Ian Barkin

Entrepreneur | Investor | Advisor | Author | Storyteller |

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

If your AI strategy has a mysterious middle step, South Park has already written the joke.

David and I discuss what needs to happen between an AI demo and actual business results.

Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/jj5fmfj1h5

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

Know what you are buying. Sparkly slides are lovely, but who's maintaining the integrations? What are you actually signing? Kyler Cheatham and I discuss this on the latest episode of The magentIQ Show.

Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/kiyr1tJoCy

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

Five towers shape whether your agentic AI program scales: Data, Process, Talent, Tech, Governance. How does your organization score? We show you how on Oct 27. https://t.co/Aqo0mzOGlm

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

What if call center agents could become proficient 4x faster?
We're seeing that with AI-powered training. This is what David and get into on the latest episode of The magentIQ Show.

https://t.co/szM3AFjOqy

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

Before the next AI demo, could we start with a whiteboard? I'd like to know where the work gets stuck before we pick a tool to fix it.

David and I get into this on The magentIQ Show. We were having this conversation 15 years ago. The tools have changed. The habit hasn't.

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

Apparently, some AI researchers are taking up smoking because they expect AI to cure cancer. At least, that's what Palantir's CTO claims.

I'd be delighted if AI made that breakthrough. I may wait for the cure before taking up the habit.

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

I'm quite happy to have AI challenge my thinking. I'd worry if it agreed with me all the time.

Ask it to support your idea and you'll get a lovely argument. Ask what you've missed and you might learn something.

David and I discuss critical thinking on The magentIQ Show.

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

I'd be delighted if AI gave people more time with customers. But good judgment takes practice. If AI handles the routine work, how will newer colleagues gain that experience?

Andreas Welsch and I get into this on The magentIQ Show. Somehow, flight simulators came up.

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

All those green ticks on the AI adoption dashboard look lovely. But are customers getting served any faster?

Lasse Rindom and I get into this on the latest episode of The magentIQ Show, out now.

What would you measure beyond AI adoption to know it's actually working?

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

AI can build a prototype in an afternoon. Wonderful. But the customer exceptions, undocumented handoffs and decade-old systems may need a little longer.

David and I get into why rushing the homework can get expensive on The magentIQ Show.

What would you refuse to skip?

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

HubSpot is cutting 660 jobs, and its CEO says AI isn't the reason. David and I get into this on the latest episode of The magentIQ Show.

Not long ago, linking layoffs to AI might have impressed investors. Now HubSpot is making sure we don't make that link. Curious, isn't it?

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

60% of companies surveyed had slowed hiring or laid people off because of AI. Only 2% had AI capabilities in place to do the work.

I've always advocated getting AI-ready before buying AI. I'd apply the same thinking to hiring decisions.

Tom Davenport on The magentIQ Show.

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

Ready, Steady, Go: Your 2027 Agentic Playbook. David Brain and I on why pilots stall and what to fix before you pick tools. Oct 27, 11AM EDT. https://t.co/MAkFueXoq0

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

Ask sales, finance and operations what they'd hand to AI. I suspect you'll have quite a list by lunchtime.

Then someone has to decide where to start, and how much responsibility to give the agents.

Paul Cheek and I get into it on The magentIQ Show, out now.

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

Coinbase's one-person product team idea sounds appealing. But I've had colleagues save me from ideas I was rather pleased with.
AI agents can help you build an awful lot. I wonder whether they'll also tell you when your idea is terrible.

Would you trust them to?

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

There's plenty of enthusiasm for getting an AI pilot launched. I get it.

But if the people who know the work are too busy keeping things running to help prepare for it, I'd question whether we're ready to pick a date.

What would you sort out first?

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

Building with AI from day one sounds lovely. No legacy systems. No mysterious approvals.

Established businesses have years of decisions to untangle. I'd do some homework before buying the shiny new AI tool.

That's what we get into in Episode 28 of The magentIQ Show, out now.

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

An AI demo can look terrific. Then you try putting it into a process held together by workarounds and exceptions.

I'm all for the new tools. But perhaps we should fix the process before asking AI to run it.

How AI-ready are we, really?

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

The latest episode of The magentIQ Show is out, and Paul Cheek has me reconsidering the humble org chart.

We're introducing AI agents into the mix. I'm wondering if rearranging the boxes is where we should start.

What if we designed it around the work instead?

[Ian Barkin @ibarkin]

SaaS implementations tend to look clean until the business starts introducing its own rules. That last stretch is where the exceptions, reporting quirks and workarounds show up.

I’m curious whether AI finally makes that part easier.