Qonversations: Wisdom for Leaders in an AI-Driven World

What if AI’s greatest value isn’t optimization, but innovation? In this episode of Qonversations, Jamie Cassar, Founder and Product Lead for Inspiru.ai, joins Brian Gorman to explore a question many organizations are missing as they rush to implement AI. What happens when artificial intelligence is used not simply to make work faster or cheaper, but to expand human curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving?Jamie challenges the growing tendency to view AI primarily through the lens of efficiency and cost reduction. Instead, he makes the case for using AI to free cognitive capacity, amplify critical thinking, and help people innovate in ways that traditional organizational structures often suppress.Together, Brian and Jamie explore why so many organizations unintentionally stifle innovation through functional silos, why belonging and diverse perspectives matter more than ever in an AI-driven world, and how leaders can rethink the relationship between human intelligence, organizational culture, and technology. They also wrestle with a harder leadership question: if AI can increasingly optimize execution, what remains distinctly human in creating the future? This conversation is not about whether AI belongs in organizations. It is about whether leaders will use it to reduce human contribution or expand human possibility.

Jeff Burningham, author of The Last Book Written by a Human: Becoming Wise in the Age of AI, joins Brian Gorman for a conversation that reframes AI from a tool into something far more confronting: a mirror. As Jeff describes it, AI reflects back not just our data, but our values and decisions, especially the ones we’ve normalized. The real issue isn’t AI technology. It’s how leaders respond when what’s reflected back becomes harder to ignore.The conversation moves quickly from possibility to responsibility. What happens when decisions driven by efficiency such as automation, layoffs, and optimization begin to reshape lives and communities at scale? And what does leadership require when short-term performance pressures collide with long-term human consequences?Jeff and Brian land on a clear tension. As machines become more intelligent, the answer is not to become more machine-like. It’s to become more human, more capable of judgment, responsibility, and care. AI may be accelerating change, but it is also creating a crucible. One that will either deepen inequality and disconnection or push leaders to rethink what business is actually for.This isn’t a conversation about adopting AI well. It’s about deciding what and who it’s all ultimately for.

AI isn’t just changing how work gets done. It’s changing who gets to keep doing it. In this episode of Qonversations, Sam Alvita, Director of Learning Design at Masterclass and Executive Coach, joins Brian Gorman to explore the human impact of artificial intelligence on the workforce beyond strategy, beyond systems, and into the lived reality of individuals navigating uncertainty.This conversation starts where most don’t: with the people beneath the headlines. Sam shares what she is seeing firsthand through her coaching work: skilled professionals investing in AI, doing everything “right,” and still finding themselves displaced. Together, Sam and Brian examine the tension between organizational decisions and individual consequences, and the growing gap between efficiency gains and human experience. Among the things they explore are:Why AI-driven layoffs are creating frustration, not just fearThe hidden cost of losing experience, judgment, and institutional wisdomThe rise of portfolio careers and side gigs as both necessity and choiceThe conversation also challenges leaders directly. AI adoption may be a leadership decision, but most organizations are not yet thinking deeply about how to redesign work around human energy, contribution, and meaning. Instead, many are defaulting to efficiency at the expense of engagement, trust, and long-term capability. This isn’t just about jobs. It’s about what work becomes and who it still works for.If this conversation lands close to home, you’re not alone. The shift is already underway. The question is whether you are reacting to it or helping shape what comes next.

Eric Nitzberg, Founder and Principal of Sierra Leadership, joins Brian Gorman to explore what leadership actually demands as AI accelerates.This isn’t about tools. It’s about choice. While many organizations feel pressure to move faster, the real differentiator is not speed. It’s the willingness to pause, question, and own the consequences of what gets deployed. They unpack where those choices truly sit. Formal authority may rest with the C-suite and Board, but insight is often closer to the work, raising a critical question. Are today’s organizations designed to listen, or simply to execute?The conversation also surfaces a widening gap. Some leaders are building in ethics and safety. Others are moving ahead without fully understanding the systems they’re implementing. Beyond the enterprise, the stakes expand. From education to the future of work, AI is increasing access and capability while raising deeper concerns about what may be lost when the human element is reduced.AI is expanding what’s possible. Leadership determines what happens next.

AI is accelerating decisions. But leadership was never meant to be automated.In this episode of Qonversations, Emmanuel Gobillot, author of Alive Inside: Unlock Your Leadership Advantage in the Age of AI, joins Brian Gorman to explore a question beneath every AI conversation: “What happens to leadership when intelligence is no longer scarce but agency is?” Drawing from Alive Inside, Emmanuel reframes leadership around what AI cannot replicate: authenticity, intuition, curiosity, compassion, and presence.But the real tension is this. As AI gets faster and more capable, leaders are quietly being pulled toward outsourcing judgment, trading reflection for speed. And that’s where agency begins to slip. Brian and Emmanuel make it clear. AI can generate answers, but it cannot hold context, feel consequence, or exercise judgment.This conversation is a call to reclaim your role, to stay curious instead of being certain, present instead of performative, and fully accountable for the decisions you make. Because in the end, either AI will replace leadership or leaders will define what AI becomes. And that starts with one decision. Will you use AI, or will you let it use you? 

What actually shapes a leader? What they’re told, or what they see?In this episode of Qonversations, Jay Jacobson, author of Lead by Legendary Example, funeral home director, and CEO of Jay’s Cookies, joins Brian Gorman to explore leadership as lived example rather than instruction. The conversation begins with Jay’s early experience delivering newspapers at age nine: lessons in responsibility, relationships, and empathy that formed his leadership long before it had a name.They explore Jay’s six pillars of leadership, with a focus on servant leadership and mentorship and how leadership is sustained by what is modeled and passed on. The idea of “edgewalkers” surfaces, along with the courage and self-awareness required to lead between worlds.The conversation then turns to AI not as a technical issue, but a leadership one. As AI becomes embedded in organizations, ethical use, human oversight, and clear boundaries are leadership responsibilities, not technological ones.At its core, this is a conversation about what people carry forward based on how you lead.

In a world where AI accelerates decisions, the real risk isn’t speed. It’s how we decide what matters. In this episode of Qonversations, Marianne Bachynski joins Brian Gorman to explore what leadership requires when certainty disappears and intelligence is no longer the differentiator. Drawing on her significant technology leadership experience in financial services during the internet boom and her book Fit for Uncertainty, Lead with Purpose, Adapt to Change, Marianne makes a clear case. Traditional top-down leadership models cannot keep up with the probabilistic, fast-moving nature of AI.The conversation moves beyond theory into practice. Marianne and Brian explore why leadership must become more distributed, why communication, not control, is now the core leadership capability, and why culture is no longer a backdrop but the system that determines whether AI creates value or risk. They also challenge a common assumption: that AI replaces human work. Instead, Marianne emphasizes augmentation where human judgment, oversight, and collaboration become even more essential as systems grow more complex.Throughout the discussion, a deeper tension emerges. As AI expands what organizations can do, leaders must rethink how decisions are made, who makes them, and what guardrails are required before those decisions become embedded into how the organization operates. This is a conversation about leadership under pressure, where humility, clarity, and shared understanding matter more than certainty. (35 minutes)

If AI is accelerating everything, what happens when we don’t pause long enough to think? In this episode of Qonversations, Mak Dizdar, head of Strategy and Consulting for Curious Lion, joins Brian Gorman to examine the tension between AI and critical thinking. As organizations rush to implement AI, many skip the most important step: defining the problem. Faster execution, without clarity, simply leads to faster misalignment.Mak offers a sharp lens. AI doesn’t improve thinking; it amplifies it. For critical thinkers, it expands capability. For those stuck in busy work, it accelerates noise. The conversation challenges how we measure productivity in knowledge work, emphasizing reflection, pattern recognition, and the ability to reassess whether the target itself has shifted. It also draws a clear distinction between information and true understanding AI can replicate knowledge, but not the deeper, internalized intelligence that shapes judgment.As decision making becomes more distributed, critical thinking is no longer optional. It is a leadership requirement. Because the question isn’t whether AI can think. It’s whether we still will. 

AI is no longer just assisting work. It is beginning to act on its own.In this episode of Qonversations, Logan Kelly joins Brian Gorman to explore the rise of agentic AI, systems that don’t simply respond to prompts but execute tasks autonomously. That shift forces a sharper leadership question. If machines can now perform skilled work, what becomes distinctly human?Logan, the CEO of agentic AI companies Waxell AI and Callsine, explains how his companies use agentic AI to expand employee capability rather than replace it, while Brian presses on the strategic risk. When AI becomes the strategy instead of the infrastructure, judgment can fall behind adoption. Clean data, strong systems, and clarity of purpose matter more than hype. Speed increases. So does consequence.They examine how AI is reshaping higher education and talent development. If tools can perform work that once required years of training, memorization is no longer the differentiator. Strategic thinking is. Context is. The ability to see second- and third-order effects becomes more valuable than task execution alone. The conversation also challenges inherited assumptions about productivity. If AI compresses time and expands output, does the 40-hour workweek still make sense? Or does leadership need to redesign work around human energy rather than tradition? As cognitive load increases, so does the need for recovery, focus, and intentional structure.The tension running through the episode is simple but urgent. AI can execute at scale. Leadership must decide what is worth executing. The organizations that thrive will not be the fastest adopters. They will be the most discerning. 

Artificial intelligence is changing how organizations operate. But the real leadership challenge is not the technology. It’s how humans choose to use it. In this episode of Qonversations, host Brian Gorman speaks with Joshua Gould, CEO of The Big Word, a global language services company supporting governments, courts, healthcare systems, and security organizations around the world. Leading an organization with more than 15,000 linguists, Gould has experienced firsthand how waves of technological disruption reshape industries, and what leaders must do to guide people through that change.Their conversation explores the tension between AI-driven intelligence and human wisdom. While AI can dramatically increase speed, scale, and access to information, Gould argues that successful implementation depends on something machines cannot provide, human judgment. He stresses the importance of leaders balancing efficiency with responsibility, ensuring that technology enhances human decision-making rather than replacing it.Josh and Brian also discuss the realities many organizations overlook when adopting AI: resistance from stakeholders, the importance of articulating clear value, and the danger of chasing technology without a clear purpose. As Gould notes, the organizations that benefit most from AI are not the ones that adopt it fastest, but the ones that apply it most thoughtfully.At its core, this conversation asks a deeper leadership question: If intelligence is becoming abundant through machines, how will leaders ensure wisdom remains at the center of their decisions?

In this episode of Qonversations, Ines Garcia, founder and CEO of Get: agile and author of Nature’s Blueprint for Business: Harnessing the Hidden Power of Edges, joins host Brian Gorman to explore what leaders can learn from natural systems. Drawing on her work in circular economy, biomimicry, and organizational coaching, Ines challenges traditional, siloed structures and invites leaders to rethink how organizations are designed. A central theme is the power of “edges.” In nature, edges—where ecosystems meet—are sites of heightened productivity and resilience. In organizations, however, boundaries often become rigid and divisive. Ines suggests that innovation and adaptability increase when leaders design for interaction and flow rather than hierarchy and containment.The conversation also highlights diversity and redundancy as strategic strengths, not inefficiencies. Just as biodiversity protects agricultural systems from collapse, varied perspectives and distributed capability strengthen organizations facing disruption. Brian and Ines extend this thinking into the idea of regeneration by design, moving beyond sustainability toward actively improving systems over time.Throughout the episode, Ines emphasizes a critical leadership shift. Focus on function, not tools. Nature solves for function with remarkable efficiency and elegance. Organizations that obsess over tools without clarifying function risk complexity without coherence. By observing how ecosystems coordinate, renew, and adapt, leaders can design organizations that are more resilient, innovative, and aligned with the realities of a rapidly changing world.This episode invites decision-makers to reconsider the structures they have inherited and to explore how expanding organizational “edges” may unlock new levels of collaboration, creativity, and long-term value. 

In this episode of Qonversations, Edosa Odaro joins host Brian Gorman for a clear-eyed conversation about what it actually takes to make AI work for people and performance. Edosa, author of The Values of Artificial Intelligence: How Smart Leaders Capture and Connect AI Value to Human Values, makes a simple but often ignored point. Successful AI initiatives rarely begin with technology. They begin with people. With clarity about purpose. With alignment around what “value” truly means.Too many organizations rush toward AI for speed, automation, or cost reduction. The technology may function, but the value fails because financial metrics were treated as the only definition of success. Edosa explains how misalignment shows up in predictable ways: when lab performance doesn’t translate to real-world results, when pilots don’t scale, when early wins don’t sustain, and when stakeholders define value in fundamentally different terms.The conversation explores how leaders can avoid those traps by creating cross-functional value teams, developing tools that translate technical capability into human impact, aligning incentives and metrics across functions, and building a shared language around value before writing a single line of code. They also confront a larger shift: as AI commoditizes intelligence, discernment becomes the differentiator. If machines can optimize decisions, leaders must decide what outcomes are worth optimizing in the first place.Brian describes Edosa’s framework as the kind of guide every leader should keep on their desk and revisit often not because it simplifies AI, but because it sharpens judgment. This episode is a practical, grounded roadmap for leaders who want AI to create genuine human-AI win-wins rather than expensive lessons.

In this episode of Qonversations, New Market Advisors Managing Director Steve Wunker joins host Brian Gorman to explore artificial intelligence through an unexpected lens: evolution. Drawing on the book AI and the Octopus Organization: Building the Superintelligent Firm (co-authored by Steve and Amazon Futurist in Residence Jonathan Brill), the conversation uses contrasting stories of the ammonite and the octopus to examine why too many of today’s organizations are at risk of not surviving. The ammonite relied on rigid armor and disappeared when conditions changed. The octopus survived by sensing, learning, and responding quickly, an analogy that becomes a powerful framework for understanding how leaders need to reshape organizations today in response to AI.Rather than treating AI as a productivity tool or standalone technology, Steve and Brian explore it as a catalyst for deeper systemic change on the scale of the printing press or steam engine. They discuss how AI can decentralize decision-making, improve visibility across organizations, and free people from administrative overload, while also increasing the demand for human judgment, trust, and leadership. The conversation highlights the leadership work required in an AI-infused world: balancing analytical insight with emotional and intuitive intelligence, creating psychological safety during rapid change, and helping people stay anchored when familiar structures no longer hold.This episode is for leaders who sense that AI is changing everything and know that adaptability, not armor, will determine what comes next.

Dr. Trisha Vinatieri, clinical psychologist and Chief Well-Being Officer, joins Brian Gorman for a grounded conversation on burnout not as an individual resilience problem, but as a leadership responsibility. Burnout is often treated as inevitable or as a workload issue to be solved by “doing less.” This conversation challenges that assumption. Trisha and Brian explore how leaders are uniquely positioned to prevent burnout through how work is designed, how purpose is protected, and how people are seen and heard without reducing the work itself. Drawing from Trisha’s work in healthcare systems and Brian’s leadership advisory practice, the episode reframes burnout as a signal of misalignment rather than personal failure. Together, they unpack what leaders can notice earlier, what conversations matter most, and how small shifts in attention, listening, and job design can restore energy and engagement. Burnout is not prevented by doing less. It is prevented when leaders create the conditions for people to do the right work, with clarity, purpose, and dignity. (27 min.)

In this episode of Qonversations, John DeDakis, former Senior Copy Editor for CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer," novelist, and writing coach, joins host Brian Gorman to explore grief. While John shares his personal experiences of loss, the conversation widens to a larger truth: grief is universal. Everyone carries it at some point through loss of people, pets, roles, health, or identity. Because of that, grief inevitably enters the workplace. Brian and John explore how unacknowledged grief affects energy, focus, morale, and engagement, and why leaders can no longer afford to treat grief as something that happens outside of work. This episode challenges traditional ideas about productivity and professionalism, making the case that understanding grief is becoming a critical leadership capability in times of constant change. 

In this episode of Qonversations, Mike Toguchi, Chief Strategy Officer at Tektonic, sits down with host Brian Gorman for a grounded conversation about AI as a strategic leadership resource, not simply a technology initiative. They explore a growing, unspoken concern among senior leaders: “We’re using AI, but we may not be using it well.” While AI can dramatically expand access to data and insight, Mike and Brian argue that the real challenges aren’t technical. They’re human: how leaders frame outcomes, communicate intent, govern use, and ensure accountability.The conversation challenges the idea that AI lives primarily within IT. While IT plays a critical role, the most consequential decisions about AI belong with leadership, because AI increasingly shapes workflows, judgment, and organizational behavior. Mike shares what he’s seeing across organizations as they mature in their use of AI, shifting from tool obsession to outcome focus, and creating space for experimentation with oversight. This episode is an invitation for leaders to pause, reassess how AI is being used today, and recognize when it’s time to seek perspective beyond their own organization—before early choices harden into long-term constraints.

In this episode of Qonversations, entrepreneur and AI strategist Chris Carter sits down with host Brian Gorman for a grounded, practical conversation about what AI can and cannot do for leaders. Together, they cut through the noise to explore how AI can support thinking without replacing judgment, why the quality of your questions matters more than the tool you choose, and how leaders can stay firmly in the role that only humans can play. This is not a technical tutorial. It’s a human conversation about discernment, pacing, and responsibility in an AI-enabled world. And it may well provide you with insights that change your entire approach to using artificial intelligence. 

In this episode of Qonversations, Brian Gorman sits down with leadership author and advisor David Liddell and President of Liddell Consulting explore what happens when leadership shifts from managing effort to cultivating meaning, alignment, and energy. Through stories from manufacturing, healthcare supply chains, and leadership practice, the conversation surfaces a tension many organizations feel but struggle to name: people are busy, capable, and well-intentioned, yet disconnected from purpose, clarity, and shared outcomes.Rather than treating this as an engagement problem to fix, Brian and David frame it as a wisdom challenge: helping people understand why their work matters, how success is defined, and where their energy is best applied. They explore moving beyond activity metrics to meaningful outcomes, the role of sense-making and unlearning in leadership, and why people commit differently when the human impact of their work becomes visible.As organizations move beyond Industrial-Age assumptions about control and productivity, this episode offers a grounded look at leadership guided by wisdom, not just intelligence, for those who sense that work is changing, even if the language for what’s emerging is still taking shape.

Change doesn’t fail because of bad plans. It fails because of missed conversations. In this episode of Qonversations, Brian Gorman talks with Founder and Principal of MI for Health and behavioral scientist Jeff Wetherhold about why most change initiatives fall short and what actually works. Together, they explore change as a human and emotional process, the limits of top-down approaches, and how leaders can use better conversations to unlock intrinsic motivation and sustainable change. This is a grounded, practical conversation for leaders navigating constant transformation.

In this episode, host Brian Gorman talks with Wes Towers, founder of Uplift360, a digital agency in Australia, about what it really means to lead in an AI-shaped world. Brian and Wes explore how AI can boost performance and free up time, but still can’t match human wisdom, intuition, and contextual judgment. Leaders may get faster answers from AI, but the ability to sense what matters and why remains deeply human. They dig into the risks of relying on AI for complex decisions, including inconsistent or overly generic outputs, and why expertise and discernment are still essential. Wes shares how these gaps show up in real projects and why he advises leaders to pair AI tools with trusted human guidance. Their conversation moves into creativity, human connection, and the parts of work AI can’t touch. Wes describes how automating technical tasks has allowed him to focus more on listening, relationships, and understanding clients at a deeper level. He also talks about a turning point in his own business that pushed him to elevate relationships over transactions.Brian and Wes close by comparing different cultural approaches to business, some beginning with relationships, others with deals, and reflect on why the future favors the former. For leaders looking to adopt AI wisely, their advice is simple: choose tools intentionally, stay rooted in your values, and don’t go it alone.

The demands on leaders are changing even more quickly than the worlds that we are leading in. Those leaders who believe that the path through the uncertainty is to “hold the course” on their approach to leadership will not be successful. From engagement rates, to turnover, to failing strategies, and more, the evidence is clear. Leadership needs to change. In this episode, Rob Matzkin, CEO of the Rob Matzkin Group, joins host Brian Gorman to explore some of the more subtle and some of the more profound ways that leaders need to evolve as they seek to bring their organizations into the future.

In this episode of Qonversations, host Brian Gorman sits down with Co-Founder and CEO of FlipWork Nikki Barua for a grounded, future-facing exploration of what sets humans apart in an AI-driven world. Together they get to the heart of why creativity, communication, compassion, adaptability, and self-awareness matter more than ever and why the future belongs to those willing to evolve. Among other things, they unpack the shift from “human doing” to “human being,” the collapse of the old pyramid model of leadership, and the rise of more distributed, values-driven, adaptive ways of working. They explore how culture must behave like a living system, how energy matters more than time, and how diversity and belonging fuel innovation in the age of intelligent machines. At its core, this conversation is about unlocking your unique zone of genius, the human qualities no algorithm can replace. If you’re navigating the intersection of human potential and intelligent technology, this conversation is a reminder: the future isn’t about competing with machines. It’s about becoming more fully, consciously human.

This is the second part of leadership advisor and coach Ted Whetstone’s interview with host Brian Gorman based on Brian’s book Leading into the Age of Wisdom: Reimagining the Future of Work. In this episode Brian and Ted explore what is meant when leaders talk about the future of work using terms such as “spirit,” “soul,” and “love.” They discuss Frank Lloyd Wright’s philosophy of architecture and how it applies to organization design. And they challenge traditional approaches to organizational change management, which have a dismal success rate. Together, these two episodes (Episodes 143 and 145) offer a vision of the future of work in which AI serves as the catalyst not for a more dystopian future, but for a future that is more humane. 

How, and why, would you make an organization-wide change optional? What would make people want to opt in, even when doing so would cost their team to do so? When was the last time that you fired a team, telling them that they no longer could participate in a change initiative? These are only a few of the stories that Phil Gilbert shares with host Brian Gorman in this episode. Phil, the author of Irresistible Change: A Blueprint for Earning Buy-In and Breakout Success, tells how he and his team succeeded in achieving a significant culture change across 400,000 IBM employees globally. There are important lessons here for every change leader, and every change practitioner, regardless of the size of your organization or the nature of your change. 

Host Brian Gorman becomes the guest for this two-part interview that takes a deep dive into the thinking behind Leading Into the Age of Wisdom: Reimagining the Future of Work. Leadership advisor and coach Ted Whetstone joins Brian to dig into a number of topics as we become immersed in a world in which AI continues to play an increasingly powerful role. Among the many questions this conversation addresses are the ways in which human wisdom is at our core, making us uniquely different from AI, what it means to lead with wisdom or not, and what does it take to be a maverick leader finding the way into this new age dominated not by AI but by wisdom. 

What is the future of work? Will it be dominated by AI, as predicted by many of the voices we hear? Or will it be a future of work led by wisdom? In his book Leading into the Age of Wisdom: Reimagining the Future of Work, author and Qonversations host Brian Gorman examines the differences between intelligence and wisdom and calls out the danger of turning our future of work over to AI. In this episode of Qonversations, Brian addresses these challenges and, drawing from his book, discusses the transformational changes required to lead into the Age of Wisdom. 

It’s easy to make the case that there isn’t much that is constant in the workplace today. Change is no longer just a set of projects and initiatives; it is also an-ever roiling state of being. Today’s workforce, increasingly dominated by Millennials and Gen Z, is not the workforce of even a decade ago. Anyone with access and skill in creating prompts has immediate access to almost unlimited artificial intelligence. All of this and more is placing unprecedented pressure on leaders at all levels of organizational life. Effective leadership today is, by its very nature, different than the leadership of the past. In fact, in many ways, the art of leadership must change in profound ways. In this episode, Jim Carlough, author of The Six Pillars of Effective Leadership, joins host Brian Gorman to explore those foundations of leadership that are unchanging and are, in fact, more important than ever. 

In this episode, Tim Beattie, Founder and CEO of Stellafai, and host Brian Gorman dig into one of today’s more significant leadership challenges: what we measure isn’t always what matters. Productivity metrics like output and velocity don’t equate to impact. Together they explore how leaders can shift focus toward meaningful outcomes, foster psychological safety, and use storytelling to connect with people’s head, heart, and gut. They also discuss AI’s role in coaching and leadership, and how aligning personal purpose with organizational intent can create truly passionate, purpose-driven workforces. (25 minutes) 

We are facing an existential choice. Follow the path of allowing artificial intelligence to become more and more dominant in the workplace and our lives. Or bring the wisdom of people to the application of AI. On this episode, Social entrepreneur, author, and activist Shmuly Yanklowitz joins host Brian Gorman to discuss the path forward based on Brian’s upcoming book Leading into the Age of Wisdom: Reimagining the Future of Work. The conversation focuses on the choices leaders have to make as they consider the integration of AI into the workplace, and the implications that those choices have on individuals, organizations, and society. 

Carl Gray III, founder of Raising Founders, shares how he’s building an “AAU for entrepreneurship” to empower young people, ages 12–20, to start businesses. He tells the story of Taylor, who turned a Raising Founders project into a thriving baking venture, trained at the American Culinary Institute, and is now interning in France. In this conversation with host Brian Gorman, Carl highlights the vital role of mentorship, the value of industry projects connecting youth with corporations, and his vision for a school dedicated to entrepreneurship and independent thinking. Raising Founders is shaping tomorrow’s innovators today.

Nate Green isn’t shy about sharing his stories. His successes, his failures, his opportunities, and his challenges all serve to inform Nate’s path forward. The author of Suck Less, Do Better: The End of Excuses and the Rise of the Unstoppable You, Nate joins host Brian Gorman to share some of the key lessons he has learned on his journey including the importance of self-discovery and understanding one's true identity and purpose. He highlights how upbringing and societal narratives can create cognitive biases, shaping individuals' perceptions of success and their potential. There are important lessons here for all of us. 

This episode begins with a few words from his website. “Mark loves leaders who love leaders.” Host Brian Gorman invitation to Mark L. Vincent, Executive Advisor at Teall Vincent Enterprises, to explain this statement leads into a deep exploration of transformational leadership and the importance of developing strong, ethical leadership benches while nurturing authentic relationships with leaders. The conversation concludes with an exploration of ROI, and ways in which to quantify the qualitative data that shows the true value of leadership development. 

135: The Wisdom of Ignorance: In this time of unprecedented change, we crave for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), human or AI, that can give us the answers. Alan Gregerman posits that this is the wrong path to the solution, and that ignorance is the wiser path forward. Alan, author of The Wisdom of Ignorance: Why Not Knowing Can Be the Key to Innovation in an Uncertain World (October 2025), joins host Brian Gorman to discuss the importance of embracing ignorance and the need for leaders to adapt and learn new skills. The ignorance he favors is not contentment in not knowing. Rather, Alan emphasizes the value of “enlightened ignorance,” being passionate and curious when approaching the unknown, which can lead to fresh perspectives and innovative solutions. 

Looking for differences somehow makes it easier. From this perspective, leading in white collar organizations must be different than leading blue collar workers. But it's not. In this episode of Qonversations, Traci Austin, Chief Talent Officer of Elevated Talent Consulting, joins host Brian Gorman to share the lessons that she has learned over decades of working with and supporting leaders in the trades. The bottom line: people are people. Whether in the factory, the warehouse, the construction site, the office, or the laboratory, they want the same things for themselves and from their leaders. 

Long ago, Albert Einstein said, “The thinking that got us to where we are is not the thinking that will get us to where we want to be.” Today, that is truer than ever. While his focus is on “scaling businesses and scaling leaders,” the lessons that Loic Potjes shares in this episode are true for any leader looking to take their organization to a different place in the future. Loic, the Managing Partner of Disruptive Leap, joins host Brian Gorman to challenge leaders who think that their current approach will successfully guide their organizations going forward. 

Leadership that wins is leadership that recognizes, builds relationships with, and values others. While You Win Again, Jack: The Story of a Man Who Stopped Needing to Win, and Finally Did is fiction, it is rich with lessons learned by author Scott DeLong. This is not a book to be read so much as a book to be reflected on. In this episode, Scott joins host Brian Gorman to discuss some of the many lessons he learned on his leadership journey, ranging from the reason that Scott likes meetings, to the sacredness of 1:1 meetings, to the importance of building connections that convey the energy and the soul of the other. This is a podcast that invites you to think about how you are showing up as a leader, and ways in which you might show up differently to offer others the experience of leadership that wins. You Win Again, Jack is scheduled for release November 1, 2025. 

On Qonversations, we always try to connect our listeners with our guests. After all, conversations don’t happen between a book and the host or a leader and the host; they happen between two people. That said, most of the time the focus of the conversation is not on the guest, but on the topic. On this episode, we turn our attention totally to our guest, Ziah Miller. Because their parents believed the world was going to end, Ziah and his seven siblings were raised without any education. He didn’t learn to read or write until the age of fourteen. Today, Ziah is a successful author, game director, and “digital alchemist.” Ziah and host Brian Gorman take a walk from Ziah’s childhood, to homelessness, to public schools, art school and software engineering certification, to his career today. Whether you are just thinking about a career, well into your working years, or wondering what comes next, Ziah’s very personal story holds lessons to help you along the way. 

Max Klau, the guest for Qonversations Episode 35, returns to discuss his soon to be published book, Developing Servant Leaders at Scale: How To Do It and Why It Matters. Through his coaching, writing, and speaking, host Brian Gorman often makes the point that one of the responsibilities of leaders is to develop other leaders. Max has spent decades intentionally doing so. In this thought-provoking conversation, Max and Brian explore what is required to develop the knowledge, doing, and especially the being that is at the core of servant leadership. From Max’s experience, reflection is core to the inner work required to become a servant leader. Creating and holding the space for that inner work is only possible when a leader serves as the host to those they are leading rather than as their hero. 

In their book Engaging Teams: How to Use Social Wellbeing to Boost Performance, Retention, and Culture, Nick Smallman and Dan Parry dive into the importance of social wellbeing in today’s organizations. Nick and host Brian Gorman explore the importance of leaders knowing the people they are leading, and not just the roles that those people play. The Industrial Age perception of people who are interchangeable and replaceable when they burn out is challenged, as Nick and Brian discuss the leader’s role in creating a culture that fosters wellbeing. 

Whether you are a solopreneur or the leader of a global enterprise, every day, you are shaping your legacy. Alex Brueckmann, author of Strategy Legacy: How to Future-Proof a Business and Leave Your Mark, sets legacy as the framework for addressing what he identifies as the two primary responsibilities of a leader: strategy and culture. Citing the leader’s role in shaping organizational culture, Alex challenges leaders to not accept the culture that is, but to take responsibility to shape the culture needed to execute true strategy. In his conversation with host Brian Gorman, he also challenges the approach many organizations take to strategy, pointing out that while they label planning and budgeting as strategy, it is not. 

Today’s guest is Salvatore Manzi, a leadership communications coach with over 20 years of experience helping technical, analytical, and data-driven leaders amplify their impact. With emphasis on frameworks, principles, and techniques, Salvatore empowers leaders to connect authentically and navigate high-stakes engagements with confidence. He’s an introvert who learned how to harness the power of the spotlight and has a passion for building inclusive, high-performing team environments through effective communication. In this episode, Salvatore and host Brian Gorman focus on specific ways in which leaders can either undermine their message or ensure that it is effectively delivered. 

Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer is a human capital strategist, coach, speaker, and author. In her LinkedIn profile, she writes “I work at the intersection of strategy and soul.” In this episode of "Qonversations," host Brian Gorman and Cynthia discuss the critical importance of leaders embracing humanity, aligning individual purpose with organizational roles, the importance of authenticity and psychological safety in leadership, and how leaders can help teams unlock their full potential. Cynthia introduces her concept of "moving the line" to foster greater humanity at work and previews her upcoming book, "Human Capital Investment Strategy." 

The world of work is changing at an ever-accelerating rate. In this episode, Ted Whetstone, executive coach, thought leader, and “fellow philosopher on the road of life,” joins host Brian Gorman to explore new ideas on how to successfully lead through the changes we are experiencing. Along the way, they explore organizational design, the work week, innovation, thinking differently about what we sell, the very nature of leadership, and much more. 

It isn’t a possibility. It isn’t a probability. It isn’t some far-off science fiction fantasy thing. We are in it now. The challenge, from the C-suite to the front line, is “How do I ensure not just that I (and my organization) survive, but that we thrive?” In this episode, Nicole Doyle, entrepreneur, start-up advisor, and Founder of Aspir joins host Brian Gorman to begin to answer these questions. Along the way, they discuss the disruptors that are on the horizon, the growing importance of investing in people (not just technology), and some of the key actions that organizational leaders as well as individual contributors can take to improve the chances of success moving forward.Nicole Doyle is a Strategic People Operations leader with over 10 years experience hiring and leading and 6 years experience driving growth at fast-scaling Series A/B startups. Proven track record of building successful teams, developing global compensation strategies that ensure equity, and building scalable HR infrastructures that align with business objectives. Expert in leadership hiring, global expansion, diversity & inclusion initiatives, and data-driven decision-making to foster high-performing cultures.Brian Gorman is a speaker, author, podcast host and founder and lead coach at TransformingLives.Coach. A maverick coach, Brian guides those who are forging the way forward from the Industrial Age into the Digital Age. You can email Brian ([email protected]) and learn more about his work on his website TransformingLives.Coach.

If you are a leader, your success is dependent on your ability to effectively communicate with those who report to you. And your ability to successfully communicate with those who report to you is highly dependent on bringing a coach approach to your leadership. In this episode, communication coach Chris Marr joins host Brian Gorman to explore the changing role of leaders and the importance of coaching as a critical leadership tool. Chris Marr is the author of Becoming an Authoritative Coach: Stop People Pleasing, Challenge Your Clients, and Be Indispensable. With thousands of hours devoted to coaching an expansive range of companies, from nimble startups to 7 and 8-figure enterprises, he has unequivocally established himself as a leading expert in the field. Beyond his extensive portfolio in coaching, Chris is a dedicated Stoic Practitioner and Philosopher. His fascination with human behaviour is not a mere interest but a lifelong commitment to understanding the intricacies of human potential.Brian Gorman is a speaker, author, podcast host and founder and lead coach at TransformingLives.Coach. A maverick coach, Brian guides those who are forging the way forward from the Industrial Age into the Digital Age. You can email Brian ([email protected]) and learn more about his work on his website TransformingLives.Coach.

Every day, Liz Weber, Advisor to Executives and Boards, encounters the challenges that leaders are facing as they seek to guide their organizations into the Digital age. In this episode, Liz joins host Brian Gorman to explore those behaviors that continue to serve leaders well as they move out of the Industrial Age model of leadership as well as the significant shifts in mindset and behavior that leaders at all levels – from the front lines to the Boards of Directors – need to make to successfully make this transformational transition.Liz Weber has been helping businesses strengthen their leadership and improve their processes for over 20 years. She has been named a Top 30 Global Guru on Leadership, a Leadership Influencer to Watch, an HR Influencer to Watch, and a Culture Change Champion. Liz is acutely attuned to the shifting dynamics of Industrial Age to Digital Age leadership, and is intently focused on helping leaders and Boards think differently. Weber Business Services, LLC (WBS) is a management consulting firm that specializes in strategic planning, succession planning and leadership development. Brian Gorman is a speaker, author, podcast host and founder and lead coach at TransformingLives.Coach. He identifies as a maverick coach, guiding those who are forging the way as leaders in the 21st century. You can email Brian ([email protected]) and learn more about his work on his website TransformingLives.Coach.

In his book Nobody Is Smarter Than Everybody: Why Self-Managing Teams Make Better Decisions and Deliver Extraordinary Results, Rod Collins builds on the premise that “the digital revolution is far more than a technology revolution. It is also a sociological revolution that has generated an unprecedented capacity for mass collaboration and created new possibilities in how humans work together.” Under his leadership as the Chief Operating Executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, one of the nation's largest and most successful business alliances, the company experienced its greatest five-year growth period in its 60-year history. Realizing that his title gave him no actual authority over the actions of the various member organizations, Rod developed and evolved a process to draw from their collective wisdom in ways that generated incredible performance improvements. In this episode, Rod and host Brian Gorman explore the organizational implications of the evidence that “no one is smarter than everyone.” Rod Collins is an author, keynote speaker, and leadership coach. He is a leading expert and thought leader on the future of business transformation. Rod’s books, blogs, and speeches inspire through their use of storytelling and leading-edge ideas. Brian Gorman is a speaker, author, podcast host and founder and lead coach at TransformingLives.Coach. He identifies as a maverick coach, guiding those who are forging the way as leaders in the 21st century. You can email Brian ([email protected]) and learn more about his work on his website TransformingLives.Coach.

Your organization has a culture. You can be intentional about continuously shaping it or allow it to evolve and see what happens. You can also reshape it. In this episode of Qonversations, Tom Krause, Ph.D., and author of If Your Culture Could Talk, joins host Brian Gorman to delve into the hard truths about culture. They explore the cost of misalignment between what is said and the behavior of leaders as well as the five essential building blocks to make culture change efforts more effective. Spoiler alert: they are “soft skills.”  Thomas R. Krause, Ph.D. is a world-renowned thought leader focused on decision making, leadership, and behavior in the creation of positive organizational culture. He has designed culture change interventions in the service of the prevention of catastrophic events, and fatalities, including the space shuttle Columbia disaster. Tom is the founder of Behavioral Science Technology, Inc. and Chairman of the Krause Bell Group.Brian Gorman is a speaker, author, podcast host and founder and lead coach at TransformingLives.Coach. He identifies as a maverick coach, guiding those who are forging the way as leaders in the 21st century. You can email Brian ([email protected]) and learn more about his work on his website TransformingLives.Coach.

Miles Everson, CEO of MBO Partners and author of Free Birds Revolution: The Future of Work and the Independent Mind of a Free Bird, and host Brian Gorman continue their conversation with a focus on the mind of a free bird. This includes an examination of the differences in the mindsets of traditional employees vs. free birds, the differences in how they spend their time on the job, and the differences in how they evaluate such things as their relationship between work and life outside of work, their sense of fulfillment, and even their sense of financial security.Miles Everson is a proven business builder and industry leader and disrupter of the status quo. Since 2019 he has served as the Chief Executive Officer at MBO Partners, the definitive market leader in enabling the future of work and improving the well-being of professionals and businesses throughout the world. Prior to MBO Partners, Miles held several senior roles with PwC over 30 years as Global Advisory and Consulting CEO, leading the company’s Asia Pacific and Americas Advisory and Consulting businesses, eventually becoming the U.S. Advisory/Consulting Vice Chairman. Miles led the first globalization for the Advisory/Consulting practice across the PwC enterprise.Brian Gorman is a speaker, author, podcast host and founder and lead coach at TransformingLives.Coach. He identifies as a maverick coach, guiding those who are forging the way as leaders in the 21st century. You can email Brian ([email protected]) and learn more about his work on his website TransformingLives.Coach.

118: Free Birds Revolution – 1 of 2: Miles Everson, CEO of MBO Partners and author of Free Birds Revolution: The Future of Work and the Independent Mind of a Free Bird, doesn’t mind challenging conventional thinking. And when he does, he has the data, and the examples, to support what he is saying. In this episode of Qonversations, Miles and host Brian Gorman explore Part 1 of Miles’ book, focusing on the six forces driving a larger and larger portion of the workforce, including the best and the brightest, from “employed” to “free bird” status. Miles also discusses the ways in which businesses need to rewrite the contract between those who work for them, whether they are employees on the payroll or contractors. Miles Everson is a proven business builder and industry leader and disrupter of the status quo. Since 2019 he has served as the Chief Executive Officer at MBO Partners, the definitive market leader in enabling the future of work and improving the well-being of professionals and businesses throughout the world. Prior to MBO Partners, Miles held several senior roles with PwC over 30 years as Global Advisory and Consulting CEO, leading the company’s Asia Pacific and Americas Advisory and Consulting businesses, eventually becoming the U.S. Advisory/Consulting Vice Chairman. Miles led the first globalization for the Advisory/Consulting practice across the PwC enterprise. Brian Gorman is a speaker, author, podcast host and founder and lead coach at TransformingLives.Coach. He identifies as a maverick coach, guiding those who are forging the way as leaders in the 21st century. You can email Brian ([email protected]) and learn more about his work on his website TransformingLives.Coach.