Join our Enterprise hits and misses video show - a free-for-all, participatory chat and countdown with Vijay Vijayasankar. We'll countdown his favorite all time blog posts and we'll mock the worst predictions for 2021. (This is the audio replay of the show, you can see the video replay at youtube.com/jonathanwreed).

Let's do a Friday free-for-all on skills development, especially the impact of AI and automation. Jon fields all your questions in the hot seat and share highlights of his prior thinking and research.

In Jon's first ever podcast from NRF's retail "Big Show," Jon sits down with Joachim Klein of ThreeKit, where the two overcome NRF sounds to break down the key trends of the show, before the podcast is finally vanquished by a vacuum cleaner. The guys discuss the next-gen tech at the show, including robotics, facial recognition, and virtual fashion assistants, before digging into the problem of personalization and the opportunities retailers have if they can conquer their data problems. Klein then shares ThreeKit's go-to-market plan, and why these seasoned retail executives have banded together and put skin in the game. Their goal: bring augmented reality, visual commerce, and 3D product configuration into the same platform. End note: apologies for the background noise, the quietest place we could find at NRF was not terribly quiet, even with lavalier mics. SOUND UPDATE: my colleague Den Howlett has edited out as much background noise as possible in this new mix.

In their first online talk in several years, Jon Reed of www.diginomica.com is reunited with one of his old school guests for a fresh talk on the problem of hiring data science skills - and what to do about it. Vijayasankar details the types of data science skills that a data science team needs, and where the hiring gaps are. There's plenty of advice for individuals on how to fill those gaps. The guys also hit on the problem of algorithmic bias, and issues of diversity in data science. Note: this is the audio-only version of this chat. You can catch the video version on Jon's youtube: youtube.com/jonathanwreed.

In this impromptu/underground recording with the implausible Esteban Kolsky, the guys grab some time as Salesforce Connections to discuss the future of the enterprise. Two Kolsky blog posts are up for consideration, one on his enterprise software priorities, the other on AI misconceptions. Since this taping is at a CX event, the guys also get into the epic problem of delivering a halfway-decent customer experience across channels. Doing their best with Jon's backup recording, Jon also takes the chance to ask Esteban the burning question: why are you such a grouchy *!*. That leads into a discussion of the vital role of the enterprise idealist/curmudgeon, or, gadfly. At the end of the thirty minute chat, the meaning of the "implausible" Esteban Kolsky is revealed. Producer's note: this had to be taped on the backup of Jon's backup recorder, but hopefully the listening experience was improved decently for you during production. 

In their second podcast from Sapphire Now 2018, Jon Reed and guest Brian Dennett move on from SAPpy talk to discuss Brian's startup, Enable AI, and why they are taking a practical approach to AI as augmented intelligence. Brian shares his view on why AI and ML are getting market traction, and the customer problems that Enable AI is tackling. Brian also advises on how companies should get started with "AI," and why data scientists are not necessarily required. Though this is not an SAP-focused podcast, the guys briefly touch on how customer-focused AI projects tie into a C/4HANA and Leonardo context at one point or another.