Luis Garcia: How AI Is Transforming Employee Training for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

About Luis Garcia:

Luis Garcia is a seasoned international executive with over 25 years of experience in technology, digital media, and education, specializing in driving new ventures and products to rapid growth by building effective teams that harness innovation, technology, and creativity. He is the president of PETE, an Orlando-based tech startup that enables organizations to deliver personalized workforce learning at scale using AI. Before joining PETE, Luis spent nearly twenty years at Full Sail University, where, as VP of Full Sail Online and VP of Emerging Technologies, he helped establish the institution as a pioneer in online education. Earlier in his career, he served as Vice President of Product Development at quepasa.com and holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

In this episode, Dean Newlund and Luis Garcia discuss:

• Scalable training challenges in small and mid-sized organizations
• Instructional design versus training delivery roles
• AI-powered learning and simulation technology
• Teaching soft skills through self-paced education
• Balancing technology and human interaction at work

Key Takeaways:

• Replace shadowing-based onboarding with self-paced courses that can stand alone without relying on expert trainers.
• Separate instructional design from subject matter expertise to create training that scales without pulling leaders away from their jobs.
• Use AI-driven simulations to allow employees to practice real conversations like de-escalation and customer objections before facing them in real life.
• Design training around clear learning outcomes so employees can demonstrate applied behavior, not just memorized information.

"AI is an enabler to supercharge the human, and not to replace it.” — Luis Garcia

Connect with Luis Garcia:  

Website: https://www.pete.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisegarcia/

See Dean’s TedTalk “Why Business Needs Intuition” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEq9IYvgV7I

Connect with Dean:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgqRK8GC8jBIFYPmECUCMkw

Website: https://www.mfileadership.com/

The Mission Statement E-Newsletter: https://www.mfileadership.com/blog/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannewlund/

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/deannewlund

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissionFacilitators/

Email: dean.newlund@mfileadership.com

Phone: 1-800-926-7370

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