Expert Intelligence with Paul Estes

Career coach and author Ozlem Brooke Erol spent years chasing the formula: good grades, impressive company name, solid title, only to feel completely hollow inside. In this candid conversation with Paul Estes, Brooke traces the history of work itself and makes the case that the systems are failing us, not the other way around. Her new book, You're More Than a Paycheck, is part permission slip, part workbook.

If you've ever woken up Sunday night with dread already setting in, this episode is for you.

You'll Learn:

Why the 9-to-5 was a historical experiment, not a permanent design for human flourishing, and what that means for your career today

The framework Brooke uses with clients to escape the either/or trap of financial necessity vs. meaningful work

How to walk the four paths to purpose, including the first steps anyone can take today

Why reflection is the most underused career tool, and the simple practices that make it accessible (even if sitting with discomfort feels impossible)

How limiting beliefs are inherited, invisible, and nearly impossible to spot without an outside perspective

What the Three Masons parable reveals about finding meaning in any job, even one you didn't choose

The one piece of advice Brooke would give her 25-year-old self about self-doubt (and why it applies to anyone at any career stage)

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Producer: David Grabowski | Theme Music: Aleksey Chistilin

Think about the last time you saw a company's marketing and actually felt something more than mild interest.

Chances are you're struggling to come up with one. And that's not an accident.

Vi Wickam has spent 30 years in digital marketing, helping companies fix this mistake. His premise is simple and kind of uncomfortable: honest marketing always wins, most companies aren't doing it, and AI is about to make the gap between the two a whole lot wider.

But this conversation goes deeper than marketing. Vi and Paul get into something most people don't want to sit with: your creative thinking might be slowly dying. You probably haven't noticed because your social media feed has been doing your thinking for you. Just one example from the episode: Paul Simon didn't stay creative by consuming more of the same thing. He listened to different music. That’s it. And if that sounds too simple to matter, that's exactly the problem.

You'll Learn:

Why most companies don't actually have a brand, and the uncomfortable truth about what's missing

The “10-80-10” framework for working with AI without letting it take over the parts that actually require a human

How to uncover what your company genuinely stands for before you build a single word of marketing around it

Why your one-star and three-star reviews are worth more than every five-star review combined

The real reason your creative thinking has stalled (hint: it's not a lack of talent)

What skills will still matter when AI has absorbed everything it can, and how to start building them now

Why brand consistency isn't a marketing problem, it's a truth problem (and how to close that gap for good)

Subscribe to Expert Intelligence so you don't miss future conversations with the innovators, operators, and thinkers shaping the future of work and technology.

Producer: David Grabowski | Theme Music: Aleksey Chistilin

I spent an hour with Diana Wu David, a top 10 global futurist who advises Fortune 500s on what's next. She told me 95% of workers see value in using AI, but they don't trust their companies to ensure positive outcomes for them.

So people automate parts of their job in secret. They become what Diana calls "secret cyborgs."

We've created an environment where being more productive is something you have to hide. And the organizations that are actually succeeding with AI aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets, they're the ones doing "job crafting"—redesigning work in partnership with employees, not imposing AI from above.

Diana also dropped a brutal insight on how AI gets adopted (poorly) at scale, why AI is making everyone busier, and the one skill your kids actually need in the AI age.

What You'll Learn:

What the AI trust crisis is costing organizations

The three-year AI revolution: why this technology is integrating 3x faster than any general-purpose technology in history, and why most companies aren't ready

Job crafting vs. job cutting: the specific approach companies that succeed with AI are taking (and why AI-native startups have it easiest)

What the "capability absorption gap" means for your career

The productivity paradox: why AI made your time more valuable, which made you busier than ever

How the role of the middle manager has fundamentally shifted

The one skill to teach your kids that schools won't

Subscribe to the Expert Intelligence podcast so you don't miss future conversations with leaders at the forefront of technological transformation. Each episode brings you practical insights to navigate our rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Kevin Henrikson has built and sold companies for hundreds of millions, scaled teams at Microsoft and Instacart, and now runs an AI healthcare startup—and he called complete bullshit on the productivity myth we've all been sold.

The most unmovable meeting on his calendar? 8 PM: GO TO SLEEP. When people want late meetings, he says no. When he travels, his admin moves the sleep block. In his 20s, he was the "code until 2 AM" guy. Now? He protects his ability to think like his business depends on it. Because it does.

But the biggest insight that stuck with me: "If you got in a car accident tomorrow and had to be out for three days, you'd cancel everything. People would understand. You need to give yourself permission to have that car accident periodically."

What You'll Learn:

Why AI is creating chaos instead of productivity—and the one habit that breaks the cycle

The health stack that replaced Kevin's expensive concierge doctor

Why teaching kids to self-regulate with technology beats helicopter parenting every time

How voice AI is solving the work in healthcare that nobody actually wants to do

Why blocking sleep on your calendar might be the most productive decision you'll ever make

Kevin's framework for when to use AI and when to just close all the tabs and think

In a world drowning in AI-generated content, Joe Lazer is betting his career on the one skill machines can't replicate: authentic storytelling. The author of The Storytelling Edge and creator of a popular Substack newsletter walked away from an executive role at a fast-growing startup to pursue what he calls humanity's most essential superpower. In this candid conversation with Paul Estes, Joe reveals why he left stability to write his second book, how he built and sold his first media company, and why the "vortex of mid" is sucking the soul out of modern content.

Understanding which skills will matter when machines can do almost everything else is crucial. Joe shares his framework for using AI ethically in the creative process, explains why neural coupling makes storytelling our most powerful business tool, and offers a radically different vision for preparing the next generation. From the neuroscience of oxytocin to the reputational damage of AI slop, learn why mastering storytelling might be the ultimate competitive advantage in an AI-saturated world.

You'll Learn:

Why AI creates a "vortex of mid" that traps content creators in mediocrity and how to avoid it

The ideation-research-refine framework for using AI as a creative partner without losing your voice

How storytelling triggers neural coupling, making listeners' brains sync with yours to build instant connection and trust

Why the reputational damage from publishing AI-generated content is vastly underestimated by most professionals

Lessons from building and selling a media company at 22 years old

Why soft skills like storytelling, adaptability, and empathy will be lasting competitive advantages

Subscribe to Expert Intelligence so you don't miss future conversations with industry leaders who are navigating the intersection of technology, creativity, and the future of work.

Resources Mentioned:

The Storytelling Edged by Joe Lazer and Shane Snow

Dr. Paul Zak's neuromarketing research (Claremont University)

Kyla Scanlon's newsletter on economics and narrative