Lisa Welchman



Over the past 25 years, Lisa Welchman has established and codified the field of digital governance.



With an enterprise consulting career that spans the emergence of the web, the arrival of social media, and the rise of mobile computing, she is uniquely positioned to help digital practitioners, managers, and executives understand and manage the governance issues that arise with the arrival of generative AI.



Lisa is the author of the leading book in her field, Managing Chaos: Digital Governance by Design.



We talked about:



her career in enterprise digital governance

her concern about the lack of transparency in the existing governance practices at AI companies

an analogy she sees between WYSIWYG and AI tools

the contrast between more mature governance models like the UX field has developed and newer digital practices like the adoption of GPTs

governance lessons that new tech implementers can always learn from prior tech eras

her call to action for technical experts to alert executives of possible harms in the adoption of new technology

the elements of her digital governance framework:



understanding team composition and the organizational landscape in which digital practitioners operate

having a strategic intent

articulating governance policies

establishing practice standards





the range of digital makers she gets to interact with in her work

the importance of accounting for the total business and organizational environment when jockeying for a seat at the table

the responsibility of experienced digital makers and managers to call out potentially troublesome patterns in the adoption of new tech

the importance for digital practitioners of staying aware of how much agency they have right now



Lisa's bio

Lisa Welchman is a digital governance trailblazer with over two decades of experience. She's passionate about helping organizations manage their digital presence effectively and sustainably. Known for her practical approach, Lisa has worked with a variety of clients, from global corporations to non-profits. She’s also a popular speaker and the author of "Managing Chaos: Digital Governance by Design." A mentor and educator at heart, Lisa is dedicated to helping leaders make the digital world a safer and kinder place for everyone.

Connect with Lisa online



LinkedIn



Video

Here’s the video version of our conversation:



https://youtu.be/-UIj0YWxLaI

Podcast intro transcript

This is the Content and AI podcast, episode number 29. Whenever new technology like generative AI emerges, organizations have to deal with both the opportunities and the challenges that arrive with it. It often falls to practitioners like content strategists and designers to alert the C-suite of potential governance concerns that arise with the adoption of new tech. Lisa Welchman sees in this situation an opportunity for digital makers to take the lead on educating their organizations about these important issues.

Interview transcript



Larry:

Hi everyone. Welcome to episode number 29 of the Content + AI Podcast. I am really happy today to welcome to the show Lisa Welchman. Lisa is a true legend in the field of digital governance. She pretty much established the discipline, I think it's safe to say, over the past 25 years. She wrote what I would argue is the leading book on it, Managing Chaos: Digital Governance by Design. But welcome Lisa, and the reason I wanted to talk to you this week is we're right in the middle of Rosenfeld Media is doing a conference on design and AI, and it seems like AI is an area that's really ripe for a conversation about governance. Does that make sense?



Lisa: