Keeping Human Connection at the Forefront in an AI World

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As your top leadership team is looking ahead to 2027 and the capabilities of AI are growing exponentially, you may be considering whether or how to use AI while keeping the human judgment, trust, and connection that makes your company distinctive in the first place.

While your company’s needs are unique, it can still be helpful to hear from CEOs about their decisions around introducing AI in their company. That’s why we’re revisiting our conversation with publishing CEO Tanya Hall. We discuss how she has made decisions about introducing AI into Greenleaf Book Group while keeping human connection at the forefront.

Tanya is CEO of Greenleaf Book Group, one of the leading hybrid book publishers in the United States. She drives growth efforts and fosters a culture built around serving authors. Prior to her current role, Tanya worked directly with Greenleaf’s authors to develop publishing strategies (including multiple New York Times bestsellers); spearheaded growth strategies; and built Greenleaf’s distribution organization, working directly with retailers and wholesalers to develop one of the fastest-growing distribution businesses in the industry. Before joining the publishing industry, Tanya worked in digital media and in television production at Extra and E! Entertainment Television. Tanya is also the author of  the book “Ideas, Influence, And Income, A Comprehensive Guide To Writing, Publishing, And Launching Your Book—And Monetizing Your Content.”

In a candid conversation with us, Tanya shares the thought process behind her decision to incorporate AI into Greenleaf. She shares what she learned about the importance of educating Greenleaf’s stakeholders, ranging from the Board and employees, authors, and partners, about using AI without flattening the human voice, trust, creativity, wisdom, and connection that make them special. Tanya shares the story of how she introduced AI at Greenleaf in a way that best suited their unique culture. We also discuss three immediately useful ideas that were helpful to them in introducing AI into their creative company while keeping human connection at the forefront.

“AI can help us with things like efficiency, organization, and scale, but it cannot substitute for human nuance, human connection, or human voice.” – Tanya Hall

This week on Growth Igniters® Radio we discuss:

• How intentional leadership can enable AI to create more room for human connection, creativity, and productivity
• Lessons learned about the importance of establishing clear “guardrails” for AI adoption
• Tanya’s story on how moving from an ad hoc approach to using AI to a more department-centered co-creation approach resulted in greater adoption and more productive outcomes
• Three immediately useful ideas for leading your company to keep human connection at the forefront in an AI world

Resources for This Episode

• Learn more about Tanya Hall and connect with her on LinkedIn
• Read the Greenleaf Publishing Group article, “The Future of Publishing: AI, Hybrid Publishing, and Author Power“
• Read Tanya’s book, “Ideas, Influence, and Income”
• Listen to our previous conversation with Tanya: “The Most Valuable Leadership Lesson I Ever Learned”
• Find out more about Pam’s keynote “Break Orbit: Achieving Long-Term Growth in a Short-Term World”

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