Only Human – News, Analysis, and Insights from the World of Human Performance

In the Season 2 finale of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, Tony breaks down the two major components of “readiness:” preparation and vigilance. Our challenges can be overcome through Mental, Emotional, Behavioral, and Physical Preparedness—this is half of the readiness equation. Vigilance—even hyper-vigilance—can be achieved by monitoring our self- and situational awareness, sustained...

In this follow-up episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast on self-defeating patterns, we tackle eight more. Based on a reader comment from the last episode, Tony takes a more positive approach by highlighting the upsides of each thought/behavior pattern. Issues covered range from  Imposter   Syndrome ,  People   Pleasing , and  Blame   Shifting  to  Self-Sabotage  and  Chronic   Wor...

When does self-reflection become destructive self-criticism? When does smart planning turn into procrastination? In this week’s  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, our host responds to a reader question to address self-defeating thoughts and behaviors through multiple lenses. This episode is an examination of the upsides and downsides of certain personal thinking patterns and behaviors to dis...

Join Tony and our special guest, bestselling author Adrienne Somerville, for expert insights about talent management, being a mentor, finding a mentor, and so much more. The discussion includes industry-spanning topics like the generational handoff, mentoring people and growing talent over focusing on production or profits, company culture, professionalism, the impacts of COVID, and much more. Opt...

This week we finish our deep-dive discussion of the Blue Threat Proverbs we use on the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast. Follow along as Tony explains proverbs 21–35, including “Strange things happen near the boundaries,” “Only Human is the ultimate oxymoron,” and one of Tony’s absolute favorites, “Harness the Merlin Effect,” about the power of mentorship to improve not only the mentee, but...

In this episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, Tony reflects upon a prayer from writer  Laura Jean Truman  about the potential of emotions to be used for good or deformed into anger, cruelty, and evil. The last line of this prayer stands out especially: “Keep me fiercely kind,” and from this inspiration, Tony reflects on this prayer and crafts his own version in alignment with his...

In a world reshaped by new technologies, economic & social pressures, generational changes, and new workplace models, what does leadership even look like? Certainly not what it used to. This week on the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, we explore some counterintuitive ideas and how we can still shape the leadership & professionalism of tomorrow, albeit not the same way we did yeste...

Delivering bad news is one of the most difficult conversations most of us ever have. They are also some of the most important. This week on the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, Tony draws on his personal and professional experience to walk us through delivering bad news in a variety of scenarios and settings. Giving or receiving bad news is never easy, but with preparation and practice we...

One of our favorite Blue Threat Proverbs states: “Noncompliance is addictive and progressive.” But it can also be  viral , spreading within ourselves and eventually to others, like a pandemic with completely unforeseen consequences for everyone. In this week’s episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast, Tony revisits the idea of “mindful noncompliance” to establish the essential conside...

This week’s episode of the Only Human Podcast with Dr. Tony Kern features another amazing special guest: Elmar Luttar. Until a very recent “passing of the torch,” Elmar was the CEO of Lufthansa Technik Philippines. He is also author of the book, Error Traps, about his approach to reducing human error in the maintenance teams at Lufthansa. Don’t miss this lively discussion of his tenure at Lufthans...

An interesting trend has emerged in research of Gen Z in the workforce: they rank salary lower than intangible factors such as company culture, flexibility, and work/life balance. In today’s  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern , learn  why  these intangible factors are critical—for every professional—by viewing them in a different way:  psychological salary, emotional salary, behavioral salary,  and  s...

Join us this week for another special guest! This episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  features Jermaine “Caddy” Cadogan for a personal discussion between two retired military officers from different service branches (Air Force and Marines, respectively) on the crossover—and lack thereof—concerning leadership principles between miliary and civilian work and life.  The discussion ranges f...

In this episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, Tony’s list of the biggest mistakes leaders make becomes a confessional as he shares with us his personal “top 5” leadership mistakes. There’s no “inside baseball” here, as Tony provides both personal and well-known examples of each, from Elizabeth Holmes of the Theranos scandal to product failures like Google Glass. Whether you’re a...

This week we continue our deep-dive discussion of the Blue Threat Proverbs we use on the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast. Tony briefly reviews the origin of the concept and then does a deep dive on proverbs like “You’re only as committed as you are convinced,” “The fourth dimension is the first decision,” and fan favorite “Never trust a dead villain.” This episode covers the next ten Blue...

In a first for the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, this episode features not one but two special guests who join Tony for a lively discussion on leadership, family, and parenting. Bryan Burns is President and CEO of the Air Charter Safety Foundation and father of two highly successful children, now adults.  Rachel Kern is a college athlete and corporate retail manager who is raising two y...

If it isn’t possible to capitalize on opportunities without taking some risk, we can at least take  smart risks . What do we mean by that? On this week’s episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, we explore the idea of “personal risk thresholds” which define different types of risk takers and what this means for each of us. Tune in for a risk threshold self-assessment that simplifies...

In this week’s episode, Dr. Kern investigates how we can drive our performance through the lens of military theorist Carl von Clausewitz to learn about the “Fog of War” and how it applies to our everyday decisions and actions. Discussion of Clausewitz’ “remarkable “trinity of war” composed of emotion, reason, and chance—illustrate their usefulness on our everyday battlefields of life. Purchase Onl...

This week we grant a viewer request for more information on the weekly Blue Threat Proverbs we use on the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast. Tony discusses the origin of the concept and then does a deep dive on proverbs like “Human error is not a victimless crime” and the personally powerful “Habits are better than rules.” This episode covers the first ten Blue Threat Proverbs with additiona...

As we’ve examined over the last couple of episodes, problems have a life of their own. Join us for this week’s episode of the Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern podcast to conclude this discussion with a fascinating fictional ally: the young protagonist Ender Wiggin of the classic sci-fi book Ender’s Game. Tony explores Ender’s unique approach to problem solving in the novel, leading to an actionable s...

In our last episode, we discussed analyzing problems versus the freedom in seeking solutions instead. This week on the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, Tony follows that idea with a decision-making matrix that requires us to weigh the consequences of our response, any delays, and how reversible those consequences are when making decisions. Tune in to discover how putting the appropriate va...

Sometimes we get caught up in an “analysis paralysis” that hampers our progress as the problem we’re trying to solve evolves faster than their solution can be implemented. In this episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, Tony shares his personal approach of “rapid prototyping” to make incremental improvements and foster a mindset of resilience and adaptability. Get off the bench and...

Last week we discussed the dual nature of chaos and order and how chaos can sometimes be a good thing. On this week’s episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast, Tony drives us deep into the heart of chaos to provide listeners with his tactics to handle the crazy and unknown; things like embracing flexibility, cultivating a growth mindset, building personal resilience, and finding calm...

Has the world grown more chaotic? This episode of the  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast explores the nature of order and chaos, how we must learn to grow comfortable—perhaps even embrace—certain amounts of chaos, and what to do when predictability is impossible to find. Taking inspiration from retired US Marine Corps General Al Grey, Tony discusses surviving and thriving amidst chaos to prod...

In this final episode on workmanship, Tony delves into how we can lose passion for things we once cared about, leading to a lack of focus, intention, and  attention.  He leads a thought-provoking journey on how we can restore our attention to detail by defeating the “psychological worm” that burrows into our minds through a five-step process. Tune in for all the details!

Following our last episode that redefined workmanship, this week’s  Only Human with Dr. Tony Kern  podcast continues the discussion using the classic Airmanship Model as a starting point. Tony explains how the bedrock principles, pillars of knowledge, and capstone outcomes of the new Workmanship Model result in high quality, error free work. Whether you seek to improve your baking skills, complete...