<p><em>How can event teams keep pace with AI, without losing the human connection audiences crave?</em></p><br><p>In this episode of <em>Production Value Matters</em>, host Matthew Byrne is joined by world-renowned leadership and teamwork expert Dr. David Burkus to unpack the real drivers of event transformation in 2025. Together they dive into why in-person events will matter more than ever in an AI-saturated world, how to treat every event as a new team, and why constraints can actually unlock creativity. Burkus shares bold takes on surprise-and-delight moments, smarter ROI measurement, and how event pros can build meaningful connection without massive budgets, gimmicks..or celebrity speakers.</p><br><p><strong>What You’ll Learn in This Episode:</strong></p><ul><li>How to use AI as “the world’s smartest intern” to bridge collaboration between event stakeholders</li><li>Why surprise and delight must go beyond gimmicks like photo booths</li><li>How in-person connection is more valuable than ever in an AI-driven era</li><li>Why every event is a new team (and how that mindset transforms collaboration)</li><li>Why constraints spark creativity and lead to more innovative event design</li><li>Why celebrity speakers don’t deliver ROI—and what audiences really want instead</li><li>How to measure event impact beyond surveys by capturing long-term outcomes and stories</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>About the Guest: </strong>Dr. David Burkus is one of the world’s leading business thinkers, a 5X bestselling author, and an internationally renowned keynote speaker on leadership and teamwork. His ideas have been featured in <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>, <em>Harvard Business Review</em>, CNN, BBC, and NPR. A former business school professor, he now works with organizations like Adobe, PepsiCo, Fidelity, and NASA to help leaders and teams unlock their full potential.</p><br><p>Follow Matt on LinkedIn:<a href="http://linkedin.com/in/matthewbyrnecsep" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> linkedin.com/in/matthewbyrnecsep</a></p><p>Follow David on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidburkus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidburkus/</a></p><p>For additional resources for #eventprofs, or to submit your event production question visit<a href="http://www.productionvaluematters.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> www.productionvaluematters.com</a></p><br><p>If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/production-value-matters-the-business-event-podcast/id1711052345" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Apple Podcasts</a> and<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7dNxB6QNHBE4UKj9PX2N7w" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Spotify</a>.</p><p>For additional resources for #eventprofs visit <a href="www.productionvaluematters.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.productionvaluematters.com</a></p><br><p>Check out our 3 most downloaded episodes:</p><ul><li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/measuring-value-in-your-events-insights-from-jodi-collen/id1711052345?i=1000645984520" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Measuring Value in Your Events: Insights from Jodi Collen</a></li><li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/educating-clients-and-managing-expectations-in-event/id1711052345?i=1000647207325" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Educating Clients and Managing Expectations in Event Production with Fransiska Weckesser</a></li><li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-intersection-of-event-planning-and/id1711052345?i=1000652598607" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Intersection of Event Planning and Psychology with Victoria Matey</a></li></ul><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>