Systems, AI, and the Small Things That Change Everything with Gilbert Guzmán

About this episode

Dr. Wayne Pernell discusses leadership and productivity with Dr. Gilbert Guzmán, focusing on systems thinking and the impact of AI in small businesses.

In this episode of One Sharp Sword , Dr. Wayne Pernell welcomes Dr. Gilbert Guzmán — executive leader, AI founder, and author of Atomic Impact — for a powerful conversation on leadership, systems thinking, and productivity. After being fired early in his career, Gilbert rebuilt his trajectory through operations, HR leadership, and enterprise-level strategy at Kroger before launching IntraQ, an AI-powered HR command center for small businesses. Together, they unpack why most workplace problems aren’t caused by people — they’re caused by systems. You’ll learn: The critical difference between leadership and management Why chasing KPIs often backfires Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s Red Bead Experiment explained How “fundamental attribution error” damages culture The hidden impact of small, unmeasured actions Transformative productivity and the Chain Reaction Coefficient How AI can reduce HR risk for startups and small businesses Why every leader’s real job is to reduce friction If you’re a founder, executive, HR leader, or entrepreneur navigating growth, AI, and performance metrics — this episode will challenge how you think about productivity and people. 🎥 Watch the full episode now on my…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Wayne Pernell

Guest: Dr. Gilbert Guzmán

Topics covered

• leadership
• systems thinking
• productivity
• AI in business
• workplace culture
• HR leadership
• transformative productivity

Keywords

• leadership
• systems thinking
• productivity
• AI
• HR
• workplace culture
• KPI
• transformation
• small business

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kroger, IntraQ

Books & works: Atomic Impact

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