
What Next?
"What Next?" explores the evolving landscape of business, leadership, advertising, and the future of work. Hosted by Rishad Tobaccowala, the podcast dives into how globalization, technology, and demographic shifts reshape how we create, consume, and communicate. Rishad Tobaccowala engages with CEOs, creative leaders, and visionaries to discuss innovative strategies, technology’s impact on media, and leadership challenges in the future of work. Hear unique insights from academics, futurists, and media innovators on navigating today’s business world.
Latest episodes

Sep 30, 2023 • 39min
Humanity in the Tech Stack: how the human operating system is the key to growth in an AI world
Dr Eric Solomon, founder and CEO of The Human OS, discusses the importance of human skills in the AI revolution and explores the concept of the human operating system. He emphasizes the unique abilities of humans in sense-making, discernment, and adaptability and explores the future of technology and the shift towards quality over quantity. The podcast highlights the need to prioritize the human element in a tech-driven world and navigate change effectively.

Aug 5, 2023 • 32min
Innovation and the absurdity of life: how staying curious is the key to great marketing
Allen Adamson, co-founder of Metaforce, author and adjunct professor at the New York Stern School of Business on how to innovate experiences beyond the consumer perspective and the importance of curiosity in the age of the marketeers. As someone who comes with a rich background in both agency and business, he explains why observation of the absurdities of life are the key to communicating great ideas, and why Jerry Seinfeld if hadn’t made his name in comedy, would have been a great marketing man. Further Reading:www.metaforce.comhttps://allenadamson.com/seeing-the-how-book/

Jul 22, 2023 • 42min
Conscious Capitalism, learning and growth: how business needs to listen, reflect and repeat
Dev Patnaik, keynote speaker, CEO of Jump Associates, board member of Conscious Capitalism and author of Wired to Care on how empathy will drive business, why learning and growing are essential for its future, and how the next 10 years will determine the happiness of the human condition for the next 1000 years. A trusted advisor to some of the most influential companies in the world, he explains how to learn is ‘to listen and repeat’, while to grow is ‘to do and reflect,’ creating purpose in the boardroom, which is the essence of conscious capitalism. Further Reading Links:Dev in Forbes, link to page: https://www.forbes.com/sites/devpatnaik/?sh=55aa1ac122f3Dev in MarketWatch: Tech companies are suddenly playing it safe---why that’s a blunder. Dev in Chief Executive: The Disney Effect: How CEOs Can Fortify Against the Panic Button EraDev in Ad Age: Superfans and Microtribes: How brands can harness passionate consumers to drive growth.Dev in Fast Company: Widespread Empathy: Rewiring Your Corporation for IntuitionLink to Dev’s book on Amazon: Wired to Care

Jul 1, 2023 • 40min
The camera always lies?
Dr Mansoor Ahmed-Rengers is the founder of Frankli and OpenOrigins and a researcher at the University of Cambridge. In this episode he discusses how to combat media manipulation tools such as deepfakes and generative AI. Mansoor predicts that once the hype dies, AI-generated content will be seen as cheap and derivative and that prestige brands will want to distinguish themselves by showcasing human-made content. Brands that completely divest from old school, non-AI ways of creating content will realise it was a massive mistake in a matter of 3-5 years. Further Reading:frankliapp.comwww.openorigins.com

Jun 26, 2023 • 30min
Gen Z, declining fertility and the future of work: how the next generation is forcing a mind shift
Heather McGowan, keynote speaker, author and champion of humans in the Future of the Work on how business leaders must prepare for a post-pandemic world. One of Forbes’ top 50 Female Futurists, she preaches the importance of life/work integration to reset the way we think as Gen Z begins to replace Boomers in the workplace. Heather emphasizes that it is not "where we work" that matters but how "work fits into people’s lives" today. Further Reading: https://heathermcgowan.com/abouthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/heathermcgowan/

Jun 17, 2023 • 29min
FOFO not just FOMO
Michael Donahue, who has spent 60 years in the advertising business including leadership roles at the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) and the 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies) reminds us of a) the importance of continuous learning and curiosity, b) why it is never too late to pioneer and innovate (Michael led the 4A's drive into digital over two decades ago when he was at "retirement age"), and c) the need to focus on loyal users and the next generation and, finally, how we should be more worried about the Fear of Finding Out (FOFO) versus the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). Further Reading:https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-donahue-460b425/ https://www.mediavillage.com/article/2023-the-year-to-get-back-to-basics-turning-common-sense-ideas-into-common-business-practices/print/ https://www.mediavillage.com/article/two-way-mentoring/ https://www.mediavillage.com/article/marketers-need-to-connect-the-dots-developers-of-transformation-successes/ https://www.mediavillage.com/article/why-and-how-marketers-need-to-lean-in-hard-on-millennials-and-generation-z/

Jun 10, 2023 • 38min
The Internet: Still open For ALL businesses?
James Rosewell is the founder of https://movementforanopenweb.com/ In this episode, he restates the case for the original vision of the internet as the Open Web. He discusses the increasing influence of the key digital platforms on the shape of the internet and why recent discussions about GDPR, consumer privacy, and the death of the 3rd party cookie are more nuanced than they might appear.Further Reading Links:James Rosewell Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosewell/https://twitter.com/jwrosewellhttps://movementforanopenweb.com/#joinhttps://movementforanopenweb.com/mows-mission-opening-the-web-for-everyone/ Topic further reading links: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/toothless-digital-watchdog-is-all-bark-claim-critics-w0qz76mt7 https://digiday.com/marketing/googles-privacy-sandbox-updates-are-met-with-both-skepticism-and-a-little-more-optimism/

Jun 3, 2023 • 37min
Democratising Happiness
Former McKinsey partner, co-founder of Happiness Squad and author, Ashish Kothari, is on a mission to “democratise happiness” and help a 1 billion unlock their full potential through integrating the art and science of happiness. In this episode, he predicts the crisis on stress, anxiety, and burnout in organizations will get a lot worse before it gets better in 2023, that organisations will continue to see suboptimal returns from and slow progress from ‘flourishing programs’ unless we drastically change course, and that the rise in AI technologies will further cause the urgency and pull to elevate human consciousness and need to evolve our adult development. In order to thrive versus just survive, he shares a practical set of ideas that you can start to implement right away to unlock your full potential and live with more joy, health, love, and meaning. In his words, you can “ACHIEVE MORE” not by “DOING MORE” but by “BEING MORE”. Further Reading Links:https://happinesssquad.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishkothari1/https://community.happinesssquad.com

May 27, 2023 • 37min
It’s the person, stupid
Teresa Barreira, Publicis Sapient CMO & CCO, explains why the individual Is the new ‘mission critical’, how non-branded content marks the next wave for brand building, and declares the marketing funnel to be dead. She also argues that marketers should embrace generative AI as a competitive way of augmenting their own work and redefining their craft. Further Reading Links:https://www.publicissapient.com/impact/never-done-filmhttps:/www.publicissapient.com/news/publicis-sapient-and-oscar-winning-director-ben-proudfoot-launchhttps://www.adweek.com/agencies/publicis-sapient-captures-its-impact-in-3-documentary-films/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tbarreira/https://www.teresabarreira.com

May 20, 2023 • 42min
Irresistibly Yours
HR legend, Josh Bersin, Founder & CEO, The Josh Bersin Company, shares insights from his recently published book, Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World's Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations. He argues that to survive the global talent war, the managerial mindset needs to shift to human-centred leadership, especially as your employees embody your brand and are your best conduit to customers. Further Reading Links:@Josh_Bersinhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bersin/https://joshbersin.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Irresistible-Secrets-Enduring-Employee-Focused-Organizations/dp/1646871103/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
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