Nora Swanson, Director of Innovation & Knowledge Management at JB&B, shares how a six-person innovation team partners with—but operates parallel to—IT to protect security while moving faster.

She distinguishes “little-I” innovations (workflow improvements) from “big-I” disruptions (changing how work is delivered) and explains their vision of AI moving from assistant to collaborator—eventually becoming a teammate in organizational charts. We cover practical enablement: upgrading the intranet to quietly prepare for AI, letting staff spin up bots on vetted content, and defining strict boundaries around client and NDA-protected data.

Nora also details JB&B's plan to capture senior expertise through knowledge interviews and why change management starts early and never really ends. If you need a model for structured innovation, safer AI pilots, and culture-forward change, this episode gives you a blueprint you can adapt to your firm.

In this episode:

• How an internal innovation team functions like an “internal vendor”
• Workplace efficiency vs. tech transformation
• AI enablement through intranet and knowledge structure
• Guardrails for sensitive project/client data
• Knowledge capture interviews and the shelf-life of expertise

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