Libsyn Directory

AI Predictions for 2026

Release Date: 12/01/2025

AI Knowhow

We're taking a quick spring hibernation to cook up something entirely new in the lab! A massive thank you for an amazing 120+ episodes. Catch up on past insights on and keep your strategy sharp at while we prepare our exciting next chapter.

Breaking the Growth Barrier, Part 2

AI Knowhow

Are you leaving your firm's most lucrative revenue source completely unmanaged? Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Pete Buer return to reveal why post-sales relationship management is often a massive blind spot for professional services leaders. They explore how AI can finally illuminate the unstructured "dark data" in your business, transforming the subjective art of account management into a scalable, data-driven science. Discover how to apply these exact strategies to your own data at . Watch this on YouTube:

Breaking the Growth Barrier, Part 1

AI Knowhow

Why does scaling a professional services firm eventually feel like you're fighting the laws of physics? David DeWolf and Pete Buer break down the painful reality of hitting revenue ceilings, exposing why the traditional model of bespoke delivery and "unicorn talent" is built to break. Drawing on hard-won lessons from decades building and scaling servies companies, the duo highlights how top-tier firms are bending the growth curve by automating client interactions and productizing core services. In this episode, you’ll discover exactly how to transform your business model. The winners in the...

Building a Revenue Engine Beyond the Sale, Part 2

AI Knowhow

Are you running your post-sale revenue on actual data, or just "vibes"? Following up on last week's foundation, Knownwell CEO David DeWolf and CMO Courtney Baker dive into the exact mechanics of building a powerful growth engine beyond the initial sale. They break down the three maturity levels every B2B services firm must conquer to stop playing defense against churn. Discover why customer success can't survive on an island, why standard customer satisfaction scores are a trap, and how AI finally lets leaders measure the historically unmeasurable dynamics of true client health. Stop being...

Building a Revenue Engine Beyond the Sale, Part 1

AI Knowhow

What if the biggest growth lever in your business isn’t actually new sales? What if the real difference between a stalling $200 million firm and a smaller competitor that doubles in size comes down entirely to growth and retention discipline within your existing account base? Knownwell CEO David DeWolf and CMO Courtney Baker present the first half of a recent Knownwell webinar called "Building a Revenue Engine Beyond the Sale." They break down a tale of two companies to demonstrate how a smaller firm with superior growth and retention strategies and execution can leave a larger,...

AI and RevOps: What Feels Different When RevOps is Embedded in the Full Client Lifecycle

AI Knowhow

When revenue is unpredictable, leadership is reactive. But what materially changes when your data finally stabilizes and your "revenue machine" starts humming? Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Mohan Rao wrap up our RevOps mini-series by defining the shift from departmental "counseling" to data-driven confidence. They explore how replacing anxiety with evidence-based discipline turns gut-feel debates into high-velocity decisions, allowing leaders to see around the curve and fix account issues before they become post-mortems. Alyssa Nolte joins us for part two of her conversation with Courtney....

AI and RevOps: Embedding RevOps to Speed Business Growth

AI Knowhow

Every leadership team craves alignment; no one wants the meetings. When executives hear "RevOps for Clients," they may picture more red tape and overhead. Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Mohan Rao argue that the right rigor doesn't slow business down—it slows bad decisions down. They unpack the "Minimum Viable Cadence," swapping hours of reactive fire drills for a single 30-minute triage, and discuss why exposing "dirty data" is the only path to shared accountability. Courtney also sits down with Alyssa Nolte of to discuss AI in Customer Experience. Alyssa shares why the data you need is...

AI and RevOps: The Disciplines Behind Predictable Revenue

AI Knowhow

Predictable revenue doesn't come from a better forecast; it comes from better habits. If you are tired of searching for new tools while ignoring the daily disciplines that actually drive growth, this conversation is for you. Knownwell's Courtney Baker joins David DeWolf and Mohan Rao to move Revenue Operations from theory to the calendar. They break down the specific "battle rhythms"—like weekly portfolio triage and monthly capacity reviews—that move your team from reactive scrambling to proactive, data-driven execution. We also share the second half of Pete Buer's conversation with...

AI and RevOps: Why RevOps is a Critical Component of Commercial Management

AI Knowhow

Why do forecasts look great right up until they don't? If your Rev Ops strategy stops at the point of sale, you aren't managing revenue—you’re managing blind spots. Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Mohan Rao kick off a new series on Commercial Operations. They explain why the "lone wolf" days of account management are over and how AI turns "digital exhaust" into objective data—bringing the same discipline to client retention that we apply to winning new deals. Pete Buer sits down with Dr. Vasant Dhar, author of Thinking With Machines. Dr. Dhar explains "Dhar’s Conjecture" and how...

AI and Change Management: Leading in a State of Continuous Change

AI Knowhow

What happens when adaptation isn't a phase, but a permanent state of existence? Knownwell CMO Courtney Baker, CEO David DeWolf, and Chief Product and Technology Officer Mohan Rao conclude our change management miniseries by arguing that resilience now beats optimization. The group explores why governance should actually accelerate speed rather than slow it down, and why modern leadership requires the vulnerability to learn in public versus continually exhorting your team to become "AI-first." Plus, Pete Buer shares part two of his interview with innovation expert and author Scott...

More Episodes

What exactly is an "AI Control Plane," and why might it become an integral part of your business strategy in 2026?

In this episode, Courtney Baker, David DeWolf, and Mohan Rao look around the corner to predict the major shifts coming to the enterprise in 2026. They discuss the move from isolated AI experiments to verticalized systems, the rise of the "AI Control Plane," and whether a Fortune 500 company will finally kill the 40-hour work week.

Then, Domo’s Chief Design Officer Chris Willis joins Pete Buer to challenge the "magical thinking" that often derails AI adoption. He explains why dashboards aren't dead (they just need to get smarter), what it takes to build real-time intelligence you can trust, and why organizational design is the biggest barrier to success.

Plus, in the news: KPMG is training new hires to be "managers of agents" rather than analysts. Pete and Courtney unpack this radical shift in talent strategy and ask: if juniors stop doing the grunt work, how will they learn the judgment needed to lead?

Topics covered:

2026 Predictions: Vertical AI, the "Control Plane," and will one brave Fortune 500 company introduce a 35-hour work week?
The Trust Gap: Why "magical thinking" is hurting enterprise AI adoption.
Organizational Design: Why handoffs and silos are the real enemy of AI success.
The New Junior Role: The pros and cons of hiring "managers of agents."

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JLaTV7xK1CY

Grab the AI Strategy Playbook at Knownwell: https://www.knownwell.com/playbook

Show Notes

TOPICS