Know the Room, Own the Room: How Humor Keeps Leadership Human in the Age of AI
A conversation on humor as a leadership tool, empathy as AI's uncrossable line, and why "own the room, know the room" is the guiding principle Michael learned from a mentor years ago.
→ WATCH EPISODERecent Interviews & Podcast Episodes
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Know the Room, Own the Room: How Humor Keeps Leadership Human in the Age of AI
July 16, 2026
A conversation on humor as a leadership tool, empathy as AI's uncrossable line, and why "own the room, know the room" is the guiding principle Michael learned from a mentor years ago.
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Direction Over Speed: How to Stay Human in the Age of AI
July 11, 2026
A conversation on why direction matters more than speed in the AI era, the human side of change, and what AI can never replace.
Interested in featuring Michael Earls or reviewing his work?
Michael brings 20+ years of enterprise cloud and AI experience to conversations about leadership, clarity, and staying human in a world moving at machine speed.
Finding Direction in the Age of AI
A signature keynote on why AI strategy keeps stalling — and the framework leaders can use to align AI initiatives with real business purpose. Built for executive audiences, with stories from the field.
Why AI Initiatives Stall — and How to Fix Them
An honest, tactical session on the pattern behind the 70%+ of AI projects that never ship. Diagnosing the gaps in data, ownership, and clarity — and the small moves that get teams moving again.
From Cloud to AI: What Leaders Are Missing
Lessons from a decade of cloud transformation that most organizations are about to repeat with AI. The hidden cost of skipping foundations, and how to stage a modernization roadmap that compounds.
The Human Element in a Digital World
A talk for any audience working through change fatigue. How to lead people — not just platforms — through accelerating transformation, and why empathy is the new technical skill.
The Digital Compass — Four Directions for Fast-Moving Teams
The signature framework from Michael's newest book. North, East, South, West — four practical directions leaders can use to check whether their team is still pointed where they said they wanted to go.
For podcast appearances, interviews, panels, and speaking inquiries:
press@michaelearls.com