Nurturing our Disruptive Nature: Charlene Li

Disruption and change have been with us forever. But disruption and change at work, in business, in organizations—somehow it seems harder. It's unpredictable, it's uncertain, and it's stressful. And we often back away from it as a result.

In her conversation with Jesse, Charlene Li reflects on a career spent empowering everyone—from frontline workers to CEOs—to embrace and move forward in the face of disruptive change. She discusses her experience growing up in Michigan as a woman of color, and how it led her to embrace her own disruptive nature. She describes the structural attributes and convictions that allowed organizations like Adobe, Amazon, and Southern New Hampshire University to see the needs of their future customers - and overcome deeply entrenched barriers and elements of the status quo to serve them. And she offers a poignant look at why organizations in every industry must embrace Diversity and Inclusion now if they are to reach their potential for growth and impact.  

Guest Bio
For the past two decades, Charlene Li has been helping people see the future. She’s the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including her newest release,The Disruption Mindset: Why Some Businesses Transform While Others Fail, and Open Leadership, as well as co-author of the critically-acclaimed book, Groundswell. She founded and ran Altimeter Group, a disruptive industry analyst firm, and has been a respected advisor to Fortune 500 companies.

Named one of the Top 50 Leadership Innovators by Inc., and one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company, Charlene has appeared at events ranging from TED and the World Business Forum to SxSW. She has appeared on 60 Minutes and PBS NewsHour, and is frequently quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Associated Press.

Helpful Links

Charlene named to the list of the 100 B2B Thought Leaders and Influencers You Should Follow in 2021

Website for Altimeter @ Prophet, the analyst firm studying digital disruption founded by Charlene.

Charlene's Book The Disruption Mindset on Amazon

Charlene’s website

Charlene on Twitter