Turn AI into Action — Practical Wins with CP Richardson
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In this episode of the AI Today Podcast, host Kathleen Mulch welcomes CP Richardson, CPMAI-certified software developer, co-founder of Agile in Color, and small business owner in wine importing, to discuss the practical application of AI in real-world projects. Richardson shares a candid story of an AI-powered outbound marketing tool he built for his wine import business, which failed to generate responses despite being technically impressive—highlighting a critical lesson: technology must align with business objectives and stakeholder behaviors. The episode emphasizes the importance of the CPMAI certification’s structured framework, particularly its 'AI go no-go' assessment and iterative methodology, to avoid costly missteps. Richardson underscores that AI success hinges not on the tool itself, but on understanding context, data, and human behavior. He also discusses the mindset shift required for agile practitioners: viewing AI as an enhancer, not a replacement, and focusing on influence, communication, and change management to make innovation stick. The conversation concludes with a forward-looking vision where data engineers and those who can synthesize tribal knowledge with structured data will become indispensable in driving AI’s true value. Key takeaways include: (1) Always validate business objectives before deploying AI; (2) Use the CPMAI framework’s 'go no-go' questions to avoid unnecessary AI investments; (3) AI tools are most effective when tailored to stakeholder communication preferences; (4) Technical success ≠ business success—measure outcomes, not just delivery; (5) The future of AI belongs to those with 'chops' who can blend human insight with data and tooling; (6) Context is king—AI works best when it augments, not replaces, human judgment; (7) Iterative testing and rapid feedback loops are essential for AI project agility; (8) Focus on influence and change management to ensure AI adoption sticks.
Always validate business objectives before deploying AI—technical success doesn’t equal business success.
Use the CPMAI certification’s 'AI go no-go' assessment to determine if AI is truly the right solution.
AI tools must align with stakeholder behaviors and communication preferences (e.g., text over email).
Context is king—AI is most effective when it enhances human insight, not replaces it.
The future of AI belongs to data engineers and knowledge integrators who can merge tribal knowledge with structured data.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Welcome to AI Today & PMI Integration
Kathleen Mulch introduces the AI Today podcast, now part of the Project Management Institute (PMI), highlighting its mission to deliver practical AI strategies and real-world examples. She announces the podcast’s new home on PMI.org and introduces PMTraining.com as a sponsor, emphasizing their AI integration in training delivery.
Introducing CP Richardson: From Software to Wine & AI
CP Richardson introduces himself as a 15-year software development and AI professional, co-founder of Agile in Color, and PMI CPMAI-certified. He shares his diverse background, including his side hustle in wine importing, setting the stage for real-world AI applications.
Why CPMAI? Formalizing Intuition with Structure
Richardson explains his motivation for pursuing the CPMAI certification—not because he lacked experience, but to formalize his intuitive AI project management skills. He describes how the certification provided a structured, PMI-backed framework that validated and strengthened his approach.
The AI Go No-Go: A Critical First Step
“You can have a solution to have a tool. And we experienced this when we were building our tooling for V&E importers is that I built a tool. It did all the things I needed to, but I didn't have the business context and I didn't have a business objective.”
The Failed AI Campaign: A Lesson in Context & Stakeholders
“To the people who you want to be your customers, they value face-to-face interactions. They value building a relationship and they value that piece of you showing that I have not only done my homework. But I'm actually going to come out to you also and like have you try and sample.”
“To the people who you want to be your customers, they value face-to-face interactions. They value building a relationship and they value that piece of you showing that I have not only done my homework. But I'm actually going to come out to you also and like have you try and sample.”
“Data engineers are going to be really key in doing that and whoever is able to help build tooling that provides that context, I mean, those folks are going to stand out.”
“You can have a solution to have a tool. And we experienced this when we were building our tooling for V&E importers is that I built a tool. It did all the things I needed to, but I didn't have the business context and I didn't have a business objective.”
Host
Guest
CP Richardson
person
CPMAI Certification
other
Kathleen Mulch
person
Project Management Institute
organization
V&E Imports
other
Agile in Color
organization
Agile Alliance
organization
Codex
product
GitHub
product
Power Automate
product
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