The Human Protocol

S2E20 | The Discipline Protocol: Self-Leadership in the Age of AI w/ Dusty Holcomb

What does it take to lead others when you have not yet learned to lead yourself? In this episode of The Human Protocol, host Mykel Salomon sits down with Dusty Holcomb, a leadership coach with 28 years of executive experience, to explore the discipline behind great leadership. Dusty unpacks why self-leadership is the foundation of every high-performing team, how discipline is not punishment but alignment, and why the rise of AI is not a threat to human leaders but a mirror that exposes and sharpens them. From homeschooling roots and managing a 350-person operation at age 23, to building a personal AI chief of staff for daily reflection, Dusty delivers raw, actionable wisdom on how leaders at every level can build internal clarity, develop intentional daily habits, and master delegation to thrive in a rapidly changing world. What You'll Learn in This Episode * Why self-leadership is the foundation of all great leadership and how your internal discipline directly shapes the trust, respect, and performance of your team * The mindset shift every new leader needs to make when transitioning from individual contributor to leading and developing other people * How imposter syndrome shows up even at the CEO and senior executive level and what the most self-aware leaders do to manage it * Why the skills that earned you a promotion are not always the skills that will keep you successful in your new leadership role * The simple daily calendar audit practice that helps leaders identify one task to delegate and convert it into a real growth opportunity for their team * How artificial intelligence can sharpen your leadership rather than replace it, and what it looks like to use an AI chief of staff for daily reflection, gain assessments, and better decision-making * The five questions every leader must help their team answer to move people from doing the minimum to bringing their full effort and purpose to their work * How to write your own personal rules of engagement in under an hour to clarify your values, set expectations for yourself, and invite genuine accountability from the people around you Dusty is offering The Human Protocol listeners exclusive access to the Rules of Engagement Playbook, along with a complimentary DISC personality assessment — a $500 executive-level tool he uses with clients. It’s a practical resource designed to help you apply the self-leadership principles discussed in this episode. Access it free at myrulesofengagement.com [http://myrulesofengagement.com]. http://myrulesofengagement.comConnect with Dusty Holcomb LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustyholcomb/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustyholcomb/]Website: Arqus Group - https://arcqusgroup.com/ [https://arcqusgroup.com/]Connect with Mykel Salomon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykelsalomon/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykelsalomon/]Website: https://thehumanprotocolgroup.com/  [https://thehumanprotocolgroup.com/]

S2E19 | The Identity Crisis of AI and Who Are We When Work Changes w/ Karen Lam

In this episode of The Human Protocol, host Mykel Salomon sits down with Karen Lam, Director of Customer Support at Top Hat [https://tophat.com/] and co-chair of the Women in Tech employee resource group, to explore one of the most urgent conversations happening right now: how artificial intelligence is not just changing what we do at work, but reshaping who we believe we are. Karen draws on the Promethean myth to explain why AI feels uniquely threatening to our sense of self, and why generations raised on the idea that hard work equals worth are struggling most with the shift. Together, Mykel and Karen unpack the gender and age disparities in AI adoption, the invisible labor that limits who gets to experiment with new tools, the "penalty" women face when using AI in the workplace, and how leaders can build a culture of psychological safety and experimentation where AI becomes an opportunity rather than a threat. What You'll Learn in This Episode * Why AI triggers a deeper identity crisis than previous technological shifts like the internet or even the introduction of time zones * How the Promethean myth connects to the way people feel AI has "taken something" that was uniquely human * The real reason negative headlines dominate the AI conversation and how that shapes fear and resistance at work * What research reveals about gender disparities in AI adoption, particularly among female engineers * How the "penalty" for using AI at work affects women and older employees differently than their counterparts * Why invisible labor at home limits who has time to experiment with and master AI tools * How managers who use AI themselves rate AI-assisted work more fairly than those who do not * What true AI adoption inside a company actually looks like, beyond opening a chat interface * Why experimentation and vulnerability from senior leaders are the two biggest culture drivers for AI success * How AI can actually reduce workplace inequality by removing barriers to polished communication and access to opportunities * Why diverse voices using and shaping AI are critical to reducing the bias baked into training data * Practical advice for individuals, companies, AI builders, and policymakers on staying human while building the future Connect with Karen Lam Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenklam/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenklam/] Top Hat: https://tophat.com/ [https://tophat.com/] Connect with Mykel Salomon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykelsalomon/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykelsalomon/] Website: https://thehumanprotocolgroup.com/ [https://thehumanprotocolgroup.com/]

S2E18 | Your Voice Is Your IP: Staying Human in the AI Era with Alex Sanfilippo

In this episode of The Human Protocol Podcast, host Mykel Salomon sits down with Alex Sanfilippo — entrepreneur, podcast advocate, and founder of PodMatch — to explore a bold idea: in the AI era, podcasting is no longer just a content strategy. It's your brand archive. Your voice, your stories, your frameworks — all of it is becoming intellectual property. So what does that mean for how we show up, build, and create? This episode goes beyond microphones and download numbers. It's about ownership, purpose, community, and the courage to stay human while building the future. What You'll Learn in This Episode * How PodMatch was born — from a conference stage question, hundreds of conversations, and a whiteboard session to a thriving SaaS platform connecting podcast guests and hosts * The 4-step entrepreneurial framework Alex distilled from interviewing hundreds of successful founders: find your passion → get into the community → identify the problem → deliver the fastest viable solution * Why your "why" matters more than your follower count — and how skipping your internal and external purpose leads to brand drift * The truth about podcasting as authority-building — it's not just SEO and visibility. Being a podcast guest shapes who you are and expands your mindset * Podcasting in the AI era — will we be talking to AI avatars of real people? Alex shares where he draws the line on his own IP * The social media shift from follower-based to content-based reach — and why this changes everything for creators * Community over virality — why building a real tribe of aligned listeners beats chasing viral moments * AI, automation, and reclaiming your time — how smart automation frees you to be more human, not less * What policymakers should focus on now — Alex's "controlled burn" analogy for getting ahead of AI regulation * PodMatch's future — going deeper on community and the possibility of live in-person events Connect with Alex Sanfilippo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsanfilippo/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsanfilippo/] Website: https://podmatch.com/ [https://podmatch.com/] Connect with Mykel Salomon LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykelsalomon/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykelsalomon/] Website: https://thehumanprotocolgroup.com/ [https://thehumanprotocolgroup.com/]

S2E17 | The AI Implementation Gap: Why Most AI Projects Fail (And How to Fix It) w/ Issac Hicks

In this episode, we break down one of the most overlooked challenges in AI today: the implementation gap. AI looks perfect in demos. Clean outputs. Instant value. Seamless automation. But that’s only 5–10% of the work. The real challenge begins when organizations try to move from pilot to production. In this conversation with Issac Hicks, CEO @Autonomi, technology implementer and AI operator, we unpack why most AI projects fail not because of the technology… but because of poor planning, unclear problems, and flawed execution. We dive into: * Why companies rush into AI without defining the real problem * How assumptions early in the process lead to failed outcomes * The difference between saving time vs generating real ROI * Why scaling a broken process with AI makes things worse * The importance of testing, change management, and ownership * Build vs buy decisions and why most companies get it wrong One of the biggest takeaways: 👉 AI doesn’t fix your business. 👉 It exposes it. If your foundation is weak, your processes unclear, or your teams misaligned… AI will scale those problems faster than anything else. This episode is a practical guide for leaders, founders, and operators who want to move beyond the hype and actually implement AI in a way that delivers real business value. Because the advantage won’t go to those who adopt AI first… ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro – The AI implementation gap 01:12 Meet Isaac Hicks (AI implementer & operator) 02:12 Why AI demos are misleading (only 5–10% of the work) 03:27 When companies bring in implementers (start vs rescue mode) 04:41 The #1 mistake: unclear problem definition 06:14 Solving the wrong problem with AI 06:50 Example: scaling bad outbound with AI 08:28 Why planning is everything 10:43 AI ROI explained: cost savings vs value creation 12:13 The real ROI: reallocating time to revenue 13:26 Why AI requires ongoing maintenance 16:02 Testing before go-live (UAT, anomalies, adversarial tests) 17:07 Avoiding AI failures at scale 18:51 Data challenges: production vs test data 20:39 Why change management is critical 23:14 Who owns the outcome in AI-driven processes? 26:02 Managing hallucinations in AI systems 30:35 Build vs Buy: why 95% of companies should not build 33:46 Why in-house AI projects fail 35:22 Choosing the right AI model (OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic) 40:12 Designing flexible, model-agnostic systems 43:57 Cloud vs on-prem AI infrastructure 47:08 Contracts, liability, and data responsibility 50:43 Advice for individuals learning AI 52:37 Advice for companies implementing AI 55:36 Advice for policymakers and governments 58:30 The future of AI systems and control 01:00:28 Outro – Staying human while building the future

S2E16 | Transformation Isn’t What You Think | AI, CX, and Real Change w/ Sarah Caminiti

In this episode, we challenge one of the most misunderstood ideas in business today: transformation. Most people think transformation means starting over. Burning everything down. Reinventing from scratch. But as Sarah Caminiti, Head of Business Transformation, explains, that’s not transformation, that’s destruction. Real transformation is quieter. It’s slower. It’s built on momentum, small wins, and strong foundations. It’s about rearranging what already exists, not replacing it. We go deep into what actually drives change inside organizations, from leadership behavior to team dynamics to the role of AI. Because the truth is, AI will not fix broken systems. It will expose them. If your foundation is weak, your processes unclear, or your culture misaligned, technology will amplify every gap. This conversation is a practical and human look at transformation across three dimensions: personal, structural, and technological. We explore why most transformation efforts fail, how leaders can create real momentum, and what it takes to build systems that actually work. We also unpack the biggest misconception in today’s AI-driven world: that transformation is fast, easy, and automated. It’s not. It requires clarity, ownership, and intentional design. The biggest takeaway is simple: transformation does not happen in announcements. It happens in the work no one sees. If you are leading change, building teams, or navigating AI in your organization, this episode will challenge how you think about progress, leadership, and what it really means to evolve. 00:00 Intro – The truth about transformation 01:05 Welcome to The Human Protocol 01:45 Meet Sarah Caminiti – Head of Business Transformation 04:00 Career journey and CX foundations 07:50 What people get wrong about transformation 08:10 Metamorphosis vs real transformation (Transformers analogy) 10:30 Why transformation happens through momentum, not big moves 11:40 The problem with performative transformation (LinkedIn vs reality) 13:15 “I am because we are” – The power of collaboration 16:20 The three pillars: personal, structural, tech transformation 17:15 What leaders must shift first (taking up space) 19:30 Transparency, communication, and trust in leadership 23:30 Why assumptions destroy transformation efforts 26:20 The importance of clear requirements and communication 27:40 Why most teams skip the foundation 28:50 AI is not plug-and-play – the real work behind it 30:00 Building and maintaining a strong operational foundation 32:00 Why AI needs ownership, maintenance, and strategy 33:30 The future of roles and preserving human expertise 35:00 What leaders should ask before adopting AI 37:00 Where AI makes sense (and where it doesn’t) 39:30 Designing experiences, not just automations 41:10 How to create momentum in burned-out teams 43:00 Small wins, focus time, and building confidence 45:00 Why leaders must embrace failure as data 47:20 Incentives and noise sabotaging CX 49:30 Final advice – Trust your skills and build with intention ----------------------------------------