Daily Influence

So many high-achieving women quietly carry burnout that goes far deeper than a packed calendar and today’s conversation names what’s really happening underneath it.

Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Dr. Julie Merriman, licensed mental health clinician, counselor educator, burnout researcher, author, and founder of the Soul Joy brand, to unpack what she calls identity burnout: the slow erosion that happens when we keep performing ...

Thirty years ago, Individual Advantages began not as a firm with a master plan, but as a vehicle for learning — a place to observe how people behave when technology, pressure, and change enter their world.

In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith, PhD reflects on what three decades of S.M.A.R.T. Management — and a lifetime of learning, mistakes, and evolution — have revealed about leadership, growth, and responsibility.

Th...

What if influence wasn’t about perfection, polish, or titles—but about energy, accountability, and how you show up for others?

In this episode of Daily Influence, host Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Chris Starkey, partner at Mojo Maker and the personality behind Dance Dad TV, to explore what positive and responsible influence looks like in real life.

Chris shares his journey from performer and entrepreneur to purpose-driven le...

Join Brian Smith on this revisit to episode 226 of the Daily Influence as he delves into the power of fostering a growth mindset within your teams by defining and implementing equity and inclusion.

Discover how promoting diversity and creating an inclusive culture can enhance continuous learning, resilience, adaptability, and psychological safety in your organization. Brian shares insights on how these principles align with organ...

Most leaders don’t wake up planning to react all day — but urgency keeps winning.

Emails pull focus.

Problems demand attention.

Decisions stack up faster than they can be made.

In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith explains why reactivity isn’t a leadership flaw — it’s a systems signal. He explores how a lack of structure creates urgency, how leaders unintentionally become bottlenecks, and why disciplined cadence and acc...

Connection is not accidental — it’s intentionally designed.

In this episode of Daily Influence, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Aaron Smalls, host, DJ, Experience Architect, and creator of Charismatic Advantage: The Art of Social Energy. From his early days at Nickelodeon to commanding stages and designing high-trust experiences for audiences of 50 to 50,000, Aaron shares how presence, intention, and awareness shape meaningful...

Most leaders believe they’ve been clear.

Expectations were set. Goals were communicated. “Good” was explained.

And yet — execution still breaks down.

In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith explores why the real breakdown isn’t effort or intent — it’s accountability. He unpacks why expectations without ownership create frustration, how accountability has been misunderstood as control, and why disciplined accountability a...

In this powerful episode of Daily Influence, host Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Arianna Rose and Soleil Laurent, the visionary founders of Equality Education, an organization redefining how emotional intelligence is taught across schools, communities, and organizations.

What began as a serendipitous friendship in Brooklyn during the pandemic has grown into a movement impacting over 100 New York City schools, partnering with m...

Speed gets attention. Patience builds trust.

In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith sits down with Mike Hinds, co-founder of Nashville Barrel Company, to explore what building a premium whiskey brand can teach us about leadership, influence, and long-term thinking.

Mike shares how Nashville Barrel Company grew from handwritten labels on a coffee table to distribution in 36 states—without sacrificing quality, culture, or...

Motivation gets us started — but it rarely gets us to the finish line.

In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith explores why execution has become the defining leadership skill in 2026, and why discipline — not motivation — is what sustains progress when energy fades, distractions rise, and uncertainty increases.

Brian breaks down the critical difference between emotional motivation and operational discipline, why most execu...

In this powerful episode of Daily Influence, host Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Eric Collett, CEO of A Mind for All Seasons, nationally recognized brain health expert, educator, and advocate for proactive cognitive care.

Eric shares his unexpected journey from running assisted living and memory care communities to becoming a sought-after speaker and consultant in brain health, dementia care, and caregiver education. With a b...

Economic uncertainty is no longer an occasional disruption—it’s the environment leaders are operating in every day.

Tariffs, market volatility, geopolitical pressure, AI disruption, and shifting consumer confidence have changed how leadership must show up. In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith explores why resilience alone isn’t enough—and how strategic influence becomes the defining leadership skill when conditions are...

What if the gap between your potential and your results isn’t motivation… but autopilot?

In today’s Daily Influence episode, Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with entrepreneur, success mentor, and Think It, Be It founder John Mitchell to unpack the “missing secret” he uncovered inside the legendary book Think and Grow Rich—and how a simple 12-minute daily practice helped him shift from consistent low six figures to building a life th...

The world of work didn’t just change — it’s been completely unsettled.

Technology, AI, and shifting expectations have disrupted traditional roles, job titles, and career paths. Outcomes now matter more than hours. Skills are replacing roles. And leadership is no longer about control — it’s about influence.

In Episode 653 of Daily Influence, Brian Smith slows the conversation down to focus on what truly matters in the new labor m...

For years, leaders treated technology as something we used.

AI has changed that dynamic.

In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith explores a shift many organizations are already experiencing — AI is no longer just a tool executing tasks. It’s recommending, prioritizing, predicting, and quietly influencing decisions.

That raises a new leadership question:

How do we lead when influence is shared with a non-human teammate?

...

Today on Daily Influence, host Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Larry Kaufman — global speaker, best-selling author of The NCG Factor, and one of the most respected relationship builders on LinkedIn. Larry has built a life and career anchored in responsible influence, generosity, and authentic connection. His philosophy is simple but profound: lead with giving, and success follows in unexpected ways.

In this conversation, Larry sh...

SMART doesn’t end once a goal is written down.

In this episode of the Daily Influence, Brian Smith builds on the recent discussions around milestones and attainability to introduce a critical shift in thinking: SMART is not a one-time goal-setting exercise—it’s a living cycle.

When goals, objectives, milestones, tasks, and feedback loops work together, SMART becomes a self-correcting system. This is how individuals stop waiting ...

In this powerful episode of Daily Influence, host Gregg-Brooke Koleno sits down with Serena Mastin—CEO, speaker, creative visionary, and author of the transformative memoir Exposed. Serena’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary: from surviving childhood instability, homelessness, and trauma to becoming a powerhouse leader who builds organizations rooted in creativity, courage, and connection.

Serena opens up about the pivotal...

In this episode of Daily Influence, Brian Smith picks up where we left off on why goals fail without milestones — and goes deeper into why milestones are what make goals attainable in the first place.

Milestones don’t make goals smaller or easier. They make them humanly achievable through structure, clarity, and momentum. When goals are unsequenced, they overwhelm. When milestones are SMART, they create psychological safety, reduc...