The Human Connection Podcast

The Human Connection Podcast

by Karl Pontau
ManagementMarketing
Season 2
Your Executive Team Never Learned to Lead People. AI Just Proved It | Adam Johnson
"Surveillance is power over people. Visibility is power with people." Adam Johnson has led AI strategy work inside Microsoft and Amazon, and now spends his days telling mid-sized companies the thing they don't want to hear: their AI rollout isn't failing because of the technology. It's failing because they never built the trust required to roll anything out successfully in the first place. Karl and Adam dig into why so many AI initiatives are stalling out, why the resulting layoffs are less about AI and more about years of leadership teams optimizing for systems instead of people, and what it actually takes to rebuild the kind of trust that lets an organization move fast without breaking itself. What you'll get from this episode: Why most AI rollouts fail — and it's rarely the technology The leadership skill gap AI adoption has quietly exposed across executive teams The real difference between surveillance and visibility, and why only one builds a functioning org Why blaming layoffs on AI often masks years of overhiring and weak strategy Adam's concept of "evolutionary capitalism" — treating profit as a constraint instead of the goal #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #AIStrategy === You can connect with Adam Johnson here: raferconsulting.lovable.app linkedin.com/in/adam-johnson-454277 calendar.app.google/gsdRqLPjUyZWtXDSA You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E240
Sep 3, 2026
22:17
Dr. Liz DuBois Erskine: Why Only 4% of Million-Dollar Companies Are Run by Women
"Aggressive is assertive. Men are assertive and women are aggressive. Same behavior." Dr. Liz DuBois Erskine has a PhD in conflict resolution and has coached leaders through Disney, iHeartRadio, and beyond — and she spends up to half of every coaching session doing one specific thing: rehearsing how her clients talk, not what they know. Because on paper, the barriers are gone. In practice, 40% of American companies are run by women — and only 4% of the companies making seven figures or more are. Karl and Dr. Liz dig into the "bitch vs. boss" double standard, why the advice to "just be your authentic self" can actually sabotage women leaders, and why the leadership skills the modern business world actually needs — empathy, listening, consensus-building — are the ones women have been told for decades to downplay. What you'll get from this episode: The stat every executive should sit with: 40% of companies are women-run, only 4% of million-dollar companies are Why "just be authentic" is often bad advice — and what Dr. Liz does instead with high-performing clients The role-playing exercise Dr. Liz runs with a top-10%-intelligence attorney client, and why it takes up half their coaching time How unconscious bias — not individual malice — is what actually keeps this gap in place Why the leadership skills the AI-era business world rewards most are the ones historically coded as "soft" — and who's already better at them #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #WomenInLeadership === You can connect with Dr. Liz DuBois Erskine here: Website: https://drlizdubois.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bizdrliz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bizdrliz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedrliz/ You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E239
Sep 2, 2026
24:15
Suzanne Spencer: Building Resilience Rep by Rep After Two Brain Surgeries
"We build resilience rep by rep." Suzanne Spencer isn't talking about willpower. She's talking about the small, unremarkable moments — the car trouble, the crummy Tuesday, the thing that doesn't go according to plan — that either build the muscle or let it atrophy. She'd know: a decade as a TV news anchor covering other people's worst days, then two brain surgeries of her own — the second just weeks after becoming a first-time mom — turned that observation into a framework she now takes into boardrooms and keynote stages. Karl sits down with Suzanne to unpack her MIC framework (Mindset, Inner Voice, Community) and why the same skills that get someone through a health crisis are the exact skills that keep a leadership team standing when the business hits its own. What you'll get from this episode: Why resilience isn't a trait you hire for — it's reps you either take or skip, every single day The mindset shift Suzanne made in the first weeks after diagnosis, and how it applies the moment things go sideways in your business Why "inner voice" — how you talk to yourself under pressure — is a leadership skill nobody trains for The uncomfortable truth about community: you are not more resilient alone, and pretending otherwise costs you How Suzanne turned a deeply personal story into a repeatable, measurable keynote framework — and what that says about turning any hard-won lesson into something your team can actually use #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #Resilience === You can connect with Suzanne Spencer here: https://www.suzannespeaks.com/ You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E238
Sep 1, 2026
20:59
You Recorded the Episode, But Missed the Actual Opportunity. | Marlen Kakkori
"The leverage is what happens afterwards." — Marlen Kakkori Marlen Kakkori has built her entire business around a topic most founders get wrong the moment they hit record: how to actually be a good podcast guest. She's the founder of the Podcast Conversion Lab, and her core insight is blunt — the interview itself isn't where the value is. The relationship you build with the host after it ends is. Karl and Marlen get into the number of shows it actually takes before podcast guesting starts converting (it's higher than you think), why "category of one" positioning beats every generic title on your LinkedIn bio, and why the guests who share their actual story — flaws included — are the ones people remember and refer. What you'll get from this episode: Why most of the value from a podcast appearance comes after the recording stops, not during it The real number of shows it takes before guesting starts producing leads and referrals What "category of one" positioning is, and why "another strategist" or "another founder" gets forgotten instantly The book-backed idea that teaching is the fastest path to closing sales Why sharing your actual, unpolished story builds more trust than any credential list #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #B2BRelationships === You can connect with Marlen Kakkori here: https://www.skool.com/the-podcast-conversion-lab-1632 https://www.linkedin.com/in/marlenkakkori You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E237
Aug 27, 2026
20:46
Briana Brugh: Why Being Polished Is Killing Your Brand
"When you use AI for everything... you've basically put on a costume." — Briana Brugh Briana Brugh spent a decade in marketing doing the buttoned-up LinkedIn thought-leadership thing everyone else was doing — 2,000 followers, nothing moving. Then she stopped being a "marketer" and started being a "professional yapper," posting about Hamburger Helper and Nicolas Cage instead of frameworks and funnels. That decision built a newsletter, a website, and eventually a full media company. Karl and Briana get into why the brands most afraid to be different are the ones quietly dying, the CPG brand that took 1% of a category dominated by decades-old competitors by being funny instead of safe, and why every founder who says "we want to be irreverent" backs out the second it's time to actually risk something. What you'll get from this episode: Why sounding "polished" is now the fastest way to disappear in a saturated market The real story behind how "yapping" turned into a media company Why AI-generated content is quietly making every brand voice sound the same — and what that costs you What it actually looks like when a founder says "let's be bold" and means the opposite Why the smaller, scrappier companies have a real edge over larger, risk-averse ones right now #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #B2BRelationships === You can connect with Briana Brugh here: TheYapperGazette.com LooseCannon.co You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E236
Aug 26, 2026
21:09
Nobody Wants to Follow a Leader Who Sounds Like a Script | Aaron Smalls
"The room will always tell you where it is and how it feels." — Aaron Smalls Aaron Smalls has spent 20 years reading rooms for a living — from his start at Nickelodeon through DJing, acting, hosting the FIFA World Cup coverage in Boston, and now working as the audience warm-up host for The Kelly Clarkson Show. He's built a framework called Charismatic Advantage around the one thing he says every executive is missing on stage: energy, and the discipline to actually read it. Karl and Aaron get into the backstage moment Aaron humanized a robotic, script-locked speaker in real time before she ever said a word, the acronym he uses to save a talk the second it goes sideways, and the University of Michigan research on "positive relational energy" that explains why some leaders people want to follow — and most just tolerate. What you'll get from this episode: Why the first three seconds on any stage (or Zoom call) matter more than the words you planned The SAVE framework for recovering live when a talk or presentation goes off-script A real story of humanizing a data-only, script-locked speaker backstage — and what it did to the room What "positive relational energy" is, and why it predicts performance and innovation better than most leadership metrics Why the AI adoption problems most companies are having are actually communication problems in disguise #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #B2BRelationships === You can connect with Aaron Smalls here: CharismaticAdvantage.com AaronSmalls.com You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E235
Aug 25, 2026
24:18
You Speak First in Every Meeting. That's the Problem. | Shruti Rustagi
"Not all mistakes are equal." — Shruti Rustagi Shruti Rustagi spent two decades in Fortune 400 strategy roles, most recently at Amazon, before becoming a leadership coach and EQ speaker — and her new book landed the same week this episode drops. Her argument: most executives were never trained on the one skill their job now actually requires, and it's costing them their teams before it shows up on a single dashboard. Karl and Shruti get into the hat someone left in the middle of a conference table to signal "you're not being heard," the JFK trick for getting your team to actually disagree with you, and why treating every mistake the same way is quietly killing your company's ability to innovate. What you'll get from this episode: The three pillars of fearless leadership — and why most executives are only working on one of them A simple physical prop one C-level leader used to build psychological safety in their very first team meeting The "speak last" rule that gets your team to tell you what they actually think Why not all mistakes deserve the same reaction — and the three-bucket framework for telling them apart What it actually means to listen past the words someone is saying to you #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #B2BRelationships === You can connect with Shruti Rustagi here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrutirustagi/ https://www.youtube.com/@shruti.rustagi_cl https://open.spotify.com/show/1NdPgXTJbM4gC5HfAYgCu3 You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E234
Aug 20, 2026
21:08
You Closed the Deal. You Just Started the Hard Part. | Michael Crane
"It's really not the words that you say, but it's how you made them feel that is what stays with you." — Michael Crane Michael Crane spent five years running into other people's worst days as a firefighter before a blood clotting disorder forced him out of the job. Now he's a sales and strategic partnerships leader at Talkiatry, and the instinct he built running toward emergencies is the exact same one he uses to sell virtual psychiatry access to healthcare gatekeepers who've heard every pitch before. Karl and Michael get into why "how was your weekend" is a conversation-killer disguised as small talk, the "opportunity document" Michael builds before every call so he never shows up not knowing who he's talking to, and why the deals he's most proud of are the ones where he told a prospect exactly what his company doesn't do. What you'll get from this episode: The one question Michael asks instead of "how are you" — and why it changes the entire tone of a virtual meeting Why leading with a personal story (including a failed suicide attempt in his own family) builds trust faster than any credential can How doing your homework before a call is a form of respect, not just prep Why telling a prospect what you can't do builds more trust than promising to solve everything The mindset shift from "we closed the deal" to "we just started the next lap" #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #B2BRelationships === You can connect with Michael Crane here: https://www.talkiatry.com/ You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E233
Aug 19, 2026
22:17
You Told Your Team You're Fine. Your Body Told Them Something Else. | Joel Elfman
"I say resiliency over perfection." — Joel Elfman Every executive we've ever had on this show is trying to optimize themselves the same way they optimize their org chart. Joel Elfman — hypnotist, performance coach, and 25-year veteran of NLP, tai chi, and somatic movement therapy — thinks that's exactly backwards. Before you can fix a team's trust problem, you have to fix your own relationship with the 65% of communication that isn't coming out of your mouth. Joel and Karl get into the exit-event emptiness nobody warns founders about, the "emotional muscle building" rep he teaches clients to do before they blow up in a board meeting, and the exact moment he had a client stand up and mentally bench-press "500 pounds of love and 500 pounds of money" to break a belief she didn't even know she was holding. What you'll get from this episode: Why the executives who look the most in control are usually the least connected to themselves — and what that costs the people reporting to them The "emotional muscle building" drill Joel uses to help leaders catch a bad reaction before it becomes a bad reaction Why "resiliency over perfection" is a more useful standard than the balance you keep telling your team you're modeling The physical exercise that got a stuck client unstuck on a belief she'd been carrying for years What your body is broadcasting to your team right now, whether you meant it to or not #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #B2BRelationships === You can connect with Joel Elfman here: http://www.bodymindhypnotic.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-elfman-bodymind-hypnotic You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E232
Aug 18, 2026
20:22
Caitlin Bigelow | Blazil CMO on the Content Litmus Test That Actually Works
"The posts that I've felt most vulnerable or most exposed tend to be the posts that perform the best." You've got a content team, a brand voice, and a library of talking points — and none of it moves anyone. Caitlin Bigelow, CMO at Blazil, has watched this pattern from both sides: she grew a YouTube channel to over 120 million views telling stories to four-year-olds, and now she's coaching hundreds of companies through the exact same problem at the executive level. The audience changes. The mechanism doesn't. In this conversation, Caitlin breaks down why storytelling — not polish, not production value — is what separates content that builds real trust from the AI-generated noise flooding every feed. She shares the two-part litmus test she uses to filter her own content, the personal pivot that took her from single-digit LinkedIn likes to a 7,000-follower audience without spending a dollar on ads, and the story of a stealth-launch marketing stunt so absurd it accidentally became true — she joked about getting her company kicked out of its co-working space, and then actually got kicked out. What you'll walk away with: The two-question litmus test Caitlin uses to decide if content is worth publishing — or if it's what she calls "the death of content" Why the content people are most afraid to post is usually the content that performs best How Caitlin rebuilt an entire LinkedIn audience from zero after pivoting industries — and how long it actually took The manager's one-line question that reshaped how she thinks about every piece of content since: "What's in it for me?" Why the most effective brand marketing right now doesn't look like marketing at all — including the fake eviction stunt that turned real #H2H #HumanConnectionPodcast #StartupLeadership #CompanyCulture #B2BRelationships === You can connect with Caitlin Bigelow here: www.Blazel.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlinbigelow You can connect with Karl Pontau here: www.vouchedconnections.com www.thehumanconnectionpodcast.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpontau https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUbf_bDWwB9KVrFn5Sj3u2w?sub_confirmation=1 Please like, subscribe, and share this episode with somebody you care about!
S2 · E231
Aug 13, 2026
25:50
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