Brian Solis, is a digital anthropologist and futurist who serves as the Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow and is the former Head of Global Innovation at Salesforce. Brian is a bestselling author of Lifescale, The End of Business as We Know It, and Mindshift, which helps leaders learn how to see emerging trends, harness disruptive forces, and use them to fuel growth. 

Brian joins Robb and Josh to talk with us about the importance of self-disruption in AI adoption. With so many genAI projects failing to reach production, this episode looks at approaches taken by IKEA and Airbnb that have induced the kind of mind shift that invites self-disruption. Brian, who's been called the CEO whisperer, also talks about the nuanced difference between “aha” and “uh-oh” moments and the pitfalls of hopeless optimism.

Brian Solis’s works: https://briansolis.com/books/

Key Chapters

0:00 — Intro: Josh & Rob set the stage

0:34 — Guest intro: Brian Solis (ServiceNow futurist, author of Mindshift)

1:07 — Why AI adoption requires self-disruption

1:26 — Aha vs Uh-oh moments with AI

5:30 — Why Brian is called the “CEO Whisperer”

8:30 — Rethinking failure & success (beyond SV mantras)

12:11 — Storytelling as strategy: Disney & Airbnb lessons

21:40 — MindShift: disruption as a deliberate choice

23:10 — Embrace complexity (the VC decision lens)

25:10 — Iteration vs innovation: redefining growth

29:00 — ROI vs “Return on Ignorance” (cost of not acting)

34:01 — Multiple futures & scenario planning

39:08 — Organizational AGI: companies as futurists

43:28 — IKEA case study: automation + augmentation

46:12 — NVIDIA & the power of simulations

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