How do you navigate the chaos as work transforms faster than ever before? How do you lead people through a world that feels brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible? How do you want to be augmented as generative AI reshapes every aspect of work?

Transform your approach to strategic thinking and future-focused leadership on this episode of the Work Positive Podcast with Dr. Joey Faucette and Dr. Bob Johansen. Bob is a distinguished fellow at the Institute for the Future, the longest-running futures research group in the world. He's a former university basketball player who scored 20 points against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a strategic thinker who has shaped how leaders navigate uncertainty, and the author of multiple groundbreaking books including "Navigating the Age of Chaos" and "Leaders Make the Future" (Third Edition). This is Bob's fourth appearance on the Work Positive Podcast. 

Listen as Bob explores:

☀️ Why VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) is no longer VUCA enough for what we're about to experience

☀️ How the BANI world (brittle, anxious, non-linear, incomprehensible) requires leaders who choose how to be augmented rather than replaced

☀️ Why the big story is humans and computers doing things together that have never been done before rather than computers replacing people

☀️ How Bob uses his customized ChatGPT nicknamed "Stretch" at the beginning of his writing process to stretch his thinking rather than at the end

☀️ The power of keeping a daily gratitude journal to stay grounded as you navigate chaos and create positive work cultures

Bob transforms how leaders think about the future by proving that humanizing generative AI means you create cultures where people choose how to be augmented, discovering comprehensibility through optimism rather than fear.

🔑 Key Insight: "VUCA was coined at the Army War College in the late 1980s, post-Cold War period, and it was US-centric. BANI is much more global. Brittle means systems break suddenly. Anxious means we're all in emotional states where we're kind of overwhelmed. Non-linear means cause and effect are disproportionate. Incomprehensible means our brains can't process what's happening. The question becomes: how do you want to be augmented? We're all going to be augmented. We just don't know how. If you're a leader now or if you're even curious, you gotta be experimenting with this stuff. The real question boils down to what can humans do best and what do we want to keep for ourselves, what can computers do best, and what do we want to do together. That's where I get really optimistic about creating work cultures today."

💡 Your DOT (Do One Thing): Keep a daily gratitude journal. Get a small journal and write down one to three things you're grateful for every day. This one practice has a profound positive impact on your ability to navigate chaos and lead with hope. Also consider starting meetings with a moment of gratitude. Ask team members to share one thing they're grateful for today. It can be about work or something personal. Watch how this simple practice transforms your culture and grounds your team in optimism rather than anxiety as you navigate the BANI world together.

Books by Bob Johansen:

Connect with Bob Johansen:

#BANIWorld #AugmentedLeadership #HumanizeAI #NavigatingChaos #FutureOfWork #GratitudeJournal #CultureEatsStrategyForBreakfast #WorkPositive

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📧 Know someone who'd make a great guest on the show? Email [email protected] with your recommendation!