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A World of Difference

A World of Difference

By: Lori Adams-Brown
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A World of Difference: Leadership, Culture & Travel Podcast Welcome to A World of Difference, a top 3% global podcast where authentic leadership meets cross-cultural wisdom. Host Lori Adams-Brown, a strategic transformation executive and multilingual global leader, brings you real conversations with bestselling authors, nonprofit changemakers, C-suite executives, and thought leaders who are redefining what it means to lead with purpose. This isn't surface-level leadership content. We dive deep into psychological safety in leadership, organizational culture transformation, differentiation strategies, global leadership development, and how cross-cultural communication shapes the future of work. Whether you're a CEO navigating organizational change, an HR leader building inclusive cultures, or a manager seeking authentic leadership skills, these conversations will challenge how you think and lead. From travel as cultural education to ethics in business to emotional intelligence for executives, each episode offers actionable insights for leaders who believe our differences make us stronger. If you're tired of cookie-cutter business podcasts and want meaningful conversations that bridge culture, society, and leadership, you're home. Pull up a seat at the table with us.© 2023 Lori Adams-Brown Art Economics Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
Episodes
  • The Self-Trust Recession: Why Brilliant Professionals Go Unheard and How to Change That with Neelu Kaur

    The Self-Trust Recession: Why Brilliant Professionals Go Unheard and How to Change That with Neelu Kaur
    Jun 3 2026
    What if the silence in your meetings has nothing to do with confidence and everything to do with culture? Organizational psychologist Neelu Kaur joins Lori Adams-Brown to decode the invisible operating systems shaping how professionals communicate, advocate for themselves, and lead across cultures and organizational hierarchies. IN THIS EPISODE: - What the "self-trust recession" is and why it matters for global leaders right now - The paradox at the heart of corporate America: individualistic society, yet over-indexed workplaces - Why "just speak up" is incomplete advice when power dynamics are involved - The Abilene Paradox: how teams end up agreeing to decisions nobody actually wants - The difference between assimilation and adaptability at work and why organizations are getting it wrong ABOUT NEELU KAUR: Neelu Kaur is a global keynote speaker, organizational psychologist, and author of Be Your Own Cheerleader: An Asian and South Asian Woman's Cultural, Psychological, and Spiritual Guide to Self-Promote at Work. She partners with Fortune 500 companies to build transformative leadership cultures, holds a Master's in Social and Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, and is a certified NLP master practitioner. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Introduction and Neelu's cross-cultural background (India to the US) 04:00 - The self-trust recession: outsourcing inner authority in the age of AI 08:00 - The I vs. We paradox in corporate America 12:00 - Assimilation vs. adaptability in hiring and onboarding 18:00 - Psychological safety and cultural assessments in executive teams 22:00 - Inclusion at work events: safety, restraint, and belonging 26:00 - Speed culture vs. strategic depth: the cost of always being on autopilot 36:00 - The Abilene Paradox and how groupthink silences the room Join us for the exclusive bonus episode on Patreon with Neelu. FIND NEELU KAUR AT: Website: https://www.neelukaur.com Book: Be Your Own Cheerleader (available where books are sold) Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • After the Exit: What Fiona Macaulay Learned About Identity, Failure, and What Comes Next

    After the Exit: What Fiona Macaulay Learned About Identity, Failure, and What Comes Next
    May 27 2026
    What happens when you spend 18 years building a company to $5 million in revenue across 80 countries, finally sell it, and then wake up with no idea who you are without it? Fiona Macaulay knows that moment intimately, and what she built from it is changing how thousands of accomplished women think about what comes next. In this episode, Lori Adams-Brown sits down with Fiona Macaulay, founder of The Wild Network, co-author of Aim High and Bounce Back, and creator of the Next Chapter Accelerator, to explore the real terrain of midlife reinvention: identity loss after success, the shame women carry around failure, and the practical tools that make starting over less lonely and more intentional. What you will hear in this episode: Why selling a thriving company felt like "perceived failure" and what that reveals about how we define success What being "stuck" actually looks like for accomplished mid-to-senior career women, and how to tell the difference between needing a rest and needing genuine change The three things every woman in transition needs: process, community, and a new chapter network Why Fiona takes women on a walking retreat on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and what movement unlocks that a boardroom simply cannot The Leadership Fail Lab that sparked a book: what happened when successful women from across the globe started sharing their biggest failures on stage Four types of failure (including "circumstantial failure" and "perceived failure") and how naming the right one changes your recovery Why the biggest failure of all is the one you never attempted About Fiona Macaulay: Fiona Macaulay is a three-time entrepreneur, global leadership expert, and founder of The Wild Network, a community of 25,000 purpose-driven leaders across 115 countries. She is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business and co-author of Aim High and Bounce Back: A Successful Woman's Guide to Rethinking and Rising Up from Failure. Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction: building $5M across 80 countries, then waking up lost 0:38 - Selling Making Sense and the reality of perceived failure 3:25 - What "stuck" looks like for accomplished mid-career women 7:59 - Why walking the Camino de Santiago unlocks what workshops cannot 11:06 - Follow your fascinations: building a new chapter network 13:21 - Experimentation over planning: taking small steps toward big goals 15:57 - Why failure hits women harder: the social science behind the shame 18:00 - The Leadership Fail Lab and the origin of Aim High and Bounce Back 20:22 - Four types of failure and how to name what you are experiencing 22:46 - What successful leaders do differently with failure 24:29 - Where to find Fiona and her work Find Fiona Macaulay at: Website: fionamacaulay.com The Wild Network: thewildnetwork.org Leadership for Social Impact Forum: wildleadershipforum.org Next Chapter Accelerator (Camino retreat, 4 spots remaining for late September 2026): nextchapteraccelerator.com Book: Aim High and Bounce Back, available online and at your local bookstore If this conversation stayed with you, here are two ways to go deeper: Become a Difference Maker on Patreon: patreon.com/aworldofdifference $7/month for bonus conversations and community. $25/month to join me live every quarter. Read the full essays and join the monthly live on Substack: loriadamsbrown.substack.com Or support the show with a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/loriadamsbr Share this episode with one person who needs it. That is how we grow this. Subscribe, leave a review at https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/reviews/new/, and share this episode. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    33 mins
  • From Human in the Loop to Human in the Lead: A CHRO's Case for AI with Anju Choudhary Live from Human X in San Francisco

    From Human in the Loop to Human in the Lead: A CHRO's Case for AI with Anju Choudhary Live from Human X in San Francisco
    May 20 2026
    What does it mean when the only HR professional in a room of 6,000 AI innovators refuses to stay silent? Anju Choudhary attended HumanX in San Francisco, looked around, and decided that was not a coincidence. It was a calling. In this live conference conversation recorded at HumanX, Lori Adams-Brown sits down with Anju Choudhary, a seasoned Chief Human Resources Officer, to talk about what it really means to keep humans at the center of one of the most consequential shifts in how we work. Anju's message is clear: people leaders do not belong on the sidelines of the AI conversation. They belong at the head of the table. In this episode, you'll hear: Why Anju was the only HR professional among 6,000 attendees at a major AI conference, and what that signals for the profession The mindset shift every people leader needs right now: from "human in the loop" to "human in the lead" How building her first AI agent in under two minutes changed the way she talks about AI adoption What India's vast cultural and linguistic diversity taught her about adaptability, care, and meeting people where they are A practical, courage-forward invitation: take your first step, ask for help, and remember, we are all co-creating this together About Anju Choudhary: Anju Choudhary is a Chief Human Resources Officer with global leadership experience spanning IBM, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and beyond. A passionate advocate for human-centered AI adoption, she believes the people who understand the human element are exactly the ones who need to be shaping the future of work. Find Anju Choudhary at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anju-choudhary1/ Timestamps: [00:00] Welcome and live recording introduction at HumanX, San Francisco [01:30] Anju's global journey: IBM, a traveling husband, and the richness of India's cultural diversity [04:00] What excites her most: creativity, collaboration, and the human-AI partnership [05:30] "From human in the loop to human in the lead" [07:00] What concerns her: people feeling helpless, frozen, and left behind [08:30] Building her first AI agent in two minutes and why that first step changes everything [09:30] A call for more HR and people leaders at AI decision tables [10:30] Final wisdom: raise your hand, ask for help, and co-create the journey forward Subscribe, leave a review at https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/reviews/new/, and share this episode with a people leader who needs to hear this. Visit https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com for more resources. Join us on Patreon for exclusive content Join us on Substack for a deeper dive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    15 mins
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