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 

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ 

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https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath 

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https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ 

Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com.