Know Before You Adopt

KP Unpacked

Welcome back to the number one podcast in AEC, KP Unpacked, where AI, innovation, and the built world collide.

In this episode of the AI in AEC series, Jeff Echols (Executive Director, Catalyst) is joined by Frank Lazaro (Head of Advisory, KP Reddy Co.) for a strategic deep dive into how AEC firms can assess and improve their innovation readiness before adopting AI or any new tech.

They break down the DIAL Framework, a free assessment designed to benchmark your firm's innovation posture across six critical pillars:

1. Internal Innovation
2. External Innovation
3. Culture
4. Ecosystem
5. Tech Adoption
6. Blue Sky Thinking

You’ll hear real-world insights from working with dozens of AEC firms, stories of siloed departments unknowingly duplicating efforts, and practical advice for creating sustainable innovation systems across your organization.

Whether you're a disruptor, adopter, or laggard, this episode gives you the tools to find out where you stand, what to fix, and how to move forward.

🔗 Resources and Links Mentioned:

• Take the DIAL Assessment (Free): https://kpreddy.co/dial
• San Francisco Event (July 29): https://kpreddy.co/event-highlight

🔧 Key Takeaways:

• Do not start with tools. Start with understanding your culture and capacity for innovation.
• DIAL helps uncover organizational blind spots before tech investments fail.
• AI success in AEC depends more on alignment and execution than access to tools.
• Internal communication and cross-departmental knowledge sharing are key to progress.
• The most innovative firms often still struggle with consistent adoption, and that is okay.

Subscribe, rate, and share this episode with the leaders shaping what is next in AEC.

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Chapters

1. Introduction to KP Unpacked (00:00:00)

2. Understanding the DIAL Framework (00:02:33)

3. Six Pillars of Innovation Assessment (00:06:14)

4. Identifying Innovation Culture Barriers (00:10:41)

5. Tool Adoption vs. Organizational Readiness (00:16:51)

6. Benchmarking and Actionable Takeaways (00:23:10)

7. Turning Assessment into Execution (00:26:03)

8. Final Thoughts and Resources (00:34:30)