Daily Influence

Leaders don’t fail because they make bad decisions. They fail because they’re forced to make too many. In Episode 697 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith, PhD explores decision fatigue—the silent drain on leadership effectiveness that most business owners don’t recognize until it’s already impacting performance. When every question, approval, and direction flows through the leader, the organization do...

What if structure isn’t about control — but about freedom? In this episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Silyana Bozileva, a global leader with over 17 years of experience building and guiding multicultural teams across customer experience, operations, and early-stage growth environments. From serving as a CEO and COO in startups to leading service standards at UKG, Silyan...

Accountability is one of the most misunderstood responsibilities in leadership. Too often, leaders fall into one of two traps—avoidance or aggression. They either delay difficult conversations hoping issues resolve themselves, or they overcorrect with pressure, believing intensity drives performance. But neither approach works. In Episode 695 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith, PhD breaks down a more...

What if the most powerful leadership lessons came from moments where every word truly mattered? In this compelling episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Scott Tillema — FBI-trained hostage negotiator, former SWAT crisis negotiator, and senior law enforcement leader — to explore how high-stakes communication principles translate directly into everyday leadership. With more...

Trust is one of the most talked about concepts in leadership—and one of the least understood in practice. In Episode 693 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith, PhD challenges the common belief that trust is built in big moments. Instead, he reveals how trust is quietly formed—or fractured—through small, everyday actions. From missed follow-ups to inconsistent expectations, these “micro-betrayals” often...

Are you trying to build a team? In this revisit to Daily Influence episode 145 we discuss some tips to help build your team, regardless of size and vocation.

After 40 years in the apparel industry, Michael Bernstein had a realization: seeing the problem wasn’t enough—he had to act. On this episode of Daily Influence, Michael shares how that conviction led him to launch Burnastic, a company transforming textile and plastic waste into a sustainable polymer designed to reduce global carbon footprints. In this inspiring conversation, we explore: • The mome...

In this revisit to Daily Influence episode 240, Brian Smith delves into the essence of leadership transitions and how everyone, at every level, holds leadership potential. Drawing insights from the I in Team book series, Brian discusses how recognizing individual influence, fostering a supportive environment, and maintaining a positive mindset can ease the stress and anxiety of leadership transiti...

What happens when life shatters the plan you carefully designed? In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Jennifer Wren Tolo—award-winning health and wellness coach, former critical care nurse, best-selling author, and transformational speaker known as The Soul Connector. Jennifer shares the pivotal experiences that shifted her life from l...

Remote and hybrid work are now permanent parts of the modern workplace. Technology allows teams to communicate instantly from anywhere in the world, but communication alone does not create cohesion. In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith explores the leadership challenge many organizations face today: the digital illusion of connection. When teams rely heavily on messaging platforms, vide...

When emotions spike, leadership is no longer theoretical — it’s neurological. In Episode 687 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith sits down with conflict resolution expert Doug Noll, Distinguished Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, co-founder of Prison of Peace, Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, and author of the bestselling book De...

Is communication really a “soft skill” — or is it one of the most powerful profit drivers in your business? In this episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Shelley Goldstein, leadership development coach, creator of the Remarkable Framework, and author of the #1 international bestselling book Remarkable Speaking. Shelley works with executives and business owners in high-stak...

In today’s business environment, leaders are surrounded by constant noise—tariffs, regulatory changes, political rhetoric, and nonstop commentary about what might happen next. Markets react quickly, headlines amplify uncertainty, and organizations often feel pressure to respond just as quickly. But responsible leadership requires something different. In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith...

In this episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Naowshaba Ferdous, global personal brand strategist, speaker, and business mentor who has supported women across 27 countries in generating more than $10 million in revenue. Naowshaba shares her journey from a conventional path toward law to building a thriving business rooted in storytelling, behavioral psychology, and authent...

For more than a decade, businesses operated in an environment of easy capital. Low interest rates, aggressive funding cycles, and abundant investment made rapid expansion feel normal. Growth was often measured by speed rather than sustainability. But that era is changing. In Episode 683 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith explores The New Capital Reality — Growth Without Easy Money and why financial d...

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 disci...

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 givin...

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 — tha...

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 a...

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...

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....

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 yea...

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 f...

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 o...

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...