“Most Companies Are Flying Blind” —Scott Morris on the Real Cost of Missing Clarity

Cut The Tie Podcast with Scott Morris

What happens when your people don’t know what success looks like—or why their work matters?

In this powerful episode of Cut The Tie, Thomas Helfrich sits down with Scott Morris, founder and CEO of PropulsionAI. After 25 years in the aerospace industry, including 20 in C-level roles, Scott saw firsthand how unclear roles lead to disengagement, low productivity, and unnecessary turnover.

So he built Athena—a conversational AI coworker that helps leaders design roles based on real business outcomes, not bullet points. What started as a solution for job descriptions evolved into a platform for driving clarity, accountability, and retention at scale.

About Scott Morris:
Scott Morris is the founder and CEO of PropulsionAI, the company behind Athena, an AI-powered digital coworker that helps organizations design performance-based roles. With 25 years of experience in aerospace—20 of those in executive HR and operations roles—Scott brings deep insight into what companies really need to engage and retain top talent. PropulsionAI empowers managers to build clarity into every role, so teams perform better and people stay longer.

In this episode, Thomas and Scott discuss:

• Cutting ties with outdated role design—and boosting performance
  Scott explains why traditional job descriptions don’t work and how redefining roles based on outcomes creates clarity and accountability.
• Why 46% of new hires fail
  He shares the hidden costs of poor role clarity—turnover, disengagement, and misalignment—and how PropulsionAI helps prevent them.
• Designing jobs with outcomes, not tasks
  Scott breaks down how Athena guides managers through defining success in terms of business value, not just checklists.
• Creating bandwidth and strategic value for HR teams
  PropulsionAI frees HR professionals from documentation overload so they can focus on higher-value work.
• Helping employees grow into the roles they want
  A real customer use case where Athena helped high-potential employees design the jobs they aspire to—turning retention into a strategic advantage.

Key Takeaways:

• Unclear roles are a hidden tax on your business
  Misalignment and disengagement cost far more than most leaders realize.
• Athena doesn’t replace humans—she makes them better
  The AI guides thinking, but managers own the strategy and decisions.
• Hiring starts with outcomes, not resumes
  When you define the result you want, the right person becomes obvious.
• Retention is built through clarity
  When people know exactly what success looks like, they perform and stay longer.
• Better role design = better business results
  Clients have unlocked real value—like $800K in cash flow—just by rethinking one job.
  
  

Connect with Scott Morris:
💼 LinkedIn: Scott Morris
🌐 Website: www.propulsion.ai

Connect with Thomas Helfrich:
🐦 Twitter: @thelfrich
📘 Facebook: Cut the Tie Group
💼 LinkedIn: Thomas Helfrich
🌐 Website: www.cutthetie.com
📧 Email: [email protected]
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