EP 264 How AI Changed Marketing with Suzanne Huber
Release Date: 12/18/2025
EP 274 The Human OS - AI Adoption With Curiosity, Safety, and Monday Ease ft. Melissa Penton
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
In the final episode of the Podcast-to-Book series, host sits down with change leader and AI education lead (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, the shift from prompt engineering to context engineering, and the simplest enterprise question that changes everything: “What would make Monday easier for employees?” Episode summary Susan closes out the Podcast-to-Book sprint with a conversation that feels like the point of the whole series: AI isn’t a tool problem....
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273 - Future-proofing your organization through continuing AI literacy
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
Most companies do a few AI trainings, run some pilots, and then stall. In this episode, host 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 modes of the AI literacy divide, and a simple flywheel you can run monthly so capability keeps compounding. Episode summary Susan opens with a familiar pattern: a burst of AI excitement, a deck called “AI Strategy 2025” a few clever workflows… and then reality hits. Tools change. Policies shift....
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EP 272 - Mindset, Sales, and AI That Actually Helps with Gazzy Amin
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
Host sits down with sales strategist , 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 how mindset quietly determines whether you treat AI as a threat or an advantage. Episode summary This episode is part of Susan’s 30-episodes-in-30-days “podcast to book” sprint for Swan Dive Backwards. Susan and Gazzy zoom in on the selling process first. Then they zoom out to the whole business. They talk about three...
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EP 271 - How to Quantify AI ROI Beyond ‘Time Saved’
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
If you’re measuring AI success by “hours saved” you’re playing the easiest game in the room. In this episode, Host 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 that actually persuade leadership. Episode summary Time saved is fine. It’s also table stakes. Susan breaks down why “we saved 200 hours” is the least persuasive AI metric, and why it can backfire by punishing your early adopters with more work. She then introduces a smarter approach: a...
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EP 270 - From AI Awareness → AI Readiness → AI Adoption with Jennifer Hufnagel
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
Host sits down with (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 can build real capability through training programs, communities of practice, and properly resourced AI champions. Episode summary and met in “the most elite way possible”: both were quoted in The Globe and Mail about women and AI. Jennifer shares her background as a business analyst and digital adoption / L&D...
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EP 269 - Why One-Off AI Training Fails (and What to Do Instead)
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
If your organization ran an “AI 101” lunch-and-learn… and nothing changed after, this episode is for you. Host 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 build sustainable AI capability. Episode summary This episode is for two groups: teams who did a single AI training and still feel behind, and leaders realizing one workshop won’t build organizational capability. The core idea is simple: AI adoption isn’t a “feature learning” problem. It’s a...
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EP 268 Women, AI, and ‘Hold the Door’ Leadership with Chris McMartin
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
Host is joined by , 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 powerful move right now is women holding the door open for each other - learning in community and sharing what works. Episode summary This episode is a candid, energetic conversation with Chris McMartin - aka “Hype Boss” online and a long-time hype woman for women entrepreneurs. They explore what’s different...
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EP 267 Does AI Make you More or Less Creative? (Paintbrush vs Photocopier)
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
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 tackles a question she hears constantly: does AI expand creativity or flatten it? Her answer: it depends on how you’re using it. If you use AI like a photocopier—generate a first draft and ship it unchanged—you’re not becoming more creative. You’re becoming more efficient at being...
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EP 266 - Literacy, Leadership, and the ‘AI for the Sake of AI’ Trap with Shona Boyd
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
Host is joined by , 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, shadow AI, enterprise guardrails, and why leaders must stop chasing AI features that don’t solve real user problems. Episode summary Susan introduces Shona Boyd - AI-curious early adopter and SaaS product manager—whose mission is to make AI feel less scary and more accessible. Shona shares how her approachable AI...
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265 Buying AI vs Building AI - A Leader’s Decision Guide
AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs
Most teams are stuck in tool obsession: “Should we build agents?” “Should we buy this AI platform?” In this solo, workshop-style episode, host 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 help you choose the right approach - without falling for agentic fantasies. Episode summary Susan opens with a pattern she’s seeing everywhere: 75% of AI conversations revolve around tools - agents, platforms, add-ons - and they’re often framed as all-or-nothing decisions. She reframes it: AI is best...
info_outlineHost 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 research, planning, editing, and proposals, and why thought leadership and personal brand matter more than ever.
Episode summary
Susan and Suzanne have been talking about AI since 2022. In this episode, they make it official.
Suzanne introduces a metaphor that sticks: AI as “robot arms”. You’re still the driver. AI can extend your reach, speed up the grunt work, and help you close expertise gaps—but it still needs human judgment, critical thinking, and craft.
They compare marketing before vs after AI: headlines, research, applying feedback, simplifying complex plans into executive-friendly formats, cross-checking sources (especially Canadian vs US), and building repeatable workflows with custom GPTs.
They also tackle the bigger questions:
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Does expertise still matter?
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Is personal brand becoming more important in the age of AI?
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What should writers do if they feel threatened?
Spoiler: AI can speed up output. But insight, values, differentiation, and taste are still the human edge.
Key takeaways
AI is “robot arms” not a replacement brain. It’s an extension of expertise. You still need to steer, evaluate quality, and avoid publishing raw first drafts that can damage trust.
First-draft AI is the content factory problem. AI-assisted content gets a bad reputation when junior-level or high-volume systems publish credible-sounding fluff with no real subject matter expertise behind it. Craftsmanship still matters.
Marketing got faster because the grunt work collapsed. Headlines, rewrites, reformatting, applying feedback, outlining, and turning long documents into charts/tables can happen in minutes - not hours. You still refine, but you’re starting from a better baseline.
Research and fact-checking changed dramatically. Instead of trawling search results for hours (and getting US-default sources), AI tools can surface targeted sources fast - then humans choose what’s credible and relevant.
Custom GPTs shine for repeatable processes. Susan shares how she uses custom GPTs (including MyShowrunner.com) for guest research, interview questions, emails, and packaged deep research briefs - turning recurring work into reusable systems.
Expertise always matters - especially for positioning and thought leadership. Differentiation, values, hot takes, and human intuition are what attract the right people (and repel the wrong ones). AI can assist, but it can’t replace lived POV.
Personal brand matters more in the age of AI. As audiences get more suspicious of generic content and AI avatars, trust increasingly attaches to real humans with visible ideas, proof, and consistency.
For writers who feel threatened: use it or get outpaced. AI can accelerate production for factual formats (press releases, timely content). Writers who combine craft + AI + fast learning become the force multipliers. But journaling/introspective writing still belongs to the human-only zone.
Episode highlights
[01:29] Suzanne’s “robot arms” metaphor: AI as an extension of expertise.
[02:47] Why first-draft AI should never leave your desk.
[03:56] The telltale signs of lazy AI writing (and why it gets a bad rap).
[05:00] Before vs after AI: the research + writing process changes.
[07:24] Simplifying complex work: plans → tables → charts for execs.
[09:10] Deep research for Canadian sources without wasting hours.
[10:25] Custom GPT workflows (MyShowrunner + research briefs).
[12:29] Where expertise still matters in an AI-saturated world.
[16:56] Personal brand: attracting the right people + repelling the wrong ones.
[20:00] AI for proposals and even pricing guidance.
[22:00] Advice for writers who feel threatened by AI.
If you’ve been resisting AI because you’re worried it will erase your craft, try this reframing: Use AI for the grunt work.
Keep the human parts for the parts that build trust: taste, judgement, voice, and values.
And if you want a simple starting point, ask yourself: What could use “robot arms” in your marketing workflow this week - headlines, research, rewrites, proposals, or planning?
Connect with Susan Diaz on LinkedIn to get a conversation started.
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Connect with Suzanne Huber on LinkedIn.