Beyond AI: Wisdom at Work (formerly Qonversations)

Artificial intelligence may be moving faster than any technology we have seen before. But AI adoption is still, at its core, a human change journey. In this episode, Brian Gorman speaks with Sue Bethanis, founder of Mariposa Leadership, about what it takes to lead wisely as organizations, teams, and knowledge workers learn to partner with AI. Sue brings a grounded, deeply human perspective to the...

AI is not just changing the tools we use. It is changing the nature of change itself. In this inaugural episode of Beyond AI: Wisdom at Work, Brian Gorman is joined by Bill Kirst, change architect and author of Leading Change in the Era of AI. Together, they explore why traditional change management models are no longer enough in a workplace increasingly shaped by AI, automation, agents, and non-l...

Leaders often believe they are investing in their people. Employees often experience something very different. In this episode of Qonversations, Brian Gorman speaks with Keith Metcalfe , President of ACORN, a software and technology company focused on learning, performance, and capability development. Together, they explore the gap between leadership intent and employee experience, especially when...

After more than 170 episodes as Qonversations, this podcast is entering its next chapter. Beginning with the July 2, 2026 release, the show will become Beyond AI: Wisdom at Work. The new name reflects the direction the conversations have been moving for some time: beyond the tools, hype, and noise of artificial intelligence, and into the deeper human questions AI is raising for leaders, organizati...

AI is already changing the way we work. The question is no longer whether leaders will adopt it. The question is whether they will lead it. In this episode of Qonversations, Brian talks with Jim Spignardo , Director of Cloud Strategy and AI Enablement at ProArc, about why AI implementation is not primarily a technology challenge. It is a leadership challenge. Too often, organizations measure AI ad...

In a world obsessed with speed, certainty, and fast answers, leadership often happens somewhere else entirely. In the fog. In this episode of Qonversations, Brian Gorman is joined by Pete Behrens , author of Into the Fog: Leadership Stories from the Edge of Uncertainty, for a conversation about leading when the path forward is unclear. Pete uses “fog” as a metaphor for the ambiguity and complexity...

AI is not just changing enterprise strategy. It is changing the daily experience of work. In this episode of Qonversations, David Dean , AI technologist, practitioner, and author of An Inbox Between Us, joins Brian Gorman to explore what it means to use AI wisely in real-world settings. David brings a practical behavioral lens to AI. He explains that every organization has an official system of pr...

AI is accelerating capability. But what if the real challenge is learning how to thrive alongside it? In this episode of Qonversations, Fred Marshall joins Brian Gorman to explore a question many leaders are only beginning to confront. How do we integrate artificial intelligence into our lives and work without losing ourselves in the process? Fred, author of Thrive: The Antidote to Future Shock, i...

Most organizations are treating AI like a technology implementation. What if that is the wrong starting point? In this episode of Qonversations, Kathy Eastwood , Founder and Chief People Strategist of E Equals Why, joins host Brian Gorman to explore why artificial intelligence may be one of the biggest people and leadership shifts organizations have faced in decades. Kathy shares why some organiza...

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 prob...

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...

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 conversati...

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 t...

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 ref...

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,...

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 he...

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...

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...

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 org...

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 rethi...

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...

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 ammonit...

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 po...

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...

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...