The Commudemy Podcast

This series is all about diving into inspiring conversations with change makers who are redefining how we learn, connect, and build communities.

The Commudemy Podcast is a education podcast hosted by Farhan Quasem, with 24 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Farhan Quasem hosts The Commudemy Podcast, a education show with 24 episodes published.

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  The Commudemy Podcast

  Fire Bullets, Then Fire Cannonballs: Jonathan B. Smith on Testing Risk Before You Scale It

  Sep 29, 202628 min

  ️ In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan B. Smith, entrepreneur, author, and co-founder and CEO of Optimize for Growth (O4G), for a dynamic conversation about team health, tactical negotiation, and leading through AI-driven change. Jonathan scaled his own business from $500K to $15 million in five years as an Inc. 500 COO, and has since guided more than 150 high-growth companies through over 1,500 strategy sessions as an expert EOS implementer. He now also trains leaders in tactical empathy and negotiation alongside the Black Swan Group, and lives by the mantra "results matter." At its core, this conversation is about the discipline of testing before you commit, whether that's a hard conversation, a negotiation, or a new AI tool, and having the courage to take the bigger swing once you know it works. We explore: Why "execution is worshiped" over theory when it comes to actually scaling a business Team health as 70% of what makes EOS work, and the two things that make or break it ️ Tactical empathy and the three types of "yes" (counterfeit, confirmation, and commitment) The most common roadblocks growing companies face: people, profit, and process Treating AI as a thought partner and "exoskeleton" without losing human creativity Why leaders should fire bullets before they fire cannonballs when taking risk Follow and explore more of Jonathan's work: LinkedIn: Jonathan B. Smith (Stay Curious JBS) Website: staycuriousjbs.com Book: Fight Less, Win More , available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble If there's one takeaway from this conversation, it's this: test the waters with bullets before you commit to the cannonball. Podcast produced by Riti Suresh.

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  The Commudemy Podcast

  The Accidental Community Builder: Yurii Lazaruk on Turning Real Relationships Into Real Business Value

  Aug 4, 202642 min

  ️ In this episode, I sit down with Yurii Lazaruk, community builder, ecosystem connector, and creator of the Community ROI Podcast, for a candid conversation about stumbling into community work, proving its business value, and staying human in an AI driven world. Yurii didn't set out to become a community builder. He fell into it by accident, running an online forum, then rebuilding his career internationally, and has since built communities across freelancing, sales, tech, and education. His work today centers on one idea: technology can save you time on the busywork, but community only works when it's built on real human relationships. At its core, this conversation is about what happens when you stop treating community as a nice to have and start connecting it directly to real business outcomes, without losing the humanity that makes it work in the first place. We explore: How Yurii fell into community building by accident, through an SEO forum and a wartime career pivot Why AI and automation are tools for outsourcing busywork, not replacements for human connection The two things high performing communities always get right: leadership buy-in and a clear tie to business goals Why message counts and engagement numbers are vanity metrics, and what to track instead How to build a business case for community when leadership is skeptical Keeping community guidelines simple: "be a good human" and let authenticity do the rest Follow and explore more of Yurii's work: LinkedIn: Yurii Lazaruk ️ Podcast: Community ROI Website: Yurii.Community Newsletter: Community ROI on Substack ☕ Event: Between Two Watercoolers If there's one takeaway from this conversation, it's this: you don't need a plan to start building community, you just need to show up for people, and the business value follows. Podcast produced by Riti Suresh.

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  Episode #7

  The Guardrails Are Gone: Paul Slater on Staying Human in the Age of AI

  Jul 7, 202640 minS3

  🎙️ In this episode, I sit down with Paul Slater, author of "The AI-Ready Human" and AI enablement advisor, for a wide-ranging and refreshingly honest conversation about what it takes to stay human, capable, and grounded as work is transformed by AI. Paul shares how his career, from delivering early IT training on the first office computers to a decade at Microsoft translating AI research into real world use cases, led him to write "The AI-Ready Human." He now serves as Principal AI Technologist at Adobe, and his work centers on the human capabilities we need to protect as the pace of technological change accelerates. At its core, this conversation is about reclaiming agency over who we become, recognizing that AI does not just change how we work, it amplifies who we already are, and asking what it takes to consciously build the guardrails that used to exist for us automatically. We explore: 🧠 How AI amplifies whatever tendencies we already have, for better or worse 🌪️ Navigating a BANI world: brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible 🤖 The shift from linear AI conversations toward agentic, parallel workflows ♿ What accessibility and neurodiversity mean for how people interact with AI 🛡️ Why the structural guardrails that used to protect human connection are gone ⚖️ Building the next wave of AI ethics frameworks around human impact, not just capability Follow and explore more of Paul's work: 📲 LinkedIn: Paul Slater 🌐 Website: paulslater.ai 📝 Substack: Humanity Working 🎙️ Podcast: Humanity Working If there's one takeaway from this conversation, it's this: the guardrails are gone, so building them back, on purpose, is now our job. 🎧 Podcast produced by Riti Suresh.

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  The Commudemy Podcast

  If You Don't See It, Build It: Enna Jimenez on 30 Years of Bridging Tech, Community, and Servant Leadership

  Jun 9, 202638 min

  🎙️ In this episode, I sit down with Enna Jimenez, technology executive, engineering operations strategist, and ecosystem connector, for a powerful conversation about resilience, identity, and what it truly means to build community from the inside out. Enna shares her journey from Puerto Rican and Dominican roots in Boston to leading global engineering teams of 200+ across financial services, banking, and education. From founding a Latino student organization at Simmons University to becoming a VP two steps from the CEO, her story is one of deliberate career-building, servant leadership, and showing up authentically in spaces that weren't always designed with her in mind. At its core, this conversation is about what happens when you stop waiting for a seat at the table and start building the table yourself. We explore: 🌎 How growing up in a tight-knit Latinx household in Boston shaped Enna's community-first mindset 💡 Why she chose to build a career in quality assurance when everyone else was just passing through ⚙️ How tech methodology evolved from waterfall to agile to AI, and what that means for the humans doing the work 🌉 What it really means to be a connector and bridge builder in today's workplace 🚀 Why Enna is proud to have worked herself out of a job more than once Follow and explore more of Enna's work: 📲 LinkedIn: Enna Jimenez 🌐 Website: ennajimenez.com 📚 Book: Extraordinary Latinas 🎤 Sign Up for Enna’s Coaching Experience 🎧 Podcast produced by Riti Suresh.

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  The Commudemy Podcast

  Belonging Beyond Borders: Pixie Cigar on Building Community Through Curiosity and Human Connection

  May 12, 202640 min

  🎙️ In this episode, I sit down with Pixie Cigar, community builder, systems thinker, and ecosystem designer, for a thoughtful conversation about belonging, curiosity, and what it takes to build communities that create meaningful impact. Pixie shares how growing up across multiple countries as a “third culture kid” shaped her perspective on human connection, adaptability, and community building. From global educator networks to e-commerce ecosystems, her work focuses on designing systems that help people genuinely connect, collaborate, and grow. At its core, this conversation is about building communities that don’t just generate activity — but create real value for the people inside them. We explore: 🌍 How navigating different cultures shaped Pixie’s approach to community and belonging🤝 Why authentic human connection starts with curiosity and empathy⚙️ The systems behind successful communities and why community can’t operate in isolation from the business📊 Why engagement metrics alone can be misleading when measuring community health🧠 The misconception that “more content” automatically creates stronger communities🤖 How AI can help scale community operations while making human skills even more important Follow and explore more of Pixie’s work: 📲 LinkedIn: Pixie Cigar If there’s one takeaway from this conversation, it’s this: the strongest communities are built through intentional human connection, not just participation. 🎧 Podcast produced by Riti Suresh.

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