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 important skill of all.

As organizations chase efficiency through automation, HR stands at the fault line between progress and purpose. Russell and Ken discuss what happens when algorithms start hiring, managing, and evaluating people—and what leaders can do to preserve trust, fairness, and humanity inside increasingly digital workplaces.

In This Episode
• The five levels of AI and how they’re reshaping human work
• HR’s evolving role: AI for scale, humans for depth
• Change fatigue, empathy, and the emotional side of transformation
• How to “design for dignity” in every stage of AI adoption
• The ethical gap between innovation and accountability

Key Moments
00:00 – Opening: What we choose to keep human
03:00 – The cultural lens on technology
07:00 – The five levels of AI
11:00 – Change fatigue and finite human capacity
17:00 – HR’s role in the age of AI
28:00 – Empathy, authenticity, and accountability
39:00 – The “Jared effect” and AI guardrails
52:00 – Closing: Designing for dignity

Takeaway Quote

Why Listen
This conversation invites HR and business leaders to slow down long enough to ask the right question: as machines get smarter, what will it mean to stay human at work? The answers may redefine how we hire, manage, and measure success in an AI-enabled world.

Credits
Host & Producer: Ken Pearson
Guest: Russell Porter
Production: Hero to Zero
Learn more and join the discussion at HeroToZeroPodcast.com

🎙️ Thanks for listening to Hero to Zero — where the real stories of HR, leadership, and corporate life get told (finally).

📩 Got a wild workplace story? We want to hear it:
ken.pearson@shadetree-consulting.com

🧠 New episodes drop monthly — subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Because in HR... it only takes one email to go from hero to zero.

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 still occupy their desks, attend meetings, and go through the motions. Their presence masks the problem, yet their resentment quietly spreads through the culture.

In this episode of Hero to Zero, host Ken Pearson is joined by Michelle Hargis Wolfe, an experienced HR leader and culture strategist, to unpack this subtle but powerful dynamic. Together, they explore:

• Why resenteeism is on the rise in today’s disrupted workplace
• How it erodes trust and culture when left unchecked
• The difference between burnout, disengagement, and resenteeism — and why leaders must learn to spot the signs
• The hidden costs of ignoring employee sentiment while focusing only on output
• Practical ways leaders can respond, from improving feedback loops to building psychological safety and rethinking performance metrics

Michelle brings a unique perspective on how organizations can build cultures of transparency and trust that keep resentment from festering in the first place. Her insights help leaders shift from reacting to symptoms to proactively creating environments where employees can be candid, engaged, and truly present.

For listeners in leadership, HR, or team management roles, this conversation offers both clarity and a call to action: don’t assume attendance equals engagement. If people are showing up physically but leaving their best energy, creativity, and commitment at the door, resenteeism may already be reshaping your workplace.

By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with:

• A sharper understanding of what resenteeism looks like in real time
• Language to start meaningful conversations with your teams
• Actionable ideas to re-energize engagement and rebuild trust

🌐 How This Fits into Hero to Zero

Each episode of Hero to Zero peels back another layer of how work really feels on the inside versus how it looks on the outside. In Episode 1 we examined the shifting role of recruiting. In Episode 2, Frederic Deschamps joined to talk about culture misalignment — when the “music” of daily life doesn’t match the “lyrics” of corporate promises. In Episode 3, we dug into learning and adaptability in a disrupted world.

This episode on resenteeism carries that thread forward: it shows what happens when culture breaks down in quiet, invisible ways. It’s not the dramatic resignation letter or the viral social media rant — it’s the slow drift of resentment that leaders often miss until it’s too late.

By connecting these dots across the season, listeners can start to see a larger pattern: organizations succeed or fail not on their stated policies, but on the lived experiences of their people.

📣 Call to Action

If you found this conversation valuable, please take a moment to:

• Subscribe to Hero to Zero on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode
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🎙️ Thanks for listening to Hero to Zero — where the real stories of HR, leadership, and corporate life get told (finally).

📩 Got a wild workplace story? We want to hear it:
ken.pearson@shadetree-consulting.com

🧠 New episodes drop monthly — subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Because in HR... it only takes one email to go from hero to zero.

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 compliance, hollow slogans, and “launch in 30, measure in 2” metrics that never had a chance.

Together, Ken and David explore:

• Why so many learning initiatives are designed to fail
• The difference between training that teaches vs. training that protects leadership optics
• The myth of self-directed learning—and what people actually need to grow
• The fading line between “development” and “damage control”
• Real stories from organizations that got it right—and those that faked it until trust was gone

David introduces his framework of Compliant vs. Catalyst organizations:

You’ll also hear sharp metaphors, lived satire, and stories that blend humanity with strategic critique—from the gym to Hamburger University to operating rooms and construction sites. This is one of our most layered episodes yet.

Whether you're in HR, executive leadership, or just tired of being “trained” without being supported—this episode will hit home.

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Follow David Dauman
🔗https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-s-dauman-a11bb8/

Follow Ken Pearson and ShadeTree Consulting
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/pearsonken/
🔗 https://shadetree-consulting.com/

Hero to Zero: What happens when leadership efforts collapse—and how to rebuild better.

🎙️ Thanks for listening to Hero to Zero — where the real stories of HR, leadership, and corporate life get told (finally).

📩 Got a wild workplace story? We want to hear it:
ken.pearson@shadetree-consulting.com

🧠 New episodes drop monthly — subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Because in HR... it only takes one email to go from hero to zero.