Ep. 18 | The First Rule of AI Is Do Not Start With AI (Guest: Tariq Munir)
The magentIQ Show
<p>Ask most finance leaders how to get started with AI and they reach for a tool. This episode makes the case for the opposite. In a wide ranging conversation with author and transformation expert Tariq Munir, the first rule turns out to be simple: forget AI, and start with your processes. Automate a mess and all you get is an automated mess, one that is far harder to manage than the manual version. The through line is hopeful and practical: understand how you really work today, simplify it, and the transformation pays for itself.</p>
<p>Tariq Munir is a digital transformation and AI advisor and the author of Reimagine Finance. He spent twenty years in finance, including senior roles at PepsiCo and Akzo Nobel, before moving into advisory work, keynotes, and workshops focused on helping enterprises transform the way they operate rather than simply layering new tools onto old processes.</p>
<p>Tariq's book, Reimagine Finance: A Leadership Playbook for the Digital Age: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Reimagine-Finance-Leadership-Playbook-Digital/dp/1394320183" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Reimagine-Finance-Leadership-Playbook-Digital/dp/1394320183</a></p>
<p>(2:34) From the Big Four to PepsiCo to author: how twenty years in finance became a book</p>
<p>(9:50) Reimagine versus catch up: why real transformation envisions a future instead of firefighting</p>
<p>(15:45) The structural hole: why the operating model, not the technology, is where most efforts stall</p>
<p>(17:11) The trip to Sydney problem: you cannot map the journey if you will not say where you are starting</p>
<p>(18:57) The atomic unit is the workflow: understand how you actually work before you automate anything</p>
<p>(25:03) From data lakes to data products: the three foundations of a modern operating model</p>
<p>(26:29) Escaping pilot purgatory: building products at scale with lean micro AI factories</p>
<p>(27:26) Reimagining talent: why entry roles are changing and digital literacy is not about coding</p>
<p>(33:13) The full palette: AI as a canvas of colors, and why the costly frontier model is rarely the right one</p>
<p>(42:25) AI everywhere except the P&L: individual speed that never becomes enterprise value</p>
<p>(47:09) The chapter Tariq would add today: responsible and ethical AI, and building the right guardrails</p>
<p>(51:27) The first rule of AI is do not start with AI: the self funding path that begins with process</p>
<p>(53:55) The plumbing problem: why layers of legacy make automated complexity so hard to manage</p>
<p>(57:31) Making the unsexy sexy again: the courage and psychological safety real change demands</p>
<p>Listen now, and tell us where forgetting AI for a moment might be your smartest first move.</p>
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<p>Spotify: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/033f2oKxnFr5fmcpdSHjSL" rel="nofollow">https://open.spotify.com/show/033f2oKxnFr5fmcpdSHjSL</a></p>
<p>iHeartRadio: <a href="https://iheart.com/podcast/333292440" rel="nofollow">https://iheart.com/podcast/333292440</a></p>
<p>Got a perspective worth sharing? We are always looking for guests. Reach out at <a href="mailto:info@bemagentiq.com" rel="nofollow">info@bemagentiq.com</a>.</p>