

What's Next! with Tiffani Bova
Tiffani Bova
Welcome to the What’s Next! Podcast. I’ve met so many brilliant people as I traveled the globe and have had some fascinating conversations that I’ve wished had been recorded so I could share them with you - this podcast was a way for me to recreate those moments and let you in on some fantastic insights. My current conversations center around one objective: what's next for companies and individuals as they look to innovate and grow. I hope these conversations inspire you as much as they have inspired me. Whether I am preparing for a keynote speech or writing for publications such as Harvard Business Review and Huffington Post, these are my go-to people. My goal with the What’s Next! podcast is to keep you thinking and to challenge you to think about What’s Next!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 21, 2023 • 31min
2023 Listener Favorite: The Consumer Psychology Behind Scarcity Mindset with Mindy Weinstein
Mindy Weinstein, founder and CEO of Market MindShift, discusses the consumer psychology behind scarcity mindset and the power of leveraging urgency to influence customer decisions. She explores different types of scarcity and how businesses can utilize these tactics to drive sales. They also touch on the slow adoption of web three technologies and the importance of investing in online presence for small businesses.

Dec 14, 2023 • 25min
Navigating the World of AI with Josh Bersin
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. This week on the What’s Next! Podcast, I have the wonderful privilege of welcoming Josh Bersin to the show. Josh is an analyst and thought leader specializing in the global talent market and the challenges and trends affecting business workforces around the world. He founded Bersin and Associates in 2001 to provide associated research and advisory services, a business he later sold to Deloitte. And then in 2019, he launched the Josh Bersin Academy, the world's first global development academy for HR and talent professionals. He's currently the CEO of its sister research and advisory firm, The Josh Bersin Company. He has a book called Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World's Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations, which came out at the end of 2022, and introduces a new way to think about organizational design, employee engagement, and employee development. THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… leaders who want to develop their organizations and people in the midst of the changes happening in the workforce. TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… between the pandemic and the rise of AI tools, there are some major shifts in our work culture right now. And there’s a lot of fear and uncertainty around it as leaders are trying to figure out a new way to lead. In this conversation, Josh takes things back to the drawing board and shares his perspective on how to successfully lead in the current climate. WHAT I LOVE MOST… to be a developmental leader, you can’t just talk like it, you need to act like it. For companies that have highly inclusive mindsets, it starts at the top. Running Time: 25:11 Subscribe on iTunes Find Tiffani Online: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Find Josh Online: Website LinkedIn Josh’s Book: Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World's Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations

Dec 7, 2023 • 38min
RELOAD: Rising Up Against the Diminisher with Liz Wiseman
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. This week, I’m replaying a conversation with a guest I know you all love - Liz Wiseman. Liz is the author of New York Times bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools, and Wall Street Journal bestseller Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work. Liz is also the CEO of The Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm and in 2017 she was #35 on the Thinkers50 list. THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… anyone looking to improve their leadership skills and build better teams. TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… some leaders are “diminishers,” while others are “multipliers”. The diminishers tend to get less than half of people's intelligence or capability; whereas, multipliers get all of it. But that’s not all, there are also “accidental diminishers” - these are really well-meaning people trying to be good bosses but yet having a diminishing effect on those around them. In this episode, Liz dives into these leadership styles and explores each one. WHAT I LOVE MOST… being aware of the kind of leader you are will help you improve the way you communicate, manage, and inspire those around you to do their best work. Running time: 37:32 Subscribe on iTunes Find Tiffani Online: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Find Liz Online: Website Twitter LinkedIn

Nov 30, 2023 • 33min
RELOAD: Raising Customer Value in Your Business with Bill Macaitis
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. This week, I’d like to go back to a conversation I shared a while back with Bill Macaitis. Bill served as the go-to-market executive for three of the fastest growing SaaS companies: Slack, Zendesk, and Salesforce. He achieved five exits and now enjoys helping other companies achieve hyper-growth by leveraging his cumulative knowledge and helping build go-to-market playbooks and teams. THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… anyone who is looking to turbocharge business performance. TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… customer experience plays a bigger role than you think in your company’s growth. You have to start with two key things: 1) Understand the top reasons your company is recommended 2) Then….understand why it isn’t. Your brand is the sum of every customer touch point, which means everyone, whether they are a salesperson, a customer service agent, a marketer, or in an entirely different group – everyone must have a clear understanding of the value they bring to a customer’s journey. Once everyone is moving forward in the same direction, then it’s a good time to discuss shared metrics and incentives. WHAT I LOVE MOST… it’s always helpful to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. If you are in marketing, go on sales calls. If you are in sales, see what goes into creating the next lead generation campaign. Regardless of where you work in the company, listen in on customer service calls. When the entire company works together toward a shared goal, it will become more effective and the brand will be stronger for it. Running time: 32:47 Subscribe on iTunes Find Tiffani on Social: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Find Bill On Social: LinkedIn Twitter

Nov 23, 2023 • 28min
What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know with Catalina Daniels and James Sherman
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. This week I’m thrilled to bring you an episode of What’s Next! Podcast with a powerful duo, Catalina Daniels and James Sherman who are co-authors of Smart Startups: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know. Catalina spent the first 17 years of her career at McKinsey, where she became a partner. She left McKinsey to become an entrepreneur and eventually an angel investor. She is a venture partner at Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, a prominent New York-based tech accelerator where she mentors U.S. entrepreneurs and helps non-U.S. entrepreneurs expand into the U.S. James started his career at Bain as a consultant and then spent several years working in media with Time Inc. and Pearson. In 1997, he launched the Internet division of Martha Stewart Living. He then became a serial Internet entrepreneur and an active angel investor in New York startups. He's been a mentor to entrepreneurs and sits on the board of Harvard Business School's Alumni Angels of New York. THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… anybody looking to gain some pearls of wisdom about entrepreneurship. TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… entrepreneurship is a challenging journey and real experience from fellow founders is the most useful advice. Catalina and James interviewed eighteen HBS graduates and entrepreneurs who shared real-life experiences founding businesses. In this conversation, they share some of their findings - from the power of a great business model to strategies for scaling. WHAT I LOVE MOST… using an ideation triangle to determine whether an idea is viable and assessing these criteria: size of the opportunity, relevant skills, and passion. Running Time: 28:20 Subscribe on iTunes Find Tiffani on Social: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Find Catalina Online: LinkedIn Find James Online: LinkedIn Catalina + James’ Book: Smart Startups: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know

Nov 16, 2023 • 35min
RELOAD: How Big Companies Can Act Small with Tendayi Viki
Tendayi Viki, an academic and innovation expert, discusses how big companies can act like startups. He emphasizes the importance of creating an innovation thesis, understanding key trends, and aligning everything with the innovation goal. The podcast also explores the definition of innovation, challenges faced, and the significance of applying lean startup techniques. Another important topic is the role of diversity in innovation teams and fostering creative tension for effective ideation.

Nov 9, 2023 • 27min
Master Speaking in the Moment with Matt Abrahams
Matt Abrahams, leading expert in communication, shares practical tips to become a good speaker in the moment. He discusses utilizing AI and human skills, improving listening skills, asking better questions, and the evolution of communication styles.

Nov 2, 2023 • 30min
RELOAD: How Habits Create Repeat Customers with Nir Eyal
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. This week I’m bringing back an interview with Nir Eyal, author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. Nir is an entrepreneur and has taught at Stanford School of Business. THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… companies who want to change consumer behavior. TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… most of what you do throughout the day is because of a habit, the impulse to behave with little or no conscious thought. You choose Google as your search engine out of habit, don’t you? If you are a business owner, you want to make sure that your product is what consumers use because of a habit. When you understand how to create habits, you can generate a tremendous amount of economic and customer value and keep customers coming back. Of the four steps that define a habit — trigger, action, reward, and investment — the investment phase is the most critical. It is in this phase where the company gets the user to do something that increases the likelihood of returning. How do you get repeat customers? It is no longer about traditional advertising. It is more about exposure. Exposure has to be a new and exciting user experience that understands the customers’ wants and needs. WHAT I LOVE MOST… if you want to start understanding your customer’s psychology, understand their emotional triggers. Every customer has a pain point usually associated with a negative emotion, like fear, loneliness, uncertainty, or boredom. Your product has to scratch that user itch and alleviate it through every successive interaction. Running time: 29:36 Subscribe on iTunes Find Tiffani on Social: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Find Nir Online: Website Twitter Medium Nir’s Book: Hooked

Oct 26, 2023 • 25min
Use Language to Increase Your Impact with Jonah Berger
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. Settle in for an exciting episode of the What's Next! Podcast with Jonah Berger. Jonah is a Wharton School professor and internationally bestselling author of Magic Words, Contagious, Invisible Influence, and The Catalyst. Millions of copies of his books are in print in over 35 countries around the world. He's also a world-renowned expert on natural language processing change, word-of-mouth influence, consumer behavior, and why things catch on. He's published over 80 articles in top-tier academic journals and teaches one of the most popular online courses. But I think one of my favorite things about Jonah, and this is a first for a guest on this show, is that his work was actually a Jeopardy question. It said, “Jonah Berger says this three-word person-to-person interaction works ten times better than traditional ads. What is it?” The answer was “word of mouth.” How fitting! THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… anyone who wants to take greater power of language and words. TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… language matters. It can motivate others, impact the way they feel, and lead to action. In this conversation, Jonah addresses the hot topic of large language models and how machines will change communication. But he also takes it back a few steps and reminds us that at the core of any type of communication is an understanding of what drives human behavior. WHAT I LOVE MOST… Jonah’s practical breakdown of the use of the word “should” versus “could.” He shares a study that found that those who were asked what they could do instead of what they should do found more creative solutions. This is a small but powerful example of how important language is. Running Time: 25:18 Subscribe on iTunes Find Tiffani on Social: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Find Jonah Online: Website LinkedIn Twitter Jonah’s Book: Magic Words

Oct 19, 2023 • 38min
RELOAD: Time of Day Matters with Dan Pink
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. This week I’m bringing a fan-favorite episode with the awesome Dan Pink. Dan is the author of six books, including When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Thinkers50 named Dan one of the Top 15 Business Thinkers in the World, and his TED talk The Puzzle of Motivation is one of the 10 most-watched TED talks of all time. THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… anyone looking to improve their likelihood of success in both their personal and professional lives. TODAY’S MAIN MESSAGE… did you know that a book about timing decisions didn’t exist until Dan Pink wrote it in early 2018? When you think about it, we make multiple “when” decisions in our life: When should I exercise during the day? When should I start a product? When should I quit a project? When should I quit my job? Dan’s diligent research into the foundation behind our “when” decisions led him to discover that people mostly disregard the question of when and instead focus on what and who and how. WHAT I LOVE MOST… breaks are more important than you think. We need to start thinking about breaks as part of our performance not a deviation from performance. Running time: 37:43 Subscribe on iTunes Find Tiffani Online Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Find Dan Online: Twitter Facebook