Hero to Zero

H_AI_R: When the Humans in HR Compete with the Robots A conversation with Russell Porter on how HR can protect what stays human in the age of AI. In this episode of Hero to Zero, Russell Porter joins Ken Pearson to explore what happens when HR’s most human qualities—empathy, judgment, and culture—collide with the rise of artificial intelligence. Together they unpack the five levels of AI capability, the limits of human change capacity, and why “designing for dignity” might be the most importa...

What happens when employees keep showing up physically, but emotionally and mentally they’ve already left? Welcome to the world of Resenteeism — the workplace trend where people check in, but they don’t truly check out. You’ve probably heard of presenteeism (being at work but not fully productive) and quiet quitting (dialing back effort to the bare minimum). Resenteeism is different — and more dangerous. It’s what happens when frustration, dissatisfaction, or burnout take root, but people sti...

Companies love to say they’re “learning organizations.” But when the pressure hits, training is the first to get cut—or worse, it's used to mask deeper failures in leadership, culture, and accountability. In this episode of Hero to Zero, host Ken Pearson sits down with David Dauman, CEO of Solutions House and longtime L&D advisor, to unpack how corporate training programs can become a performance illusion. What starts as a genuine effort to develop people often collapses into checkbox com...

🎙️ Hero to Zero | Episode 2: "Do the Music and Lyrics Match?" Guest: Fred Deschamps, Founder of FitMe What happens when the culture your company sings doesn’t match the one your people hear? In this episode, Ken Pearson sits down with Fred Deschamps—cultural strategist and founder of FitMe—to dissect the dangerous disconnect between stated values and lived experience inside organizations. Using the metaphor of a dysfunctional orchestra, they explore how corporate leadership often acts as the ...

Recruiting used to be about finding great talent. Now it feels like applying for a mortgage, joining a secret society, and surviving a reality show — all at once. In Episode 1 of Hero to Zero, host Ken Pearson is joined by Dean Trimble (Managing Director at Jackson Stevens Global) to unpack why the modern hiring is so frustrating — and what to do about it. From job descriptions that read like horoscopes to interview loops that never end, this episode is both a reality check and a roadmap. Plu...