Ep. 84 The Human Advantage in an AI-First World

Explore how emotional intelligence and human connection remain vital in an AI-first world, alongside insights from industry leaders on adapting to ...

May 11, 2026
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Episode Description

Your buyers already researched you. Your competitors. Your product. And probably generated a shortlist with AI before the first meeting even started.

In this episode, we’re joined by Stephenen Morse (30+ year SE leader, founder of the SC Leadership Institute, executive coach, and former Salesforce global SE leader) to unpack what leadership looks like in an AI-first world.

We dig into:
 
  • Why SEs need to shift from “stable state managers” to wartime strategists
  • How AI is amplifying the value of emotional intelligence, empathy, and human connection
  • Why buyers still need confidence and belief before making big decisions
  • The danger of automating away the human moments that actually matter
  • How modern SE leaders can balance decisiveness, pressure, and compassion
  • Why the future of presales belongs to people who know when to leverage AI, and when to slow down and be intentional
We also dive into Steven’s upcoming leadership book, decades of lessons from scaling global SE organizations, and why this may be the most important moment yet for the presales profession.