Beyond AI: Wisdom at Work (formerly Qonversations)

In his book "The 9th Stratum: Your Guide to High Performance," author Aaron Salko provides insights that everyone from the frontline to the C-suite can benefit from. During this episode, Aaron and host Brian Gorman examine the importance of being personal growth driven, disciplined in self-evaluation, altruism motivated, and goal driven in achieving high performance. The skills behind these traits...

"To be effective, leaders need to draw on the C's: competencies, commitment, and character." Bill Furlong, co-author of "The Character Compass: Transforming Leadership for the 21st Century," joins host Brian Gorman to discuss what is meant by "character," what makes character so important in today's organizations, and the elements that comprise it. Character is about personal presence, how you sho...

How do you avoid plateauing out as a leader? Aaron Trahan, Founder of Mindset Performance coaching, spent more than a decade researching that question. In this episode of Qonversations, Aaron and host Brian Gorman discuss the three "outs" Aaron has identified and how any leader can apply each of these in raising their performance: out-prepare, out-work, and out-learn. As Aaron explains, these are...

Relationships at work advocate Russel Lolacher joins host Brian Gorman to explore leadership through the lens of relationships. Successfully moving from industrial age leadership to the digital/post-Covid environment requires leaders who understand, leadership is about people.

In today's environment, DEI has once again become a topic of focus for business. Some organizations are cutting back or totally eliminating their DEI programs as others re-commit to building an environment in which every employee feels that they belong and that they have a voice. In this episode, Steve Yacovelli, author of "Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King Or Queen...

Challenge is a constant in our lives. Resilience is the force that moves us through it. In this episode, Linda Hoopes, author of "Prosilience: Building Your Resilience for a Turbulent World," CEO of Resilience Alliance, and Quantuvos Advisor, joins host Brian Gorman for a practical discussion of resilience. Among the topics explored are the impact that resilience has in all areas of our lives; the...

"People are our most valuable asset." Yet the only place people show up in an organization's financial statements is in expenses. Dave Bookbinder, Executive Director of Valuation Services for Haefele Flanagan, is working to change that. In this episode, Dave joins host Brian Gorman to discuss the challenges of accounting for people as well as the importance of doing so.

Don't judge a book by its cover. While "Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back" sounds like a book for entrepreneurs, it is so much more. Co-author Lara Hodgson, who wrote "Level Up" with Stacey Abrams, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss those aspects of leveling up that might be called "the hidden forces holding you back." Wherever you are in life, there are important l...

In his book Team Habits: How Small Habits Lead to Extraordinary Results, Charlie Gilkey writes, "No matter your role in the company, you have the power to change your team's habits." Charlie joins host Brian Gorman to explore several of the habits that, if changed, will make a significant difference in the lives of those on your team, the impact of your team on the business, and the success that t...

Kayla Ihrig, author of "How to Be a Digital Nomad," shares some important life lessons for all of us in this episode. In this far-ranging conversation with host Brian Gorman, Kayla moves beyond talking about "work-life balance" to discuss how each of us, whether in the workplace, working remotely, in a hybrid work environment, or working from anywhere, can create a richer blend of life and work.

As the world around us continues to change, if you are not innovating, at best you are struggling to keep up. In this episode of Qonversations, Bruno Pesec, Pesec Global, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss the leader's role in innovation along with what contributes to, and what hinders, innovation in the workplace.

Sara Lohse, Founder, Favorite Daughter Media, and host Brian Gorman share stories as they explore the power of story to connect us and the misuse of stories to pull us apart. We all have stories, and we are all powerful storytellers, but so often we limit ourselves and our ability to connect by thinking that our stories aren't worthy of sharing. As Sara and Brian discuss, they are, and they can ch...

In too many organizations, the playing field still disadvantages women. Quantuvos coach Daphne Jefferson, Half-Managed Mind CEO Charlotte Rooney, and host Brian Gorman explore the career challenges that women face. From advancing to that first "broken rung" in their careers, to senior-level positions, there are steps that women can take to claim their rightful identity and place. And there is both...

As a leader, how do you cultivate belonging in your organization? Brad Deutser, our guest for Episode 52, returns to discuss the second part of his book "Belonging Rules: Five Crucial Actions that Build Unity and Foster Performance." Brad and host Brian Gorman dig into the practical value of belonging and how you as a leader (even if you are only the "leader of you") can foster belonging for yours...

In this episode, Julien C. Mirivel and Alexander Lyon, authors of "Positive Communication for Leaders: Proven Strategies for Inspiring Unity and Effecting Change," join host Brian Gorman to discuss the importance of leadership communication and its impact on both individuals and the organization. Both the book and this conversation take a practical look on how leaders at all levels can shift their...

You have a brand at work. Whether intentionally crafted or not, when people hear your name, receive an email or digital message from you, or see you on the screen or in person, your brand comes to mind. Quantuvos coach Rei Perovic joins host Brian Gorman to explore this often-overlooked topic. What goes into a personal brand? How do you shape it? What can you do to break that initial box, stereoty...

There is no single solution for the best leadership team. That said, the extensive research of Thomas Keil and Marianna Zangrillo has resulted in important models for leadership teams that are best fitted for different types of organizations and different situations the organization is facing. Host Brian Gorman, Thomas, and Marianna explore several of the key messages that the authors present in "...

We’ve all heard the saying, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” And we all encounter those forks; sometimes we see them coming, and sometimes we don’t. Janet Redwine, Olympic athlete and Director of Program Success for Executive Education in the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver, joins host Brian Gorman for this inquiry into aspirations vs. goals, recognizing turn...

The global impact of Covid serves as the backdrop for Jeff Skipper's "Dancing with Disruption: Leading Dramatic Change During Global Transformation." Jeff uses the pandemic and responses to it as a case study of twelve strategies for moving through change. In this conversation, Jeff and host Brian Gorman dive into several of those strategies and why they are so important regardless of the scale of...

When we think of leadership development, our attention turns to the skills that leaders need. But as important as those skills are, their value is limited if they are not applied with an appropriate level of leadership maturity. In this episode, Jessica Bronzert, Founder and CEO of Sparks Group, joins host Brian Gorman to discuss horizontal (skills) vs. vertical (maturity) development. The need fo...

We all have choice in how we live our lives; while the choices may not always be what we want, there still is choice. In this episode, Rahul Karan Sharma, author of Habits 4 Miracles: Design Your Life Your Way joins host Brian Gorman in an often-personal conversation about the choices we have and the habits we can develop to foster positive choices. Applying the lessons of this podcast has the pot...

At the heart of business success is trust: trust with those who work for the organization, with vendors, and with customers. In The Pyramid Puzzle, Zain Raj, Co-Founder of Shapiro, Raj, writes an engaging business novel about a long-term business that has lost trust. Raj and host Brian Gorman use The Pyramid Puzzle to discuss how trust can be lost and how it can be regained. Among the key messages...

What are you seeking in your life? Grant Muller, author of "Top of Heart" left high school with the ambition and drive to achieve significance. By his late 20s, he was a tech industry millionaire, an alcoholic, and a junkie. As Grant says of that time in his life, "The success we achieve may not give us the fulfillment we are seeking." In this deeply personal and reflective episode, Grant joins ho...

You are an incredible storyteller! Every one of us is. And our brains are story processors, not logic processors. Richard Rosser is a filmmaker, author, and master storyteller. You probably know his work as a writer for 24, This is Us, Gray's Anatomy, the reboot of MacGyver, or elsewhere. Richard and host Brian Gorman explore why stories are so powerful and how to make the stories you tell others...

In his recently published book, Brad Deutser, founder and CEO of Deutser, asks leaders to "make cultivating belonging a personal leadership imperative across the world." In discussing "Belonging Rules: Five Crucial Actions that Build Unity and Foster Performance," Brad and host Brian Gorman explore human-centric leadership and the five rules that Brad and his team have identified through extensive...