “The trust barometer is dropping, and without trust, the candidate experience and employer brand collapse.” “Just because you can build something doesn’t mean you’ve built a technology company.” Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Adam’s Background 01:17 - From Social Media Search to Candidate.ID 05:32 - The Vision Behind Poetry 07:27 - Simplicity, Product Design, and AI Agents 09:16 - MOLT: Marketing, Operations, Learning, Tools 11:16 - ATS Integration and 25% Time Savings 14:05 - The Reinvestment Dilemma 18:34 - Talent Intelligence and Bite-Sized Research 22:01 - Guardrails Over Free Prompting 24:51 - Mitigating Risk and Ensuring Consistency 29:58 - From Recruiter to Hiring Enablement 33:40 - Empowering Employer Brand and Talent Attraction 37:50 - The Importance of Trust and Communication 43:25 - Turnover, Tenure, and the Workforce Equation 49:22 - Responsible AI and Societal Impact 54:35 - Creative AI Tools and Industry Disruption 56:44 - Building a Scalable Tech Company 59:46 - 2026 Preview: Poetry for Staffing Companies Adam Gordon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwgordon/ Poetry: https://www.poetryhr.com/ For advisory work and marketing inquiries: Bob Pulver:⁠⁠ ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/bobpulver⁠⁠⁠ Elevate Your AIQ:⁠⁠ ⁠https://elevateyouraiq.com⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠https://elevateyouraiq.substack.com⁠
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    59 mins
  • Ep 101: Reshaping the Workforce Through Sensemaking and Trusted Talent Intelligence with Vijay Swami

    Ep 101: Reshaping the Workforce Through Sensemaking and Trusted Talent Intelligence with Vijay Swami
    Jan 16 2026
    Bob Pulver talks with Vijay Swami, Co-Founder and CEO of Draup, a global leader in AI-powered talent intelligence. Vijay shares his journey from early roles in call center forecasting to founding a management consultancy and then TalentNeuron, later acquired by CEB. With deep roots in data science and a vision for empowering internal analytics teams, Vijay built Draup to tackle labor market complexity using advanced AI, unstructured data, and rich taxonomies. Vijay and Bob discuss building trusted, AI-powered talent intelligence platforms that bridge data complexity and business decision-making, and how human-centric, explainable AI is reshaping strategic workforce planning. They cover the growing importance of verification skills, ethical AI practices, the future of people analytics, the architecture of trusted and explainable AI systems, and the evolving role of humans and agents in enterprise workflows. Keywords Vijay Swami, Draup, AI in HR, People Analytics, Strategic Workforce Planning, verification skills, ethical AI, talent intelligence, agentic AI, skills-based hiring, cloud data, explainability, trust, synthetic data, digital twins, ETTER, Curie, job displacement, augmented intelligence, transparency Takeaways AI's value in HR lies in sense-making from complex and unstructured data, not just simplifying workflows. Verification skills—like content and narrative validation—are emerging as critical in a world flooded with AI-generated data. Draup’s AI agent Curie supports HR and analytics professionals with leadership-ready narratives and scenario planning. The platform's ETTER model goes beyond job descriptions to assess real work through contracts, SLAs, and KPIs. Transparency and traceability are foundational to building trust in AI systems; Draup compares its models against industry benchmarks. Ethical AI practices include open documentation, interpretability, and empowering analysts to correct or clarify information. AI should not be viewed solely as a job killer; clear, specific skills definitions in job postings can increase hiring and help target investments. True transformation requires shifting from jobs to workflows and task orchestration, blending human effort, AI agents, and automation. Quotes “We want to tell the story—not just show the data—to help people analytics become a leadership engine.” “Verification skills are the next battery of capabilities organizations must build for a trustworthy enterprise.” “Transparency is about giving customers the right to know—even if they don’t ask.” “HR has the opportunity to become heroes in this AI wave by unlocking the true nature of work.” “We should be therapists for data anxiety—helping organizations see what’s real versus what’s a myth.” “I’m a net AI job creator guy—because there’s no shortage of work, just a need to match skills and workflows more intelligently.” Chapters 00:05 - Introduction and Vijay’s background 00:57 - From forecasting analyst to AI-powered platforms 03:18 - Rethinking labor intelligence beyond job descriptions 05:39 - Building a sense-making engine from complex data 07:42 - Storytelling, context, and executive alignment 11:15 - The rise of verification skills 14:04 - Creating a trusted and transparent AI ecosystem 19:31 - Unlocking the true nature of work through ETTER 22:44 - Ethical AI and human-centric design 32:19 - How data becomes a therapeutic tool 35:14 - AI’s real impact on jobs and skills demand 45:25 - Strategic work planning beyond job roles 49:19 - Optimism, augmentation, and future-proofing teams 50:34 - Closing thoughts and appreciation Vijay Swami: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vijay-swaminathan-a44101/ Draup: https://draup.com/ For advisory work and marketing inquiries: Bob Pulver:⁠⁠ ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/bobpulver⁠⁠⁠ Elevate Your AIQ:⁠⁠ ⁠https://elevateyouraiq.com⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠https://elevateyouraiq.substack.com⁠
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    50 mins
  • Ep 100: Pulverizing the Journey to Human-Centric AI Readiness with Bob Pulver

    Ep 100: Pulverizing the Journey to Human-Centric AI Readiness with Bob Pulver
    Jan 15 2026
    In this milestone 100th episode, host Bob Pulver reflects on the journey of Elevate Your AIQ, sharing why he started the podcast, what he's learned from nearly 100 conversations, and what’s ahead for the show and its community. He revisits recurring themes such as AI literacy, responsible innovation, and human-centric transformation—connecting them to his personal experiences, professional background, and passion for empowering others. This solo conversation is both a look back and a call to action for individuals and organizations to embrace AI thoughtfully and elevate their AIQ together. Keywords AIQ, AI literacy, responsible AI, human-centric design, talent transformation, skills-based hiring, human potential, CHRO of the future, work redesign, education reform, podcasting, Substack, transformation leaders, automation strategy, AI readiness, AI ethics, trust, transparency, fairness, lifelong learning, community, AI-powered workforce Takeaways Podcasting is a powerful outlet for exploring curiosity, storytelling, and continuous learning—especially for neurodivergent thinkers. Human-centric AI readiness is not just about tools or tech—it’s about mindset, adaptability, and lifelong learning. AIQ exists on three levels: individual, team, and organizational—each requiring a blend of skills, tools, and ethical judgment. Responsible AI is central to modern transformation—touching on transparency, fairness, ethics, and explainability. CHROs and people leaders have dual responsibilities as strategic architects of work and catalysts for responsible innovation. Hiring for skills and potential—rather than pedigree—is crucial to unlocking hidden talent and countering bias. Education and talent development must evolve to equip students and workers with the durable skills of the AI-powered future. Communities of practice and peer generosity are vital to collective learning and resilience in this era of rapid change. Quotes “Use AI where you should, not wherever you can.” “We’ve always adapted to new technologies—this time is no different.” “Human-centricity and human potential are key overarching themes of this show, and of the future of work.” “AIQ isn’t just about literacy—it’s about readiness, judgment, and mindset.” “If you are a DEI advocate, you are now a responsible AI advocate.” “You can control your own destiny—you’re capable of more than you think.” Chapters 00:00 Welcome and Gratitude for Episode 100 00:50 Human-Centric AI and the Purpose of the Show 02:32 Authenticity, Creativity, and Focus 04:35 My Background: Corporate to Independent 07:18 Early Exposure to AI at IBM and Personal Stakes 09:55 Start with Processes and Business Challenges, Not Tech 11:48 Three Levels of AIQ: Individual, Team, Org 13:45 Beyond Prompting: Augmenting Capabilities 15:20 Responsible AI: Use and Design 17:30 The Role of Trust, Transparency, and Fairness 19:50 DEI and Responsible AI Are Inseparable 21:10 Skills-Based Hiring and Hidden Potential 23:00 Designing Work for Human + AI Partnership 25:40 Lifelong Learning and the Future of Education 27:20 CHROs as Architects and Innovation Catalysts 29:30 Offense and Defense in Responsible Innovation 31:00 A Call to Action for Listeners and the Community 32:10 What’s Next: Live Shows, Events, Writing, and Community 33:20 Closing Gratitude and Future Outlook For advisory work and marketing inquiries: Bob Pulver:⁠⁠ ⁠https://linkedin.com/in/bobpulver⁠⁠⁠ Elevate Your AIQ:⁠⁠ ⁠https://elevateyouraiq.com⁠⁠⁠ Substack: ⁠https://elevateyouraiq.substack.com⁠
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    33 mins
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