Embracing Disruptive Innovation in Professional Services with Natalie Born, Author, Set It on Fire: The Art of Innovation (The Price and Value Journey, Episode 115)
In this episode of The Price and Value Journey, John Ray hosts Natalie Born, an innovation expert and principal consultant at Arch + Tower, to discuss innovation in professional services and the impact of AI and other disruptive technologies on professional services. Natalie emphasizes the importance of balancing automation with relationship-building, outlining ways organizations can use AI to enhance productivity and client experiences. The conversation delves into strategies for fostering a culture of innovation, establishing governance around AI usage, and ensuring AI augments rather than replaces human capabilities. Natalie also shares insights on maintaining the perception of value and pricing services effectively in an AI-influenced market. Listeners are encouraged to focus on co-creating solutions with clients to ensure relevance and effectiveness.
The Price and Value Journey is presented by John Ray and produced by the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX®.
Natalie Born, Arch + Tower, and Author, Set It on Fire: The Art of Innovation
Natalie Born is a member of Frazier & Deeter’s Advisory Practice and a Principal Consultant with Arch + Tower, an FD Company. She specializes in helping businesses develop and implement effective strategies to exceed their goals, grow their topline revenue and achieve award-winning results.
Natalie is the host of a top 25 innovation podcast, Innovation Meets Leadership, that is listened to in over 80 countries. She authored the book, Set It on Fire: The Art of Innovation. Natalie has collaborated on two approved US patents and has over 20 years of experience leading product development, strategy, and innovation teams working globally in over 18 countries. Natalie has worked with organizations such as CareerBuilder, First Data, IHG, and ADP, leading major initiatives in over 18 countries.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | Natalie’s Book | Natalie’s Podcast
Topics Discussed in this Interview
00:00 Introduction to The Price and Value Journey
00:37 Meet Natalie Born: Innovation Expert
01:59 The Role of Automation in Professional Services
04:02 Historical Perspective on Technology and AI
04:38 AI Adoption Across Industries
09:28 Fostering a Culture of Innovation
17:11 Balancing Technology and Human Touch
22:10 Practical AI Applications in Professional Services
25:41 Amazon’s Daily Upload Limit
26:24 AI’s Impact on Content Perception
27:30 The Hype vs. Heart Debate
28:35 Using AI to Enhance Client Value
29:09 Defining AI Governance in Organizations
30:08 Scaling AI for Organizational Success
33:23 The Importance of Client Feedback
35:44 Measuring and Pricing Value
39:57 The Role of Change Management
42:05 Conclusion
About The Price and Value Journey
The title of this show describes the journey all professional service providers are on: building a services practice by seeking to convince the world of the value we offer, helping clients achieve the outcomes they desire, and trying to do all that at pricing that reflects the value we deliver.
If you feel like you’re working too hard for too little money in your solo or small firm practice, this show is for you. Even if you’re reasonably happy with your practice, you’ll hear ways to improve both your bottom line and the mindset you bring to your business.
The show is hosted and produced by John Ray and the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®. The show can also be found on all the major podcast apps. The complete show archive is here.
John Ray, Host of The Price and Value Journey
John Ray is the host of The Price and Value Journey.
John owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include business coaching and advisory work, as well as advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, coaches, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
In his other business, John is a Show Host and Producer and owns the North Fulton (Georgia) studio of Business RadioX®. John and his team work with B2B professionals to create and conduct their own podcast using The Generosity Mindset™ Method: building and deepening relationships in a non-salesy way that translates into revenue for their business.
John is also the host of North Fulton Business Radio. With over 780 shows and having featured over 1,200 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in its region like no one else.
John’s book, The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices
John is the #1 national best-selling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
If you are a professional services provider, your goal is to do transformative work for clients you love working with and get paid commensurate with the value you deliver to those clients. While negative mindsets can inhibit your growth, adopting a different mindset, The Generosity Mindset™, can replace those self-limiting beliefs. The Generosity Mindset enables you to diagnose and communicate the value you deliver to clients and, in turn, more effectively price to receive a portion of that value.
Whether you’re a consultant, coach, marketing or branding professional, business advisor, attorney, CPA, or work in virtually any other professional services discipline, your content and technical expertise are not proprietary. What’s unique, though, is your experience and how you synthesize and deliver your knowledge. What’s special is your demeanor or the way you deal with your best-fit clients. What’s invaluable is how you deliver great value by guiding people through massive changes in their personal lives and in their businesses that bring them to a place they never thought possible.
The combination of all these elements is quite different for you compared to any other service provider in your industry. Therein lies your value, but it’s not the value you see. It’s the value your best-fit customers see in you.
If pricing your value feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar to you, this book will teach you why putting a price on the value your clients perceive and identify serves both them and you, and you’ll learn the factors involved in getting your price right.
The book is available at all major physical and online book retailers worldwide. Follow this link for further details.
