Thought Sparks

Join Matt Beane, a Thinkers 50 Radar nominee and TED Talker, as he shares insights on upskilling in the age of intelligent machines. He emphasizes the critical need for organizations to adapt by preserving essential human skills amidst automation. The conversation covers shadow learning and how informal methods can lead to personal growth. Matt also highlights the impact of robotics on surgical training and the importance of mentorship in remote work. Get ready to explore innovative strategies for workforce transformation!

Sitting down with Susannah Fox, former Chief Information Officer at Health and Human Services and author of “Rebel Health.” Susannah is a true innovator in healthcare, and her work on “Rebel Health” explores how patients, caregivers, and survivors are using digital platforms to unite, advocate, and change the system from within. 💡 From inspiring stories of grassroots health movements to practical insights on shaping healthcare from the ground up, this chat is one you won’t want to miss. Follow me on my social channels to get notified when we start our live discussion.

Rita McGrath joins KFNN

H.R. McMaster's new book "At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House" is an incisive account of his time as National Security Advisor during Trump's presidency. Be sure to tune in this Friday at 11:15 am EST to ask questions, and hear firsthand about the political experience of a lifetime.

Steven Brill is a veteran journalist and author whose previous books include "The Teamsters," "America's Bitter Pill," and "Tailspin." His new book is exactly as terrifying as it sounds. It's called "The Death of Truth: How Social Media and the Internet Gave Snake Oil Salesmen and Demagogues the Weapons They Needed to Destroy Trust and Polarize the World - and What We Can Do About It." Brill outlines in precise detail exactly how our big technology platforms have profited from the weaponization of communication platforms, even as they undermine and starve legitimate news sources. None of this has happened by accident, and Brill leads us through a compelling narrative of the decisions made to maximize profits, hurt the vast majority of us and cloud reality. His efforts to uncover Russian activity even led to him being targeted by Russian operators. He is also the co-founder of NewsGuard, a company that tracks online misinformation. He'll be joining me by the virtual fireside on November 8, and I'm truly looking forward to the conversation and seeing a way forward out of the mess we have gotten ourselves into. Join us live on LinkedIn or catch the recording on my YouTube Channel.

Frederik Pferdt was Google's Chief Innovation Evangelist, building a world-class organization that trained tens of thousands to face the world in a future-ready way. He is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, where he teaches courses called things like "Hacking Your Innovation Mindset." His brand-new book, "Next is Now: How to Live Future Ready" was just published to tremendous acclaim in June. It made the Next Big Idea Club's must-read list for September. I'm delighted that on October 25, Frederik will be joining me to talk about the book, his philosophy of being future-ready and why Optimism, Openness, Curiosity, Experimentation, Empathy and the mysterious "Dimension X" can let you take control of your future. In a world that seems at times to be bleak, his optimistic perspective that we can all shape our futures is most welcome!

There was a time when there was a standard template for what kinds of people became leaders. They were confident. They had the answers. They led by example. They told people exactly what needed to be done. Oh, and they were usually tall, and nearly always, men. We've learned, though, that while that kind of leadership certainly has its place, in rapidly changing, uncertain situations, a different leadership model leads to higher performance. Senior media and technology reporter at CNBC, Julia Boorstin, set out to find what this different lens for leadership was by studying the very different ways in which groundbreaking women forged a path to transforming businesses and even entire industries. Women, she learned, have figured out how to create advantages that are simply not apparent to their male counterparts, using adaptive, empathetic, learning oriented qualities to win. Julia joined me by the virtual fireside to discuss her 2022 book "When Women Lead" and to chat about what she's learned since then and where we stand now.

This week's guest is Paul LeBlanc, who has just stepped down as President of Southern New Hampshire University. In his tenure, he took back online education from predatory for-profit institutions to give thousands of students access to higher education. He's also the author of a fascinating book called "Broken: How Our Social Systems are Failing Us and How We Can Fix Them". We'll be chatting live at 11 am -- register here to tune in!

Today we are hosting Barron Witherspoon on my Friday Fireside Chat. He's the author of "The Black Exec: And the Seven Myths", which draws from his 38-year career at Procter & Gamble, where he retired as Senior Vice President for Global Industry Affairs & The Corporate Race Initiative. He now enjoys a second career as an ordained minister, out of Cincinnati.

The phrase "innovate or die" has never been more relevant, yet the track record of most companies for organic innovation is dismal. But, there are leaders who demonstrate that making innovation an actual proficiency can be accomplished. Steve Wunker, together with his co-authors Jennifer Luo Law and Hari Nair, de-mystify the process. Examples include Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Panera's Ron Shaich and Levi's Chip Bergh. We'll chat about their practical and useful new book "The Innovative Leader" that takes readers on a step by step approach to building innovation capability.