Artificial Intelligence is quickly becoming one of the most discussed tools in modern business. From automation to analytics, AI promises to transform organizations and accelerate growth.

But there is a critical leadership distinction that often gets overlooked.

AI is not strategy — it is leverage.

In Episode 682 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith, PhD explores how technology amplifies whatever discipline already exists inside an organization. When clarity, accountability, and strong leadership are present, AI can accelerate meaningful progress. When those foundations are weak, technology simply moves confusion faster.

In this episode, Brian discusses:

• Why tools should never replace leadership thinking

• The guardrails leaders must establish to protect accountability

• How disciplined organizations use AI to strengthen execution, not bypass it

Technology can support strategy, but it cannot define it.

Leadership thinking, responsibility, and discipline still determine outcomes.

Because in the end, AI does not create success — people do.

What if grief wasn’t something to “get over,” but something that could guide you toward deeper purpose?

In this moving conversation, Amana Mayfield-Faulkner, founder of Amana Be Love and former palliative care nurse, shares how profound personal loss reshaped her understanding of life, death, intuition, and connection.

From witnessing her first love take his final breaths in his twenties… to giving birth to her daughter and holding her through her last moments… Amana’s journey through grief has been both devastating and transformative. Through these experiences, she discovered that grief does not end — it changes. And when honored instead of suppressed, it can become a compass.

In this episode, we explore:

• What working in palliative care teaches about presence and responsibility

• Why grief doesn’t follow a timeline — and shouldn’t be rushed

• The importance of community when navigating loss

• How to support someone grieving without expectation

• What “post-traumatic growth” can look like

• Reconnecting with your intuition as a source of strength

• Why transitions — like in birth — often feel darkest right before breakthrough

Amana reminds us that grief exists because love exists. And when we allow ourselves to move through the “underworld” of loss — without building our home there — we can emerge with greater depth, compassion, and even access to joy we didn’t know was possible.

Her message is especially powerful for anyone navigating uncertainty, loss, or major life transitions:

Start small. Start with yourself. Trust your inner voice. And remember — transitions do not last forever.

This episode is a beautiful reminder that influence often shows up in quiet presence, deep listening, and the courage to share what is often unseen and unspoken.

Listen in and be inspired to show up — for yourself and for others — with compassion, responsibility, and trust in your own inner guidance.

Website URL: www.amanabelove.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanabelove/

For years, leaders have been saying the same thing:

“Once things settle down…”

“When the market stabilizes…”

“When we get back to normal…”

But normal isn’t coming back.

In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith, PhD challenges the assumption that stability comes from external conditions. Markets shift. AI accelerates. Capital tightens. Politics polarize. That isn’t temporary disruption — that’s the environment.

The real question is not how to predict volatility.

It’s how to build discipline inside it.

In this episode, Brian explores:

• Why waiting for certainty quietly erodes leadership

• The difference between external volatility and internal instability

• How SMART Management creates structured adaptability

• Why Six-to-Sixty planning is discipline — not prediction

You can’t control volatility.

But you can control structure, rhythm, clarity, and influence.

In an unstable era, disciplined leadership becomes a competitive advantage.

Listen now and lead intentionally.

What if your hardest chapter became the foundation of your greatest influence?

In this powerful and unfiltered conversation, Lora Tomlinson shares her journey from small-town athlete to addiction, incarceration, and ultimately, transformation. After serving 7 and a half years in federal prison for substance-related charges, Lora experienced a moment of clarity that changed everything. Instead of allowing her past to define her, she chose to take responsibility, do the internal work, and build a life rooted in purpose.

Today, Lora is the CEO of a substance abuse treatment center, a licensed professional, and a leader committed to helping others see their potential — often before they can see it themselves.

In this episode, we explore:

• The moment in prison that sparked real change

• Why leadership begins with vulnerability and integrity

• How taking care of your team creates true impact

• The power of support systems in recovery and in life

• Why “a bad day doesn’t make a bad life”

Lora’s story is a reminder that change is uncomfortable — but necessary for growth. Her honesty, compassion, and commitment to serving others demonstrate that our past does not disqualify us. In many cases, it becomes the very thing that equips us to lead.

If you or someone you love is navigating a difficult season, this conversation will remind you that transformation is possible — and that leaning in and asking for help can change everything.

Listen in and be inspired to keep showing up, leading, and growing — one day at a time.

Authority is temporary.

Titles change. Roles evolve. Ownership transfers. Careers shift.

But something always remains.

In Episode 678 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith, PhD explores leadership beyond position, control, or title — and challenges leaders to examine what truly endures after authority ends.

In this episode:

• Why authority is granted — but influence is earned

• The leadership behaviors that outlive careers

• How to design influence that improves others after you’re gone

• The difference between building control and building capacity

Drawing from The I in Team Series™ and SMART structural influence principles, Brian asks a powerful question:

If your title disappeared tomorrow, what would remain?

Because authority ends.

But influence echoes.

Listen now and reflect on the legacy you are actively designing.

We are living in a time where division feels amplified.

Political tension. Social movements. Economic pressure.

And in the middle of it all — leaders.

In Episode 677 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith, PhD explores what it means to carry individual responsibility inside complex and divided systems.

This episode challenges a dangerous myth: that responsibility disappears when systems are complicated.

It doesn’t.

It becomes more visible.

🌟 In this episode:

The difference between advocacy and disciplined influence

How leaders hold strong values without polarizing their teams

Why individual accountability still matters inside complex structures

Responsible leadership asks one critical question:

“What is mine to own here?”

Because history rarely remembers the system.

It remembers the individual.

📲 Listen now on your favorite podcast platform.

#DailyInfluence #ResponsibleInfluence #LeadershipDevelopment #SMARTManagement #TheIinTeam

What happens when life shifts overnight—and you’re expected to show up at work like nothing changed?

In this episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Barbara Palmer, founder of Your 4th Trimester and “Top Broad” at Broad Perspective Consulting, to talk about one of the most overlooked leadership transitions in modern work: returning after parental leave. With more than 30 years of experience across corporate culture, leadership, marketing, and professional development, Barbara supports working parents (and the companies that employ them) through the real-world “oh sh*t” moments—when priorities change, boundaries get tested, and confidence needs a reset.

Barbara shares practical strategies that help new parents (and honestly… anyone) protect their time, reduce overwhelm, and show up with clarity—like her simple but powerful practice of blocking the last hour of the workday to close loops and set tomorrow up for success. They also explore how responsible influence shows up through boundary-setting, communication with managers, and creating cultures that truly support parents—not just in policy, but in practice.

You’ll also hear how Barbara’s three-year nomad journey—living month-to-month in communities across the country—has deepened her beliefs about curiosity, kindness, belonging, and leadership without judgment. And she leaves listeners with her favorite two words for navigating hard seasons: “for now.”

Connect with Barbara:

Instagram: @topbroad

LinkedIn: Barbara Palmer

Website: broadperspectiveconsulting.com (including Your 4th Trimester + “Wisdom for Your Oh Sh*t Moments”)

We live in a culture that celebrates speed.

Fast growth.

Fast decisions.

Fast pivots.

Fast scaling.

But as Brian Smith, PhD explains in this episode of Daily Influence, speed and readiness are not the same thing.

Drawing from the longest and most in-depth chapter in The I in Team Series™ — “Slow Down” — Brian explores the hidden tax organizations quietly pay months or even years after moving too fast.

In this episode:

The difference between speed and structural readiness

How shortcuts compound into operational and cultural debt

Why urgency-driven cultures slowly exhaust trust

Fast decisions are rarely free.

The bill just comes later.

If leadership is about protecting the future — not impressing the present — this episode is essential listening.

#DailyInfluence #ResponsibleInfluence #SMARTManagement #LeadershipDevelopment #IntentionalLeadership

In this episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Parker Wilcox, founder of Lifeguard Protection, a health and life insurance agency built on trust, relationships, and service-first leadership.

After navigating a career shift during the uncertainty of 2020, Parker made a bold move—leaving the property and casualty insurance world to launch his own agency focused specifically on health and life insurance. But what truly sets Parker apart isn’t just his niche—it’s his philosophy.

Rooted in the principle of “givers gain,” Parker shares why leading with value—not sales—creates long-term trust, meaningful relationships, and sustainable growth. From serving blue-collar trades to becoming a “super connector” for clients and referral partners, he demonstrates how small, intentional actions can create powerful ripple effects.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why giving first builds credibility and influence

• How collaboration fuels business growth

• The difference between short-term wins and long-term impact

• Why ethical, residual-based thinking strengthens trust

• How your thoughts shape your circumstances—and your future

Parker also shares a timeless book recommendation that reinforces personal responsibility and daily consistency as keys to growth.

If you’re building a business—or simply striving to make a positive difference—this episode is a reminder that influence begins with service.

Small actions. Daily consistency. Responsible leadership.

Tune in and be inspired to lead with value.

Connect with Parker: https://www.instagram.com/lifeguard.protection

Psychological safety is often described as a “soft” leadership concept — something rooted in feelings, kindness, or culture.

But that’s not what it is.

In Episode 673 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith reframes psychological safety as a structural performance system — not a mood, not a personality trait, and not an abstract cultural aspiration.

When leaders see silence, hesitation, disengagement, or operational breakdown, the issue is rarely personality.

It’s structure speaking.

In this episode, Brian explores:

Why safety is a performance system — not a feeling

The hidden link between fear, silence, and operational inefficiency

How leaders unintentionally reward the very behaviors they later try to correct

What feels cultural is often structural.

You don’t hope for psychological safety.

You design it.

Because structure is leadership.

🎧 Listen now and continue the journey of intentional, responsible influence.