In episode 424, host Mike Petrusky welcomes Kaveh Rostampor, CEO and co-founder of Planhat, for a wide-ranging conversation about leadership, workplace innovation, AI, and navigating change in a rapidly evolving business environment. Drawing on more than 20 years in enterprise software and his experience building customer success technology platforms, Kaveh shares why he believes the future belongs to organizations that embrace automation, use AI to eliminate repetitive work, and help employees focus on higher-value activities. Together, Mike and Kaveh explore what it means to lead through disruption, why context and communication are essential for successful change management, how organizations can help employees adapt to new technologies, and why professional growth often begins outside our comfort zones.
Agenda
- Why AI and automation are reshaping the future of work
- How leaders can help employees embrace change and new technologies
- What roles context, communication, and purpose play in leadership
- Why doing difficult things often creates the greatest value
What you need to know: Workplace takeaways
Takeaway 1: Innovation starts by removing low-value work
Kaveh believes organizations should focus on automating repetitive and mundane activities wherever possible. As AI, software, and automation become more capable, leaders can free employees from routine administrative work and allow them to spend more time creating value.
He describes this future as the “automated enterprise,” where tasks that can be automated increasingly will be automated, enabling people to focus on strategy, decision-making, customer relationships, and problem-solving.
As Kaveh explains, organizations should “spend your time with the things that are really valuable and… move out all the other stuff that software or systems or robotics and things can do for you.”
Takeaway 2: Great leaders create context, not just direction
Kaveh returns repeatedly to the importance of helping employees understand why their work matters and how it contributes to organizational success. Many professionals want to advance their careers, take on more responsibility, and make a greater impact. According to Kaveh, leaders help accelerate that growth when they clearly connect individual responsibilities to broader business goals.
Rather than simply assigning tasks, leaders should explain how teams contribute to organizational outcomes and help employees understand the larger mission behind their work.
“The leader’s job is to help create context for their employees to understand why they are there in the first place,” he says.
Takeaway 3: Successful change management requires people to understand the reason for change
As organizations adopt new technology and AI-driven workflows, resistance to change remains one of the biggest barriers to transformation. Kaveh sees this firsthand while working with customers undergoing major operational changes. He believes employees are far more likely to support change when leaders clearly explain why it’s necessary and how it will help the organization succeed.
The goal is not to force change on people but to help them become active participants in making it successful, and Kaveh argues that employees who understand the business rationale behind a change initiative are more likely to embrace new tools, processes, and ways of working.
Takeaway 4: Growth happens outside your comfort zone
For Kaveh, the most rewarding accomplishments often come from tackling difficult challenges. He encourages people to pursue hard things, even when success is uncertain, because those experiences create learning, growth, and long-term value.
Mike connects this idea to his own favorite advice: becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Whether the challenge involves learning a new technology, taking on a leadership role, speaking up with a new idea, or navigating organizational change, growth often begins when people move beyond familiar territory. As Kaveh puts it, “If things are coming easy to you, then you should go and try to do hard things.”
Workplace management insights
- AI and automation can help employees focus on higher-value work by reducing repetitive tasks.
- The concept of the “automated enterprise” centers on using technology to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
- Leaders create stronger teams when they provide context and connect work to organizational goals.
- Successful change management depends on helping employees understand why change is necessary.
- Employees who align their efforts with business objectives often accelerate their professional growth.
- Personal and professional growth frequently comes from taking on difficult challenges.
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