In the Age of AI, Your Name Is Your Most Valuable Asset
Release Date: 01/15/2026
Todd Nilson: Building Community That Actually Works (Online, Offline, and In Between)
On the Brink with Andi Simon
Humans need connection—not as a luxury, but as a foundation for thriving. Yet, in our hyper-connected world, loneliness persists. On this episode of On the Brink, I sat down with Todd Nilson, a community strategist with 25 years of experience in digital transformation and marketing for brands like Activision, Facebook, and SAP, to unpack what real community means and how to build it with intention. Who is Todd Nilson? Todd’s journey began in journalism, driven by an authentic curiosity about people and their stories. That passion evolved into a commitment to “building a bigger...
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In the Age of AI, Your Name Is Your Most Valuable Asset
On the Brink with Andi Simon
As artificial intelligence accelerates, many leaders, founders, and professionals are quietly asking the same question: Where do I still matter? If machines can write, analyze, summarize, and even “sound” human, what is left that cannot be automated? In this episode of On the Brink, I sat down with branding strategist and neuroscientist-turned-entrepreneur , co-founder of Brand Alchemy, to explore why a personal brand—not technology—is becoming the defining asset of the future. What emerged was a powerful reframing of branding—not as self-promotion, but as survival. Branding Isn’t...
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Oscar Barrera — How Business Anthropology Helped A Sourdough Company Grow
On the Brink with Andi Simon
What if the fastest route to meaningful growth isn’t about launching another ad campaign, hiring more salespeople, or optimizing your funnel? What if the real accelerator is simply listening—really listening—to what’s already happening around you? In this episode of On the Brink with Andi Simon, I had the pleasure of sitting down with —a brilliant corporate anthropologist and innovation strategist based in Mexico. Oscar and I share a core conviction: anthropology isn’t just something you do; it’s a way of seeing the world. It allows leaders to notice subtle patterns—those...
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Dr. Deborah Clary on Building a Culture of Curiosity at Work
On the Brink with Andi Simon
“Curiosity isn’t a soft skill. It’s a performance capability—and organizations are paying the price for ignoring it.” Summary What if the most powerful leadership capability isn’t having the right answers—but asking better questions? In this On the Brink with Andi Simon episode, Dr. Deborah Clary, author of The Curiosity Curve, explains why curiosity is a measurable driver of performance, engagement, and innovation—and how leaders can deliberately rebuild it to create stronger, more human-centered cultures. Why Curiosity May Be the Missing Link in Leadership and Culture Change...
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Finding Joy, Choice, and Control: A Conversation with Nicki Keohohou
On the Brink with Andi Simon
“People aren’t broken,” she told me. “Our job is not to fix them. It’s to hold them whole and complete.” On this episode of On the Brink, I had the privilege of speaking with a remarkable woman whose life journey embodies resilience, reinvention, and the profound power of choosing joy. Nicki Keohohou—bestselling author, award-winning entrepreneur, global speaker, and founder of Coach School—joined me from her home in Hawaii to reflect on the experiences that shaped her, the wisdom she teaches, and the mindset shifts we all need in today’s uncertain world. Nicki’s path...
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Rethinking Leadership: How to Pivot, Disrupt, and Transform with Marcia Daszko
On the Brink with Andi Simon
The first step to transformation is to stop doing what no longer works.” – Marcia Daszko On this episode of On the Brink with Andi Simon, I sat down with Marcia Daszko, a visionary leadership consultant and author of Pivot, Disrupt, Transform: How Leaders Beat the Odds and Survive. Marcia’s journey—from being “excruciatingly shy” to mentoring leaders at Apple, Boeing, and the U.S. Navy—reveals a rare combination of courage, curiosity, and clarity. Her lessons, rooted in the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, challenge leaders to abandon outdated management...
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How Can the Sixth Level Help Women Redefine Leadership?
On the Brink with Andi Simon
What happens when two powerful women—one a psychologist devoted to leadership transformation and the other a CEO who grew up in a family-run business—join forces to rethink what it means to lead? They discover the "Sixth Level" of Leadership! On this episode of On the Brink, Stacy Feiner, PsyD and Rachel Wallis Andreasson, MBA invite us to imagine leadership not as a position of power, but as a practice rooted in purpose, connection and care. The Birth of the Sixth Level Stacy Feiner, a high-performance psychologist and coach, has long focused on helping family and mid-market...
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Future-Proofing Fresh Produce: Max Teplitski's Blue Ocean Strategy® in Action
On the Brink with Andi Simon
On this episode of On the Brink, I sat down with Dr. Max Teplitski—Chief Science Officer at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA)—to explore how a mindset is reshaping food safety, member value, and the future of a global industry. Max has practiced Blue Ocean thinking since his days as a professor, and today he’s applying it at scale across a trade association that represents the entire fresh produce supply chain—from seed and inputs to retailers worldwide. From Competing to Creating: IFPA’s Three Strategic Pillars Rather than fighting for attention in...
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Peace Through Business Webinar with Monica Smiley
On the Brink with Andi Simon
Peace Through Business: Building Peace by Empowering Women Entrepreneurs In a world often torn by conflict, peace through business may sound like a lofty goal. Yet for nearly two decades, that’s exactly what Dr. Terry Neese , Monica Smiley, and the Peace Through Business Program have been accomplishing—helping women in Afghanistan, Rwanda, and now Uganda rise as entrepreneurs, leaders, and community changemakers. In the final episode of my three-part Peace Through Business podcast series, I was joined by Monica Smiley, president and founder of the Enterprising Women...
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Peace Through Business Webinar #2
On the Brink with Andi Simon
Peace Through Business: How Women in Rwanda and Afghanistan Are Rebuilding Nations Through Entrepreneurship In this special episode of On the Brink with Andi Simon, I continue our series spotlighting , a remarkable program empowering women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan, Rwanda, and beyond. The stories are profound, the impact undeniable, and the lessons universal: when women rise, entire nations begin to heal and prosper. As a corporate anthropologist and Blue Ocean Strategist, I want to remind us at the start: “When you invest in a woman entrepreneur, you invest in her...
info_outlineAs artificial intelligence accelerates, many leaders, founders, and professionals are quietly asking the same question: Where do I still matter? If machines can write, analyze, summarize, and even “sound” human, what is left that cannot be automated?
In this episode of On the Brink, I sat down with branding strategist and neuroscientist-turned-entrepreneur Carey James, co-founder of Brand Alchemy, to explore why a personal brand—not technology—is becoming the defining asset of the future.
What emerged was a powerful reframing of branding—not as self-promotion, but as survival.
Branding Isn’t About Visibility—It’s About Trust
Carey’s journey began in neuroscience labs and academic research, where brilliant minds often remain invisible. In these labs, the work mattered deeply, yet few people beyond their field ever heard about it. That disconnect led him to a simple realization: impact doesn’t scale unless people know who you are.
Branding, in Carey’s view, is not about being flashy or loud. It is about becoming trustable at scale.
Human beings evolved to live in tribes. We trusted the hunter, the healer, the builder—not because of logos or résumés, but because we knew who they were. That same ancient wiring still governs modern decision-making. Whether we are choosing a consultant, an executive hire, a keynote speaker, or a company to invest in, the first question is rarely “Is this organization impressive?” It is almost always: Do I trust this person?
Your Name Is the Asset—Not the Logo
One of Carey’s most important insights is deceptively simple: your personal name is likely the most valuable asset you will ever own.
Companies come and go. Products evolve. Roles change. But trust attached to your name transfers from project to project. This is why serial entrepreneurs can fail, pivot, and succeed again—while others disappear after one setback.
In the age of AI, this becomes even more critical. You will not always be the smartest voice in the room. Algorithms already out-compute us. What they cannot replicate, however, is your lived experience, judgment, pattern recognition, and imperfections. Those human elements—your way of thinking, questioning, connecting ideas—are what create differentiation.
The “Label on the Bottle” Problem
Most people struggle to articulate their own brand because they are trapped inside it. Carey calls this the label-on-the-bottle syndrome: when you are inside the bottle, you cannot see the label.
The solution is not more introspection—it is perspective. Carey encourages leaders to do what great organizations already do through 360-degree reviews: ask others how they experience you. Patterns emerge quickly. Strengths, quirks, values, and stories surface that feel obvious to everyone else—but invisible to you.
This external clarity becomes the foundation of an authentic brand, not a manufactured one.
Watch our podcast with Carey James here.
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