The Digital Executive Podcast

Episode 1047: Building Authentic Teams Through Change, and the Future of AI in Transportation
Guest: Blair LaCorte, CEO of AEye
Host: Brian (Coruzant Technologies)
Date: April 21, 2025

Episode Overview

In this insightful 10-minute episode, Brian sits down with Blair LaCorte, CEO of AEye, to explore two primary themes: building authentic, effective teams through organizational change, and the groundbreaking role of AI and LiDAR in the evolving landscape of transportation. Blair pulls from his rich cross-industry background—spanning entertainment, aviation, AI, supply chain management, and more—to offer actionable leadership advice and technical expertise on the future of intelligent mobility.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Transferring Leadership Skills Across Diverse Sectors

[01:34 - 02:44]

• Career Approach: Blair sees different industries as "playing fields" where he applies consistent strategies, especially in restructuring or scaling businesses.
• Realities of Change: Whether fixing a struggling company or scaling a successful one, the process is fundamentally people-centric. In both cases, "you're going to replace 60% of your exec staff over the first two years."
• Focus: People and organizational patterns are more critical than specific industry knowledge; adaptability and pattern recognition are his guiding principles.

Notable Quote:
"I always just focused on people and patterns, and I assumed that the industry would teach me what I needed to know about those."
– Blair LaCorte [02:29]

2. Mentorship and Advice to Emerging Leaders

[03:13 - 04:40]

• Early Career Lesson: Blair shares a pivotal story about joining Sun Microsystems and receiving advice from Eric Schmidt: Technology challenges are secondary to the people problems.
• Core Message: Technical skills matter, but the ability to build, mentor, and enable teams is what elevates a leader over time.
• Actionable Takeaway: Don’t sweat the technical gaps if you’re motivated; focus energy on how you relate to and develop people.

Notable Quotes:
"The biggest issue in any business, including high tech, is not the technology, it is the people."
– Eric Schmidt via Blair LaCorte [03:36]

"Your ability to understand, work with, mentor, bring people together... is what actually, at the end of the day, transports you into bigger and bigger leadership roles."
– Blair LaCorte [04:11]

3. Cultivating Authentic Relationships in Business

[05:18 - 09:06]

• Beyond Cliché: "Business is just a sport. It's how you play it that makes a difference."
• The Johari Window Framework: Self-awareness is foundational. Authentic relationships require understanding both your public persona and your vulnerabilities.
• Vulnerability: Proactively sharing personal insights builds depth in relationships.
• Receiving Feedback: Embracing others' observations about your blind spots expands trust and facilitates mutual growth. Humility and openness are essential.
• Sustained Impact: Acts of vulnerability and humility lay the groundwork for authentic trust, which is crucial in technology, where teams are often introverted or distributed.

Notable Quotes:
"If you want to establish authentic relationships, [start with] an authentic relationship with yourself."
– Blair LaCorte [05:24]

"The acts of vulnerability and the acts of humility and continuous improvement are how you actually expand your Johari window and it's how you actually build authentic relationships over time with people."
– Blair LaCorte [07:55]

"No one is perfect and no one believes you're perfect. In order for them to subconsciously feel safe with you, they have to see that you're either going to be vulnerable or ... humble..."
– Blair LaCorte [09:09]

4. Trust-building for Tech Teams

[09:06 - 10:13]

• Unique Challenge in Tech: Building trust and psychological safety is often even more crucial in technical organizations, which may include more introverted or risk-averse team members.
• Team Cohesion: When authentic relationships are formed, team members “fight together, build products together,” enhancing performance and innovation.

5. The Future of AI and LiDAR in Transportation

[10:36 - 15:07]

• AEye’s Unique Position: The company integrates AI with sensing technologies, coining a play on words in its name ("AEye" pronounced as "AI").
• Evolution of Mobility:
  • Technology in transportation has moved from mechanization to automation, now toward AI-driven decision-making.
  • Key challenge is spatial awareness—machines interpreting movement, distance, and the ever-changing environment in real time.
  • Critical advancement: Processing data at the "edge" is essential for safety, especially at high speeds.
• Sensing Modalities Explained:
  • Cameras: Great for dense, short-range detection; cost-effective.
  • Radar: Excellent for long distances; less detail/density.
  • LiDAR: Provides precise distance measurement—Blair predicts lasers will dominate for safety and reliability.
• Why Not Fully Autonomous Yet? The lag in fully autonomous vehicles comes partly from complexities in real-time processing at speed and integrating multiple sensing modalities reliably.
• The Car of Today: Modern vehicles already utilize a sensor fusion approach, with multiple cameras, radars, and sometimes LiDAR to achieve comprehensive situational awareness.

Notable Quotes:
"As we get closer to automating cars... the first level of decisions is spatial awareness."
– Blair LaCorte [11:10]

"Over the next five to 10 years, every object that moves will have more sensing capability than a human will."
– Blair LaCorte [12:42]

"I think that most transportation will be using lasers in the future, just because being able to have precise distance and measurement is something that's better than a human, which will make them safer than a human driver."
– Blair LaCorte [14:02]

Memorable Moments

• Blair’s humorous take on his multi-industry career:
  "Is that a sneaky way to ask me why I can't keep a job?" [01:34]
• The backstory on AEye’s name and the importance of playful branding in tech. [10:36]
• Relating the Johari Window—a staple of psychology—to building teams in high-tech industries. [05:24]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Blair's career journey and leadership approach: 01:34 – 02:44
• Mentorship advice and Eric Schmidt anecdote: 03:13 – 04:40
• Authentic relationships & Johari Window: 05:18 – 09:06
• Trust in tech teams: 09:06 – 10:13
• AI and LiDAR in transportation: 10:36 – 15:07

Summary Takeaways

Blair LaCorte’s expertise reinforces that across all industries, leadership is fundamentally about people, trust, and adaptability. Authentic relationships and an openness to vulnerability cultivate the kind of teams that can drive transformation—be it in a startup or a Fortune 500 company. As transportation rapidly integrates AI and advanced sensing, safety and situational awareness achieved through sensor fusion (especially LiDAR) are setting the stage for a safer, smarter future on our roads.