Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract

Monica Landers is the founder and CEO of StoryFit, a rapidly-growing tech company that provides AI insights for the media and entertainment industry. Monica drops by Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract to discuss StoryFit, Artificial Intelligence, the hit HBO show "The Last of Us," and audience positioning. It's a fascinating chat. She has two media technology patents and extensive experience in media, ranging from producing for ABC News and Good Morning America to executive leadership roles at several content companies, including VP Media Innovation at Demand Media. Monica is deeply involved in Austin's startup community and serves as an advisor to the Techstars and Comcast accelerators, as well as the universities of Texas, St. Edwards, and Texas State. Visit http://www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program. Visit https://storyfit.com/ for more information about the company and Monica.

David Mallon is Vice President and Chief Analyst at Deloitte and is the market leader for Deloitte’s Insights2Action team. In this episode of Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract, David discusses the 2023 Global Human Capital Trends from Deloitte. David and the Insights2Action team help clients to sense, analyze, and act—with purpose and precision—at the ever shifting intersection of work, workforce, workplace, and industry. Part of Deloitte since 2013, David is the former Head of Research for Bersin. He brings more than 20 years of experience in human capital and is a sought-after researcher, thought leader, and speaker on organization design, organizational culture, HR, talent, learning, and performance. Deloitte’s 2023 Global Human Capital Trends survey polled 10,000 business and HR leaders across every industry, with 105 countries participating. Executive interviews from some of the top companies in today's market supplement the survey data. These insights shaped the trends in the report. Visit http://www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program. Visit https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/profiles/dmallon.html for more information about David and Deloitte.

Documentarian Samuel Durand and the Future of Work Samuel Durand is the author and producer of several workplace documentaries. He started to explore the Future of Work in 2019 during a learning expedition. Samuel drops by Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract to discuss his upcoming and new documentary, Time to Work. Work in Progress (2021) is a documentary exploring recent trends in the world of work. Sam visited experts and people all over Europe who have been reinventing the way we work to find meaning including fully remote companies, freelancers, nomads, makers, creators, collectives, and communities. The story of the Work in Progress documentary has also been adapted into a comic book. Samuel second documentary, Why do we even work? (2022) explores the different drivers of motivation. Why do some of us like to go to work? Why do we join one company rather than another? And why do we stay? For what are we willing to exchange our most precious resource, our time? In the documentary Samuel breaks down the how, the what, and the why of work.  Visit http://www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program. Visit https://www.wipdocumentary.com/ to get to know Samuel Durand.

Laura Gassner Otting is an author, catalyst, and executive coach who inspires people to push past the doubt and indecision that keep great ideas in limbo by helping audiences think bigger and accept greater challenges that reach beyond their current, limited scope of belief. LGO, as she is often known, drops by Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract to discuss her latest book, "Wonderhell: Why Success Doesn’t Feel Like It Should . . . and What to Do About It." Laura is the author of Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life (2019), which debuted at #2 on the Washington Post bestseller list, as well as Mission-Driven: Moving from Profit to Purpose (2015). Laura’s rebellious and entrepreneurial edge has been well-honed over a 25-year career that started when she dropped out of law school to join an unknown southern governor’s presidential campaign, and ended up as a Presidential Appointee in Bill Clinton’s White House, where she helped shape AmeriCorps. She left a leadership role as the youngest Vice President at a nationally respected search firm when she realized that her boss’s definition of success didn’t align with hers and, instead, founded and ran one of the fastest growing search firms in the country, partnering with the full gamut of mission-driven executives, from start-up dreamers to scaling social entrepreneurs to global philanthropists. In 2015, Laura sold that firm to the team who helped her build it. Since that time, Laura has appeared regularly on Good Morning America and the TODAY Show, and her writing has been seen in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and HR Magazine as she now delivers strategic thinking, well-honed wisdom, and perspective generated by decades of navigating change across the start-up, corporate, nonprofit, political, as well as philanthropic landscapes to organizations across the world. Visit http://www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program. Visit https://www.lauragassnerotting.com/about/ to get to know LGO.

Steven Kowalski is an organization development consultant and the author of “Creative Together: Sparking Innovation in the New World of Work.” He has more than 25 years of experience facilitating the creativity of scientists, engineers, business leaders, and professionals across industries to blaze new trails, catalyze creative potential, and deliver real-world innovation. Steven drops by "Leadership NOW with Dan Pontefract" to discuss "Creative Together" and the critical importance of creativity as part of organizational culture and leadership styles. He holds a Ph.D. in adult learning and organizational creativity from UCLA and works for biopharma pioneer Genentech At Genentech, Steven focuses on strategy execution and organizational transformation for Roche’s global Product Development organization. He has led key HR initiatives including creation of Genentech’s employee Career Center, Work and Career Flexibility philosophy, and development of the Roche Leadership Commitments and competency model. Visit http://www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program. Visit https://www.stevenkowalski.com/ for more information about Steven Kowalski

Martin Lindstrom is the founder and chairman of Lindstrom Company, a global branding & culture transformation firm, operating across five continents and more than 30 countries. He sits down with Dan Pontefract on Leadership NOW to discuss common sense (or the lack of it) in our organizations, in addition to other threads including corporate culture and all things 'corporate nonsense.' TIME Magazine has named Lindstrom one of the “World’s 100 Most Influential People,” and for three years running, Thinkers50, has selected Lindstrom to be among the world’s top 50 business thinkers. Among the companies he advises are Burger King, Lowes, Boar’s Head, Beverly Hills Hotels, Pepsi, Nestle and Google. Lindstrom is the author of seven books including several New York Times bestsellers that have been translated into 60 languages. The Wall-Street Journal praised his book Brand Sense as “one of the five best marketing books ever published,” and his book Small Data as “revolutionary,” and TIME called his book Buyology “a breakthrough in branding.” His latest book is The Ministry of COMMON SENSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE BUREAUCRATIC RED TAPE, BAD EXCUSES, AND CORPORATE BS. Visit http://www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program. Visit https://www.martinlindstrom.com/ for more information about Martin Lindstrom.

Vala Afshar is an author, US patent holding inventor, weekly columnist for ZDNET, weekly podcaster, keynote speaker and social media contributor. He is, of course, Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce. Vala drops by the Leadership NOW program with Dan Pontefract where they get into the finer points of life, humanity, and being a good person. Vala has nearly a million followers on Twitter, generating billions of impressions per year. His LinkedIn account is through the rough awesome as well. He has written over 250 articles since 2020. His weekly show started in 2016 and is projected to have over 2M viewers this year. He has interviewed over 1,000 senior executives, company founders, bestselling authors and venture capitalists on DisruptTV ... including me! Prior to joining Salesforce in 2015, Vala served as the chief marketing officer and chief customer officer in the technology sector at companies like Enterasys Networks and Extreme Networks. Vala is currently working on a new book called Boundless that will be published in October 2023. Visit http://www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program. Visit https://twitter.com/ValaAfshar to connect with Vala Afshar on Twitter

Phil M. Jones is a master of influence and persuasion – the author of the best-selling “Exactly” Book Series with over 1 million copies sold across several books – producer of the “Most Listened To” non-fiction Audiobook of all time – a trusted advisor for some of the world’s biggest brands – and an entrepreneur since the age of 14. Phil joins Dan Pontefract on Leadership NOW to discuss persuasion and influence and how they can be used internally in one's leadership style. We get into the effect of persuasion and influence on corporate culture as well. Phil's precise insights around communication, added to a proven personal pedigree of peak performance and a richness of real-world experience mean that he is the kind of thought-leader whose counsel is sought by other thought-leaders. His early career was dynamic and challenging including leading experienced teams of sales professionals through his early twenties, as well as guiding Premier League Football Clubs to maximize sponsorships and licensing agreements, in addition to helping grow an independent real estate business to a revenue in excess of over $240m with a sales team of just five. He went solo in 2008 and ever since more than 800 different industries, across 59 countries and 5 continents have benefitted from his input to understand how their critical conversations and the success language required can maximize their effectiveness. Visit www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program.

Widely known as the “Tech Humanist”, Kate O’Neill is founder and CEO of KO Insights, a strategic advisory firm committed to improving human experience at scale through more meaningful and aligned strategy. Kate sits down with Dan Pontefract on this episode to discuss the link between technology and our humanity. It's don't miss viewing. Kate is helping humanity prepare for an increasingly tech-driven future and is doing so through her signature strategic optimism. Among her prior roles, she created the first content management role at Netflix, developed Toshiba America‘s first intranet, and founded [meta]marketer, one of the first digital strategy and analytics agencies. Kate has appeared as an expert tech commentator on BBC, NPR, and a wide variety of international media, and her written insights have been featured in WIRED, CMO.com, and many other outlets. She has worked with global companies such as Google, Etsy and Cisco to optimise the role technology plays in the modern world. Her books have included “Tech Humanist” and “Pixels and Place,” as well as her latest, “A Future So Bright,” which launched in September 2021.

Heather E. McGowan is a strategist, thought leader, researcher, and author and is one of the leading voices on the "future of work." Heather sits down with Dan Pontefract on Leadership NOW to discuss her new book, "The Empathy Advantage: Leading the Empowered Workforce." McGowan is a sense maker, a dot connector, a deep thinker, and a pattern matcher who sees things that others miss. Heather gives people the courage and insight that illuminates their path forward. She’s transforming mindsets and entire organizations around the globe with her message about how the next phase of work will focus on continuous learning and how leadership must shift to guide these expeditions. Her groundbreaking approach to learning has made employees more fulfilled and innovative, leaders more potent and empathetic, and businesses more effective at reaching their goals in a rapidly evolving market. Her message is never more powerful than when she’s onstage, where her no-nonsense approach creates a fundamental mindset shift across the audience leaving them both transformed in their thinking and clear in their path of action. Visit http://www.danpontefract.com for more information about Dan and the Leadership NOW program. Visit https://heathermcgowan.com/ for more information about Heather McGowan