Episode 312

AI in Education: Unlocking Creativity & Redefining Learning | Evan Schwartz | 312

This thought-provoking episode of SaaS Fuel welcomes Evan Schwartz, a visionary in AI-enabled sustainability and global enterprise transformation.

Together, Jeff and Evan explore the seismic shifts AI is causing in both business and education. They dive deep into how the role of creativity is evolving in an AI-driven world, the pitfalls of hasty tech adoption, and why leaders must focus on documenting processes before layering on the latest tools.

Evan shares hard-won lessons from implementing transformational systems, discusses how customer confusion—not technology—is often the greatest barrier to adoption, and envisions a radically creative future for the next generation.

Key Takeaways

00:00 "Documenting and Innovating for Success"

05:26 Early Digital Transformation in Energy Industry

08:48 Traditional Methods vs. Tech Adoption

13:03 Adapting to Rapid Tech Changes

15:37 "Elevating Customer Service with AI"

19:01 "Refining Controls for Complex Systems"

21:53 Mastering Prompt Engineering

23:30 "Skill and Perspective: Realization"

27:46 Agentic AI Enhances Customer Service

30:31 Reassessing Education for Creativity

35:12 "Building a Customer Journey Framework"

38:18 "Understand Before You Buy Systems"

40:44 "ROI's Comfortable Fit vs. Unrealistic Goals"

45:05 "Feature Request Process Strategy"

47:10 "Sprint Timeline and Code Impact"

49:33 "First-Time Collaboration Challenges"

53:16 Journey from Security Budgets to Startups

Tweetable Quotes

Viral Business Transformation Moment: "I can't run my business without a piece of software. Wow, I've reached a point where there's no going back." - Evan Schwartz

Viral Topic: Why Some Industries Resist Software Adoption: "some of that equipment, some of that stuff they've used was built by, by the guy's grandpappy who designed that bark boiler 200 years ago. And the only thing I've ever had to do was grease the bolts and, you know, scrape some rust off of it and we're good to go. Those are very slow to change." - Evan Schwartz

How Schools Stifle Creativity: "We beat creativity out of our children in exchange for repeatable excellence." - Evan Schwartz

Innovation Requires Honesty, Not Just Hype: "learning from failures, rather than just parading successes, sets the stage for smarter, more resilient innovation." - Jeff Mains

Viral Topic: Rethinking Burnout and Recovery

"Burnout as more than just stress, framing it as a perfectionist narrative that disconnects people from their values." - Jeff Mains

Quote: "Most leaders are exhausted from playing the lone hero and it's killing both your results and your sanity." - Jeff Mains

Cosmic Karma for Sharing Thought Leadership: "Everyone who shares this week gets a handwritten thank you note from the universe itself, delivered by a comet signed in stardust and forever boosting your cosmic karma score. Better than Xbox." - Jeff Mains

SaaS Leadership Lessons

Preserve Creativity:

Don’t beat creativity out of your teams chasing repeatable excellence—reward risk and experimentation, especially as AI absorbs rote work.

Be Transparent About Adoption:

Clearly document your current processes before implementing new tech. Gaps in process knowledge are the #1 cause of adoption failure.

Balance Vision With Flexibility:

Have a compelling vision for transformation, but don’t ignore proven methods—hybrid approaches de-risk implementation.

ROI-Driven AI Integration:

Govern AI investments tightly by measurable returns; cap experimentation, learn from failures, and avoid falling for hype.

Customer-Centric Mindset:

Solve real customer problems rather than hunting for places to shoehorn tech—consider what your users actually care about.

Own Your Journey:

Vendors can advise, but ultimate project success requires you to “own your house”—take full responsibility, empower your team, and set achievable priorities.