Why Mission Matters

**Can mission-driven technology and AI truly work hand-in-hand to better serve humanity?** Join Kate O’Neill as she brings The Tech Humanist Show live to the SAFe & AI Summit with a compelling conversation featuring Lindsay Ann Wirthlin, who leads enterprise agile transformation at the American Red Cross. Lindsay shares powerful stories about weaving technology into mission-driven work when every minute counts. Discover how the American Red Cross uses SAFe patterns and agile practices as the backbone for AI adoption and organizational change. **Topics Covered** - Mission-driven technology at the Red Cross - The role of SAFe patterns in AI adoption - Prioritization in high-urgency organizations - Tackling change and adoption fatigue - Overcoming the human barriers to AI - Partnerships between Agile and AI teams - Measuring business value in technology transformation - Practical workshops for AI intake and adoption - Building trust and conflict resolution between teams - Success stories and the importance of scaffolding - The core of agile: people and relationships **Connect with Lindsay Ann Wirthlin** The American Red Cross Lindsay Ann’s Instagram **Connect with Scaled Agile on LinkedIn** SAFe by Scaled Agile, Inc  AI-Native Training by Scaled Agile, Inc.   **Episode Chapters** 00:04 Introduction and context at the AI Summit 01:13 Mission-driven technology in action 02:17 Technology and the human experience at the Red Cross 03:34 What is SAFe and why it matters for leaders 04:06 Prioritization in urgent, mission-critical settings 05:21 Integrating AI: fears, realities, and professional impact 07:01 Navigating AI and Agile priorities 08:38 Signals & strategies for closing collaboration loops 09:42 Adoption fatigue and the human side of new tech 12:01 Bridging AI and organizational change management 13:17 Agile transformation as scaffolding for AI 15:28 From idea to outcome: real-world application of agile + AI 17:40 Forging practical partnerships between Agile COE and AI 19:11 Team linkages, intake models, and coaching 22:02 Decision-making boundaries and conflict resolution 24:23 Measuring effectiveness across teams 26:10 The AI intake problem-solving workshop 29:03 Lowering the adoption threshold: demos and use cases 32:15 AI coaches and bridging team learning 34:17 Tooling innovations for backlog management 35:55 Practices for Monday: inspect, adapt, and connect 38:04 The heart of transformation: people as scaffolding 39:39 Sources of hope and looking ahead 41:23 Closing remarks & credits #SAFeSummitSanDiego #AINativeSAFe #SAFe