Cary Sparrow
Founder
Wagescape
Episode 57
AI's Challenge to HR: Escape Inertia, Lead with Data, Unleash Talent.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleSeptember 10, 2025 · 12:37
Thesis
“The accelerating pace of technological change, particularly with AI, demands that HR leaders adopt an entrepreneurial, data-driven mindset and proactively embrace innovation rather than succumbing to corporate inertia, to unlock talent and labor market transparency.”
Show notes
Episode SummaryWhat can an engineer-turned-submarine-officer teach us about the future of HR? In this episode of Built by People, host Dave D’Angelo sits down with Cary Sparrow, Founder and CEO of WageScape, to explore a career path that defies convention—and unlocks powerful leadership lessons. From leading teams on nuclear-powered submarines to building cutting-edge HR technology, Cary brings a unique lens to workforce innovation, people leadership, and navigating change.
Cary shares pivotal moments from his journey, including a confidence-boosting lesson from his early Navy days, and a career-defining conversation that helped one of his team members pivot into a general management role. He also dives into the entrepreneurial leap from corporate HR to launching WageScape, the mindset shift required for startup leadership, and why data—not process or technology—is often the biggest bottleneck in HR transformation.
Plus, Cary offers candid advice to HR leaders on embracing AI’s accelerating impact on the world of work—and why staying passive isn’t an option.
Key Timestamps
[00:10] – Cary’s unconventional journey from submarines to HR tech
[02:11] – A mentor’s advice that shaped Cary’s career confidence
[03:40] – Helping others grow: a story of transformational feedback
[04:34] – Lessons from entrepreneurship: Why speed beats perfection
[06:23] – What pushed Cary to leave corporate life and build WageScape
[07:15] – Why messy data—not process—is HR’s biggest challenge
[09:04] – Cary’s evolving leadership legacy: from systems to people
[10:31] – Urgent advice for HR leaders on navigating AI disruption
Takeaways
Build confidence early and trust your potential—even before you see the full picture
Act fast and iterate: Speed is essential when launching a business
Look beyond your current role—many career paths are broader than they seem
Data quality is often the hidden obstacle in HR transformation
Leadership impact is measured in people, not just performance
Understanding AI’s implications is now a must for every HR professional
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What you'll take away
- 1Cultivate self-confidence and a willingness to explore unconventional paths, as fear often limits career potential and talent utilization.
- 2Actively empower and mentor others, especially by identifying and encouraging their business acumen beyond their current roles, as this creates a lasting legacy.
- 3Recognize the fundamental mindset shift required for entrepreneurial ventures (speed, adjustment, momentum) versus corporate roles (slow, risk mitigation) to drive growth.
- 4Prioritize resolving data chaos and establishing transparent labor market data as a critical enabler for HR innovation and strategic decision-making.
- 5Immediately immerse yourself in understanding AI's implications for HR, as its rapid evolution will profoundly reshape work and requires proactive engagement.
What most organizations get wrong
- •The biggest risk in starting a business is 'going slow,' which directly contrasts with the often safest corporate approach of taking things slowly to mitigate risk.
- •Large technology and service providers failed to recognize the imminent opportunity of a 'fully transparent labor market' enabled by HR moving to the cloud, prompting him to found Wagescape.
- •An engineering and nuclear submarine background, while unconventional for HR, uniquely equipped him with an analytics and innovation-focused perspective that many traditional HR professionals lack.
In Cary's words
“You're never going to starve because you're really bright... The world is a great place if you just go after it and have confidence in yourself and your abilities.”
This quote highlights the importance of self-belief and courage in navigating career changes and taking risks.
“I told her that I really admired her business acumen... and thought that she could be a commercial leader someday and not just an HR leader.”
This demonstrates the impact of mentorship and seeing potential in others that they may not see themselves, fundamentally altering career trajectories.
“When you start a business, the worst thing you can do is go slow... But when you're a lot of times on a corporate role, ... the safest thing you can do is go slow.”
This quote sharply contrasts the differing mindsets required for corporate leadership versus entrepreneurial success, emphasizing speed and adaptability in the latter.
“The thing that was the biggest bottleneck for making those kinds of changes was actually, in that kind of environment, was actually data.”
This identifies a critical, often overlooked, impediment to HR innovation and global capability building: the chaotic state of organizational data.
“If you're not heavily into AI and understanding its implications, you need to be. The world of AI is moving faster than the vast majority of us realize.”
This serves as a strong, urgent call to action for HR professionals to prioritize AI literacy and strategic integration.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Employees are struggling with monthly expenses (mentioned by Speaker A, solved by Previ).
- •Individuals often fail to realize their full talent potential due to fear and reluctance to step outside conventional career paths.
- •Corporate risk-averse mindsets (go slow) directly conflict with the necessary speed and adaptability for business growth and innovation.
- •Large organizations struggle with chaotic, disparate HR data environments, hindering the consolidation and analysis needed for strategic decision-making and new capabilities.
- •Established technology and service providers are often slow to innovate in areas like transparent labor market data, missing critical market opportunities.
- •Many HR professionals are not sufficiently engaged with or understanding the rapidly accelerating and profound implications of AI for their field.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Dave Wagescape's career journey is different from most HR leaders'
WSJD Live: Starting Out in HR
Jerry Seinfeld says confidence boosts him throughout his career in HR
Jerry, Can You Tell Us About a Career-Defining Moment
Terry says running your own business is a constant array of challenges
Terry Williams on Starting a Business
Gary Johnson transitioned from big corporate to startup entrepreneur focusing on data management
What Made Me Transition From Big Corporate to Startup Entrepreneur
Looking back on your career, what's a legacy that you hope to leave
Harry Blankenship on His Legacy
Terry, what parting advice would you like to share with our broader HR community
Terry's Last Words for HR Professionals
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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