Beyond AI: Wisdom at Work

Creativity is not just for artists. It comes in all flavors. Rich Kirkpatrick, author of Mindblown: Unlock Your Creative Genius by Bridging Science and Magic, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss the integration of leadership and creativity. Creative thought requires both divergent and convergent thinking, as well as lateral thinking, to generate ideas, sort them, and find the integration points that allow us and our organizations to thrive. 

In this episode, Co-Founder and Chief Coaching Officer Margaret Brake and host Brian Gorman discuss Quantuvos’ approach to group coaching along with the benefits it delivers to both the participants and their organizations. Group coaching brings together individuals who share a common thread, whether it’s related to their roles (e.g., first time managers) or areas of leadership development important to the organization (e.g., becoming more skilled at tough conversations). Colleagues supporting one another as they learn to apply new mindsets and skills, as they build networks and community across organizational silos, and as they develop a shared sense of purpose, are just some of the elements of the ROI that is delivered through group coaching. When integrated with training and development and one-on-one coaching, even greater benefits can be attained. 

In 2008, Smart Destinations employed about 40 employees in HQ and satellite offices when the market crashed. Investors instructed leadership to close physical locations and send everyone home. As the recension ended, Smart Destinations was doing twice as much work with half the people at a significantly lower cost. Today, Smart Destinations co-founder Cecelia Dahl applies the lessons in virtual leadership that she learned during that time to run her businesses from a sailboat three months a year. In this episode, Cecelia and host Brian Gorman discuss what she has learned regarding a “productivity anywhere” leadership mindset and optimizing virtual leadership. 

Guest Sean Tyler Foley (child and adult actor, photogrammetrist, and serial entrepreneur) and host Brian Gorman (social activist, Air Force drill sergeant, fund raiser, management consultant, coach, and more) explore the importance of finding the common threads in our careers. Even if you have been in a single profession, industry, or with one employer for all your career, knowing what makes one role a grind and another feed your passion is invaluable. Whether considering a new position, a new career, or re-committing to more fully to your current position, there are insights in this podcast that are invaluable. 

As is quoted in the intro to Qonversations, “everything happens through conversations.” Conversations build relationships, and relationships build networks. For extroverts, those conversations (whether at a networking event or elsewhere) come easily; for introverts, not so much. In this episode, Jeff Ton joins host Brian Gorman to explore how to build your professional network both within your organization and outside of it. As Jeff says, “whether in a transition or not, networks pay dividends.”

According to Ed Krow (Ed Krow, LLC), we have moved from the Information Age to the Experience Age. In this episode, Ed and host Brian Gorman address how to lead in the Experience Age, from recruiting and hiring (including hiring for the alignment of passion as well as hiring for skills), to becoming the workplace that no one wants to leave, to how to exit those who are ready to move on. 

Sun salutations. A landslide blocking a national highway. A shattered femur 14,000 feet above sea level. In this episode, Host Brian Gorman revisits these events and many others with Yogi Aaron, his longtime yoga instructor. In doing so, Aaron and Brian draw out leadership lessons that go far beyond the yoga studio and are applicable at all levels of both formal and informal leadership.  

All too often, we try to problem-solve by focusing on one side of the equation. Perhaps the challenge is being too directive, so we try to solve for “how can I be less directive.” The foundation of working with polarities is a recognition that there is a positive side to what is being identified as the problem; for example, being “directive” helps to ensure that the task is completed as needed. It is also acknowledging that there is an alternative pole that has its positive; for example, the other pole for “directive” might be “easy going.” In this episode, Quantuvos coach Cliff Kayser joins host Brian Gorman to discuss ways in which we can identify and then work with polarities to address the challenges that we and members of our teams face. 

Although she began her career as an engineer, Edwina (Ed) Pike, creator of Irrational Change, sees beyond organizational structures, systems, and processes. Inspired by Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely, Ed shifted her career and is now an internationally recognized thought leader in the field of change management. In this episode, she and host Brian Gorman explore the concept of irrational change in organizations, bringing non-traditional lenses including cultural anthropology and behavioral science to bear. The result is to offer a deeper understanding of how as leaders, influencers, and change management professionals we can bring about the changes that our organizations need to survive and to thrive. 

The words don’t always come out the way we want them to. Whether it’s that random conversation with a stranger or the opening to an important meeting, all too often, we find ourselves stumbling or just not saying it with the power and punch that we want to. Like everything else, strengthening our ability to deliver the messages we want orally requires practice. In this episode, Brenden Kumarasamy, Founder of MasterTalk, and host Brian Gorman, explore how to be prepared to answer any question that comes your way; how to speak with authority on all aspects of your work and career; and how to have at the tip of your tongue powerful stories that convey exactly the message that you want.