Being prepared is one of those things that sounds straightforward until you actually look at a leader's calendar. Back-to-back meetings, a constant stream of reports from different teams, and negotiations that require you to know the full history of a relationship before you've even said hello.

The pressure to be across everything is massive. The time to actually get there rarely is.

In this episode, I sit down with Joseph Lyons, President of ELMO Software, to talk about how he uses AI in genuinely practical, day-to-day ways. From personalised daily briefs for his exec team to turning a six-hour strategy workshop into clear, actionable outputs, Joe shares how AI is reshaping the way he prepares, thinks, and leads.

We also get into how he uses AI to prepare for tough conversations, role play negotiations, and synthesise complex information across teams into something actually useful. If you’re curious about how AI can go beyond simple productivity hacks and genuinely improve the quality of your thinking, this episode is full of practical ideas you can apply straight away.

Joe and I discuss:
The ELT productivity agent Joe's team built, and how it delivers a personalised daily brief to each exec member every morning via Slack
Why Zoom's AI summary wasn't enough for a six-hour strategy workshop, and what Joe used instead
How he prepares for negotiations by feeding customer history, contract details, and commercial positions into AI to map out the game theory before the conversation begins
Using Claude Voice in the car to think through difficult performance conversations and build a talk track before arriving at the office
Why giving AI as much context as possible upfront is the key to getting useful output
How Joe is using AI to synthesise reports from five or six different functions into a single, coherent weekly view with clear recommendations

Key quotes

"It's increasingly becoming my assistant in pretty much everything that I'm doing."

"We were really conscious while we were in the meeting, like no one needing to take notes. We would actively talk to the AI and make sure we were clear on capturing actions."

Connect with Joe Lyons on LinkedIn and check out ELMO Software at elmosoftware.com.au.

 

Today's podcast was brought to you by ELMO Software. And they have a gift for you.

If you work in HR, this free five-minute assessment is worth your time. ELMO Software's AI Maturity Assessment benchmarks you across two dimensions: whether you have the right foundations in place, and whether AI is actually delivering results. The assessment was built from research with 1,200+ HR leaders across Australia and New Zealand, so you're benchmarking against people navigating the same landscape as you. You'll get a personalised report with where you sit against ANZ peers, your biggest opportunities, and concrete next steps. Basically: it tells you whether your AI investment is paying off (or going nowhere).

Take it here.

 

My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here: https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/

Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amanthai)

If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

Credits: Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

Being prepared is one of those things that sounds straightforward until you actually look at a leader's calendar. Back-to-back meetings, a constant stream of reports from different teams, and negotiations that require you to know the full history of a relationship before you've even said hello.
The pressure to be across everything is massive. The time to actually get there rarely is.
In this episode, I sit down with Joseph Lyons, President of ELMO Software, to talk about how he uses AI in genuinely practical, day-to-day ways. From personalised daily briefs for his exec team to turning a six-hour strategy workshop into clear, actionable outputs, Joe shares how AI is reshaping the way he prepares, thinks, and leads.
We also get into how he uses AI to prepare for tough conversations, role play negotiations, and synthesise complex information across teams into something actually useful. If you&rsquo;re curious about how AI can go beyond simple productivity hacks and genuinely improve the quality of your thinking, this episode is full of practical ideas you can apply straight away.
Joe and I discuss:
<ul>
<li>The ELT productivity agent Joe's team built, and how it delivers a personalised daily brief to each exec member every morning via Slack</li>
<li>Why Zoom's AI summary wasn't enough for a six-hour strategy workshop, and what Joe used instead</li>
<li>How he prepares for negotiations by feeding customer history, contract details, and commercial positions into AI to map out the game theory before the conversation begins</li>
<li>Using Claude Voice in the car to think through difficult performance conversations and build a talk track before arriving at the office</li>
<li>Why giving AI as much context as possible upfront is the key to getting useful output</li>
<li>How Joe is using AI to synthesise reports from five or six different functions into a single, coherent weekly view with clear recommendations</li>
</ul>
Key quotes
"It's increasingly becoming my assistant in pretty much everything that I'm doing."
"We were really conscious while we were in the meeting, like no one needing to take notes. We would actively talk to the AI and make sure we were clear on capturing actions."
Connect with Joe Lyons on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-lyons-au/">LinkedIn</a> and check out ELMO Software at <a href="http://elmosoftware.com.au">elmosoftware.com.au</a>.
&nbsp;
Today's podcast was brought to you by ELMO Software. And they have a gift for you.
If you work in HR, this free five-minute assessment is worth your time. ELMO Software's&nbsp;<a href="https://elmosoftware.com.au/ai-maturity-assessment">AI Maturity Assessment</a>&nbsp;benchmarks you across two dimensions: whether you have the right foundations in place, and whether AI is actually delivering results. The assessment was built from research with 1,200+ HR leaders across Australia and New Zealand, so you're benchmarking against people navigating the same landscape as you. You'll get a personalised report with where you sit against ANZ peers, your biggest opportunities, and concrete next steps. Basically: it tells you whether your AI investment is paying off (or going nowhere).
<a href="https://elmosoftware.com.au/ai-maturity-assessment">Take it here.</a>
&nbsp;
My latest book The Health Habit is out now. You can order a copy here:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/">https://www.amantha.com/the-health-habit/</a>
Connect with me on the socials: Linkedin (<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber">https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanthaimber</a>)
Instagram (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/amanthai">https://www.instagram.com/amanthai</a>)
If you are looking for more tips to improve the way you work and live, I write a weekly newsletter where I share practical and simple to apply tips to improve your life. You can sign up for that at <a href="https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe">https://amantha-imber.ck.page/subscribe</a>
Visit <a href="https://www.amantha.com/podcast">https://www.amantha.com/podcast</a> for full show notes from all episodes.
Get in touch at <a href="mailto:amantha@inventium.com.au">amantha@inventium.com.au</a>
Credits: Host: Amantha Imber
Sound Engineer: The Podcast Butler

You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets - the daily strategies behind their success through to life hacks and productivity hacks they’d rather keep to themselves. We’re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that’ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who’ve cracked the code.

You know those annoyingly successful people who seem to have it all figured out? Time to steal their playbook. Organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber gets world‑class achievers to spill their secrets&nbsp;- the daily strategies behind their success through to&nbsp;life hacks and productivity hacks they&rsquo;d rather keep to themselves. We&rsquo;re talking practical tips for boosting your output (including clever AI tools and shortcuts that&rsquo;ll make you look like a genius), managing overwhelm without losing your mind, and optimising both work and wellbeing. No motivational fluff. Just battle‑tested tactics from people who&rsquo;ve cracked the code.

Have you ever wondered if the worlds leading entrepreneurs, writers, musicians and business people construct their day differently to you?

How I Work

The AI playbook of ELMO Software’s President, Joseph Lyons

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/fa326977-3de5-4283-9b8b-af3500c58607/clips/a4c1920d-bcaf-4b5a-b0b6-b418000f4620/transcript