Thought Sparks

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Michael Clinton, former president and publishing director and current special advisor to the CEO of Hearst Magazines, author of “Longevity Nation”, “ROAR Into The Second Half of Your Life.”, and expert on the business and personal effects of the New Longevity. 
0:00 — Intro  
0:19 — Meet Michael Clinton & Longevity Nation  
1:29 — Michael's backstory in publishing at Hearst  
2:43 — How Roar into the Second Half was born  
3:49 — Retirement is a false construct  
5:40 — Reimagineers: rewriting the second half of our lives 
11:20 — Do companies take longevity seriously?  
13:20 — Innovative work models (Flex 58, Singapore)  
15:12 — Reconciling ageism vs. the 50+ economy  
20:07 — Medicine, tech, and AI convergence  
24:55 — The 60-year career  
32:38 — Self-efficacy and the confidence edge  
48:21 — Entrepreneurship in midlife  
50:05 — Women leading the longevity movement  
57:04 — The five core longevity hacks 
1:00:07 – Conclusion and where to learn more 
 
 
 
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify.  
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU 
 
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.  
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q 
 
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.  
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ 
https://x.com/rgmcgrath 
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social 
 
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram. 
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath 
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ 
 
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.   
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ 
 
Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com.

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Roger Dennis, advisor on long term thinking and foresight and cultural transformation specialist.  
 
00:00 Introduction  
00:22 Welcome Roger Dennis  
01:03 How Roger became a futurist  
03:05 "Getting above strategy" explained  
05:18 Current geopolitical risks & top trends to watch  
07:13 Three things leaders need: capabilities, process, routines  
09:44 Historical precedents for today's volatility  
11:31 Example: tolls on the Strait of Hormuz/Malacca  
12:35 Reversion to the mean, or a new normal?  
14:19 The "Layer Player" framework  
18:28 Second-order consequences & policy paradoxes  
23:26 Acting under uncertainty: the Netflix story  
26:15 Why you need real experts, not guesswork  
28:03 The 2015 pandemic report nobody wanted  
29:53 New Zealand's COVID Tracer App success story  
33:08 The mindset of realistic optimism  
41:58 How the music industry refused to adapt 43:38 Industries still "hanging on" today  
45:02 Agentic AI and the ROI problem  
46:57 From mass production to personalization  
50:11 Where to learn more: The Paradox of Preparedness  
55:02 Key takeaway for leaders 
 
 
 
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify.  
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU 
 
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.  
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q 
 
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.  
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ 
https://x.com/rgmcgrath 
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social 
 
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram. 
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath 
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ 
 
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.   
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ 
 
Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com.

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Jonathan Brill, business futurist and co-author of AI and the Octopus Organization: Building the Superintelligent Firm.  
 
 
1:56: Explaining the Octopus Metaphor 
3:25: AI-Enabled Bottom-Up Innovation 
8:01: The Economic Shift: From Physical to Digital 
9:05: Where Leaders Should Start with AI 
14:27: Three Questions to Ask Your AI Every Month 
19:10 Reading Signals Before Disruption Hits 
20:37: Netflix, Blockbuster & Kodak: Lessons in Timing 
24:08: HP vs. Xerox: Operational Flexibility Wins 
25:24: Operational Advantage Is the New Competitive Advantage 
30:16: The Danger of Organizational Myths 
31:45: Why Leaders Must Be at the Edge 
32:12: You Can't Outrun 32x: Rethinking Speed 
34:24: The Dual Responsibility of Leaders 
36:51: US Navy Case Study: Unleashing Innovation 
43:25: The Emotion Chapter: Leading Through Disruption 
44:29: The L-U-C-K Framework: 4 Traits of Leaders Who Thrive 
48:19: Rethinking the CEO Role: Jensen Huang & NVIDIA 
51:32: Psychological Safety & Execution Before Strategy 
54:43: The Future of Organizations: Middle Management & Beyond 
58:06: Wrap-Up & How to Connect 
 
 
 
 
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify.  
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU 
 
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.  
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q 
 
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.  
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ 
https://x.com/rgmcgrath 
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social 
 
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram. 
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath 
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ 
 
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.   
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ 
 
Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com.

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, speaks with fellow Silicon Guild Members Chris Shipley and Scott Barry Kaufman, editors of the upcoming essay collection “Leading for Tomorrow: Unlocking Human Potential in the Era of Continuous Change and Endless Possibility” which equips leaders with the skills needed for effective leadership in the modern era.  
 
0:00 - Intro & Welcome 
0:45 - About the Book "Leading for Tomorrow" (July 8th release) 
1:07 - The Origin Story: Silicon Guild & Thinkers50 Collaboration 
3:13 - Overview of the Book's 5 Core Themes 
5:26 - Mindset Shift towards Collaboration & Adaptability 
6:24 - Purpose & Organizational Values 
6:45 - Learning as a Core Competence 
7:37 - The Epochal Transition: From Physical to Digital World 
8:33 - AI as Accelerant, Not the Cause of Change 
9:16 - What the Book Teaches Us to Do in Uncertain Times 
9:52 - Surprises During the Editing Process 
11:15 - Advice for Young People Entering the Workforce 
17:46 - The Decline of Traditional Corporate Employment 
21:13 - From Transactional to Relational Value Creation 
24:27 - Fear of Change & Experiencing Disruption as Loss 
25:34 - The Information-to-Illumination Reframe (Sanyin Siang) 
27:50 - Whitney Johnson: "When the Ground Gives Way" (Chilean Miners Story) 
30:43 - Brian Solis: The AIQ Mindset 
31:43 - Chip Conley on Wisdom as a Leadership Value 
32:40 - The Importance of Empathy in Leadership 
33:50 - Defining True Empathy (vs. Just Being Nice) 
36:51 - What Leaders Actually Owe Their Teams 
39:44 - What Readers Will Discover in the Book 
40:22 - Coherence Among the World's Top Business Thinkers 
 
43:13 - Wrap-Up & How to Pre-Order "Leading for Tomorrow" 
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify.  
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU 
 
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.  
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q 
 
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.  
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ 
https://x.com/rgmcgrath 
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social 
 
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram. 
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath 
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ 
 
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.   
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ 
 
Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com.

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, speaks with Sharmla Chetty, CEO of Duke Corporate Education and expert on human-centered leadership, AI, and workforce transformation. 
 
0:00 Introduction 
0:57 Sharmla's Story: Growing Up Under Apartheid 
3:30 Systems Change: From Personal to Global 
10:27 Overton Windows & Tipping Points 
12:51 The Global Economy: Uneven Worlds & Emerging Markets 
16:22 A Once-in-a-Century Inflection Point (Carlota Perez's Framework) 
21:41 The End of Competitive Moats: Strategy in the Age of AI 
23:16 Strategic Centering: Five Ways to Define Your Company 
26:18 Purpose, Ecosystems & the Role of Government 
27:59 Trust as the New Currency 
28:34 Remote Work, Human Connection & Social Capital 
38:15 The Future of Education: New Models 
45:37 Executive Education Reimagined: Duke CE's Approach 
41:21 Do We Still Need Degrees? 
47:05 The Care Economy & Kindness as a Capability 
58:42 Distributed Leadership & Navigating Complexity 
59:28 A Human-Centered Economy: Closing Reflections 
 
 
Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators?   
 
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify.  
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU 
 
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.  
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q 
 
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.  
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ 
https://x.com/rgmcgrath 
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social 
 
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram. 
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath 
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ 
 
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.   
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ 
 
Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com.