Melissa Cheals leads Smartly, a payroll and people management platform serving 24,000 small and medium businesses in New Zealand. In this conversation, she shares how AI is reshaping product development, leadership, and how organizations operate. A key moment comes when her team estimates new features will take 12 months and $1M to build. Instead of accepting it, Melissa pushes back, using AI to better understand her team’s perspective and communicate the need for change more effectively. This becomes a broader shift in how she approaches leadership, using AI to think more clearly and navigate conversations with less friction. The discussion expands into strategy. Companies now face a fundamental choice: become AI-native or continue building on existing systems. As AI adoption increases, it also exposes silos and bottlenecks. Melissa shares why cross-functional collaboration—and leaders actively engaging with AI themselves—is critical to navigating this shift. Key Takeaways: Becoming AI-native is a defining decision It’s not just a technology shift. Leaders need to decide whether to rebuild around AI or continue layering it onto existing systems, and that choice shapes how the company operates. AI shifts us from scarcity to abundance Many organizations still think in terms of limited time and resources, but AI changes what’s possible and forces leaders to rethink how big they can think and what they can achieve. AI is a leadership amplifier Beyond productivity, AI helps leaders think more clearly, reframe conversations, and communicate change in a way that is both effective and respectful. Leaders can’t delegate AI Without hands-on experience, it becomes difficult to challenge assumptions, guide teams, or make informed decisions about what’s possible. Smartly: smartly.co.nz LinkedIn Melissa: linkedin.com/melissa-cheals LinkedIn Smartly: linkedin.com/company/smartlynz/ 00:00 Intro: Challenging AI Assumptions 00:28 Meet Melissa Cheals 01:17 The Spark For Change 02:36 Vision And Early Signals 03:48 Hiring For Transformation 06:12 Unlocking Data With AI 08:27 Breaking Silos Across Teams 10:39 Why Leaders Must Learn AI 13:42 Leading With AI And Clarity 17:05 The AI-Native Decision 21:45 Thinking Bigger With AI 25:23 Less Meetings More Writing 26:33 The Self-Disruption Imperative 29:11 Breaking Silos With Value Streams 31:28 Managing Fear And Change 32:50 Learning And Shipping Faster 34:58 Debrief 📜 Read the transcript for this episode: ai-native-or-not-the-defining-choice-for-companies-right-now-with-melissa-cheals-ceo-of-smartly/transcript For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin: Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.