In this episode of Bright Ideas, Brad MacAfee, CEO of KAOH Media, shares how his leadership journey has been shaped by both success and setbacks. From building culture and scaling teams to navigating industry headwinds, Brad has learned that the most effective leaders lead with authenticity and empathy.

He opens up about a pivotal career moment that reshaped how he views leadership—teaching him that setbacks, while painful, can unlock deeper resilience, courage, and compassion. Today, those lessons guide how he builds trust with teams, empowers communities, and steers organizations through change.

If you’re a leader looking to grow your influence while staying grounded in empathy, this conversation offers inspiration and practical wisdom you won’t want to miss.

Connect with Brad:

brad@kaohmedia.com

KAOH Media website: https://kaohmedia.com/

In this episode of the Bright Ideas podcast, Desiree Booker-Sharpe interviews Kortni Robinson, Vice President of Operations at the Power Group. Kortni shares her journey from intern to VP, highlighting the importance of company culture, flexibility, and personal connections in leadership. The conversation delves into the impact of AI on the PR and social media landscape, the agency's niche in restaurant grand openings, and the operational challenges of staffing and profitability. Kortni emphasizes the significance of over-communication during times of change as a key leadership lesson.

Connect with Kortni:

Their website: The Power Group: https://thepowergroup.com/

Her email: Kortni@thepowergroup.com

AI isn’t coming for your job—but the way you do your job? That’s already shifting. In this Bright Bite episode, Desiree Booker-Sharpe offers a grounded, strategic look at the rise of AI and what it really means for your career. If you’ve been doom-scrolling headlines or feeling overwhelmed by AI hype, this is your invitation to pause, take a breath, and hear a different kind of conversation, one rooted in truth, leadership, and empowerment.

Drawing from her own experience returning from maternity leave and building a brand using AI tools like ChatGPT and Notion (without a tech background!), Desiree walks you through:

• Why fear isn't the strategy—and what is

• A simple exercise to audit your current tasks (spoiler: some are automatable, others are deeply human)

• How to build AI literacy without becoming a tech expert

• The power of human skills like empathy, communication, and discernment
  
  

Whether you’re a people leader, manager, or future-focused professional wondering how to stay relevant, this episode delivers practical, actionable guidance for leading with AI—not against it.

🔁 Part two will focus on how founders and small business owners can adapt their businesses for the future. Stay tuned!

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Here is the prompt mentioned in the episode:
Prompt: I want you to help me create a detailed task inventory for my leadership role so I can audit which responsibilities can be automated with AI and which require a human touch

Here’s my context:

• Job Title: [Insert your current title]

• Years of Experience: [Insert number of years in this field/role]

• Industry: [Insert industry type]

• Company Type & Size: [Insert info—e.g., mid-sized marketing agency with 75 employees]

• Key Responsibilities (if known): [Insert any major duties you want included]

Instructions for you:

• Generate a comprehensive list of tasks someone in my role would typically handle across these timeframes:

• • Daily

  • Weekly

  • Monthly

  • Quarterly / Annually

• For each task, place it into one of two categories:

• • Human-Only (Soft Skills Required): Tasks that require emotional intelligence, judgment, creativity, relationship-building, or complex decision-making.

  • Automatable with AI: Tasks that involve data collection, scheduling, analysis, report generation, or repetitive workflows that AI could reasonably handle.

• Present the output in a table format with these columns:

• • Task

  • Frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly/Annually)

  • Category (Human-Only or Automatable)

  • Notes (Why it belongs in this category / suggestions for tools if automatable)