Looking Outside

What does it take to build a business that lasts generations? In this Business Brief, Jo reflects on long-term thinking, the resilience of family-run businesses, and why creating a compelling vision matters when aligning business heritage with future ambitions.Business Brief is a (very brief) new solo series hosted by Looking Outside host, strategist and corporate futurist Jo Lepore.---Learn more:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.comWatch this Business Brief on YouTube---⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!---Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2026. Theme song by Adrian Walther.

On this episode of Looking Outside we peek into the metaphors, imagery and stories that unknowingly shape the limitations of our business strategy, and limit our ambitions. UNESCO chair of futures, Sohail Inayatullah has seen this many times before - from brands rethinking positioning, CEOs shifting cultural capability, to government leaders reshaping coalitions. In each case, when we dig deeper to the metaphor we hold for ourselves, we gain visibility of what limits our worldview, and the bars that guard us from transformational change. Sohail stresses that a strategy can easily change based on the story you tell others, but it’s uncovering the story you tell yourself as a leader that, while uncomfortable, is the true unlocker of new possibilities for the future. ---Learn more:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.comMetafuture.org & Meta Future SchoolFollow Sohail on LinkedIn & YouTube---⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!---Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2026. Theme songs by Azteca X.

What a year! It’s time to wrap it up for 2025 and highlight the eclectic mix of diverse perspectives, divergent topics and expert thinking that appeared on the show this year. From the best performing episodes and most popular themes, to the most prominent guest go-to's for fresh perspectives, today we’re going back to the episodes that resonated most. Top episodes of 2025:Venture capitalist and futurist Roger Spitz: new playbooks for volatile business environments Political demographer Jennifer Sciubba: the narrative around our population ‘crisis’ Fashion designer Justine Leconte: the manipulative systems that fuel fast fashionForecaster Paul Saffo: pressure testing assumptions about what we know to ‘certain’ in uncertain timesExperimental philosopher Jonathon Keats: asking better questions in existential timesHonorable mentions & favorites:CPG strategist Peter McDonald – the lost muscle of innovation in consumer marketsPolitical scientist Verlan Lewis: flawed political ideologies and the need for less divisive conversationsNeuroaesthetics expert Susan Magsamen: the psychology behind our physical senses----------More:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.com----------⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!----------Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2025. Theme songs by Azteca X.

Andrea Clarke, a futurist and author, joins Jo Lepore to discuss the evolving landscape of work. They delve into why people resist change, emphasizing our tendency to view it as a loss. Andrea encourages workers to embrace agency amid AI advancements, noting the lack of training in this area. The duo also examines the importance of human skills in a tech-driven environment and the need for companies to adopt long-term visions. They advocate for discernment in media narratives about the future and stress the value of adapting to constant change.

The food system isn’t broken. But it has a big problem. That is land – and how little of it we have. Journalist and author Michael Grunwald joins us on the show today to talk openly about the elephant in the food ecosystem. Regenerative agriculture, precision fermentation, vertical farming, meat alternatives … we have no shortage of innovative ideas in the food system. But very quickly, a ‘quick fix’ turns out to be just a dumb idea. Despite a growing population, climate change challenges, and a human hypocrisy problem, Mike says we can feed everyone with the land we have, we just can’t keep taking more of it for agriculture. Perhaps, then, the biggest consideration facing food businesses today is not to chase the ‘next big thing’, but as we scale nascent ideas, to consider land in that equation - and not as a ‘free’ asset. Because as Mike says, with the land we have, the math sucks.----------More:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.comLearn more about Michael GrunwaldFollow Mike on LinkedIn & XGrab a copy of Mike's book 'We are eating the earth'Speaking opportunities with Mike ----------⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!----------Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2025. Theme songs by Azteca X.

Business forecasts depend on the predictable patterns of population growth, both for customer sales and for workforce talent. But what happens when we see this growth halt, or even regress? Political demographer Jennifer D. Sciubba joins the show to dive into some of the largest societal and political dynamics intersecting with demographic shifts. From changes to the types of jobs on offer, to medical access, to urbanization, demographic changes influence a wide array of long term interconnected forces. And when it comes to this topic, Jennifer says, that long term lens is a gift. ----------More:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.comLearn more about Jennifer D. Sciubba, Ph.DFollow Jennifer on LinkedIn & SubstackGrab a copy of Jennifer's book 8 Billion and CountingLearn more about the Population Reference Bureau----------⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!----------Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2025. Theme songs by Azteca X.

Today we are joined once again by good friend of the podcast, Roger Spitz. While Roger is known well as a futurist and change agent today, his career started in investment banking and M&A. On this episode we explore the cross-roads of the investment world with emerging future innovation, and how this impacts business strategy. Roger argues the playbooks of old strategy are outdated. Systemic, regular disruption and added complexities in our world mean we need to use modern frameworks to address new shocks to business systems. When the risks were low, the fallout of bad decisions was manageable, Roger says, but value creation today requires a new way of assessing opportunity – by building anti-fragile systems that can help steer towards the long term game amidst short term crises. Check out Part 2 of this conversation with Roger: https://www.looking-outside.com/podcast/change----------More:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.comLearn more about Roger SpitzFollow Roger on LinkedIn & X & MediumGrab a copy of Roger's book Disrupt with ImpactFollow Techistential on LinkedIn & XFollow the Disruptive Futures Institute on LinkedIn & X----------⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!----------Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2025. Theme songs by Azteca X.

When we talk about “human in the loop” of AI, what we mean is human intervention. But what if the AI was human? Or more accurately, a replica not of a generic repeatable, predictable human-sounding response, but built like you. Tech entrepreneur Robert LoCascio joins us today to explore this future, where humans aren’t just kept in the loop but are integrated with AI. Through his company Eternos, Rob aims to replicate a human being, capturing everything from their past experiences, future hopes, and right down to how they emotionally rationalize in the moment. It begs the question: what do we truly risk giving away to the machine, if we hand over not just our tasks, but our lived stories and learned knowledge? If we give away that which makes us unique, we are makes ourselves replicable. Or, as Rob argues, (if done safely) it could be that we are finding a new way to preserve human life and maintain shared community.----------More:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & X & jolepore.comLearn more about EternosFollow Rob on LinkedIn----------⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!----------Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2025. Theme songs by Azteca X.

If strategic planning in the consumer goods sector feels different right now, you’re not imagining it. For the past 15 years, leaders in CPG categories have struggled to build plans that deliver the kinds of predictable, reliable profit of days past. Former General Mills Chief Strategy Officer, and a leading independent voice in long range strategic planning, Peter McDonald joins us to discuss the shifting expectation of corporate strategy, where it is necessary to provide a long range lens into the future beyond a short term fiduciary focus. At the heart of this strategy challenge today is a preoccupation with old playbooks in new competitive landscapes, prioritizing the shareholder at the expense of the consumer, and operating with false confidence - denial, even - that things will revert to the way they were.----------More:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & X & jolepore.comLearn more about Peter McDonaldFollow Peter on LinkedIn----------⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!----------Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2025. Theme songs by Azteca X.

Fashion is a massive $1.8 Trillion industry. Within that two tales unfold: one of quality, timelessness and individualized expression, and another of wastefulness, shame and pride. On this episode of Looking Outside, we explore how fast fashion competes with slow fashion; where craftsmanship, carefulness and scarcity supersede fleeting trends. For this we’re joined by French fashion designer and YouTuber Justine Leconte. To her one million viewers around the world, Justine emphasizes the importance of choosing what we buy carefully. But not necessarily at the expense of style, which everyone has the ability to harness, particularly when we tailor fashion to us. ----------More:Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.comConnect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & X & jolepore.comLearn more about Justine Leconte & her labelFollow Justine on YouTube, Pinterest & TikTokCheck out Justine's guide for Timelines StyleRequest Justine's Fast Fashion BlacklistWatch 5 myths that fast fashion brands want you to believe----------⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!----------Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2025. Theme songs by Azteca X.