What Next?

Gabrielle Dolan, global expert in strategic storytelling on the power of storytelling in Communications. The best-selling author of eight books, including the latest - Story Intelligence: The Craft of Authentic Storytelling Made Smarter with AI, which debuted at number one in Australia and reached number one on Amazon's hot new releases in four different categories, says that we need to storytelling that helps us understand, remember, and retell messages better. Efficiency can get in the way of effectiveness, she argues, while authenticity over AI-generated content is still the goal in Comms. AI can be a storytelling coach, she says, but the best storytelling are always your unique, authentic stories.

Jonathan David Lewis, president of McKee Wallwork on rebuilding leadership in a trust recession. The author of three books including Brand vs Wild: Building Resilient Brands for Harsh Business Environments, and The Rebuilders: Daily Foundations for the Leaders We Need, he says that leaders must adopt a new playbook to address the workforce's increasing feelings of transactionality, futurelessness, and suffering (TFS). It is community, he argues, that defines identity, and leaders play a critical role in rebuilding relationships in a world where CEOs are the least trusted group in the workplace.

Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada's Ocean Supercluster on digital transformation in the ocean economy. One of Atlantic Businesses Magazine's top 50 CEOs, and recipient of The King Charles Award which honors exemplary Canadians for exceptional leadership and impact, she shows how narrative can harness the opportunity for growth in Canada’s long coastline and the ocean's critical role in global systems. Stressing the need for trust, urgency, and alignment in projects, she says that AI can enhance business strategies, but that innovation in the future is less about technology and more about storytelling. 

Dr. Ami Bhatt, Chief Innovation Officer at the American College of Cardiology and FDA Digital Health Advisory Committee chair on the rise of telemedicine and AI in healthcare. The Harvard and Yale trained cardiologist explains how and why to build the frameworks which determine how AI and digital health tools reach patients safely, equitably and at scale. Leadership, governance, and infrastructure are essential, she argues, for AI to improve patient outcomes, and to meet the challenges of scaling innovation, the shift towards hybrid, continuous and data-informed care. Patient agency, education and responsible AI adoption, she says, is vital in addressing unmet healthcare needs effectively.Follow Dr. Bhatt on LinkedIn and X, and visit dramibhatt.com for more on AI governance and the future of care delivery.• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dramibhatt• X: @AmiBhattMD• Website: dramibhatt.com

Brian Solis, futurist and digital anthropologist on his bestselling book Mindshift: Transform Leadership, Drive Innovation, and Reshape the Future.  The Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow, and a special advisor to the United Nations Global Innovation Team is who Forbes has described as one of the most creative and brilliant business minds of our time. He explains his term ‘cognitive Darwinism,’ as spicy thinking about the future workplace where AI can lead to perpetual mediocrity if not used strategically. AI, he says, is about enhancing human capabilities and building a better workforce, but the trick is maintaining agency in the agentic age.

Rei Inamoto, founder of global innovation firm, I&CO and former chief creative officer at AKQA, on the shift from storytelling to trusted differentiation as a core brand strategy.  The author of "Brand Shift" says that the rise of short videos, personal brands, product-as-content and increased consumer expectations has changed the very nature of storytelling and made trust a premium in a world where information is murky. While our human obsession with storytelling over thousands of years is important in marketing, he argues it is the notion of trust and how a company positions itself as trusted differentiation that really matters.

Natalia Zacharin, founder of Zacharin Consulting, on her journey from corporate life to scaling her firm to $3 million in six years. The Inc 5000 honoree who specializes in fractional CFO services and strategic financial planning, argues the importance of understanding financials, particularly for small businesses, and the pitfalls of inaccurate bookkeeping. Sharing insights on her experience as a fractional CFO and the importance of continuous learning and mentorship, she advises business owners to be cautious with debt, invest wisely, and maintain higher profit margins for growth and reinvestment. Revenue and sales themselves, she tells us, will never fix broken systems, and profit is not the same as cash.

Rebecca Hinds, author of "Your Best Meeting Ever" on the principles for designing effective meetings. The founder of Work Innovation Lab at Asana and the Work AI Institute at Glean, emphasizes the importance of applying product design principles to meetings, including her 4D system - Discussion, Development, Decision or Debate to reduce "meeting debt" and determine if a meeting is necessary at all. Meetings, she argues, should be limited to discussions requiring complex, emotional or one-way decisions, which leads to real insights into organizational design in the workplace. The best organizations, she says are where leaders lead with curiosity, find the bridge builders, the super connectors and the difference makers, who themselves play with the technology and ask not what they can do with it, but what it can do for them.

Jason P. Carroll, founder of Aptive Index — a behavioral intelligence platform powered by psychometric science and AI that helps leaders hire better, lead smarter, and build thriving teams. A TEDx speaker and certified Dare to Lead facilitator trained by Dr. Brené Brown, Jason brings together the science of human behavior and the art of courageous leadership. He says that while AI and technology will change jobs, organizations must leverage, focus on and train their people, because it will be how people use the technology that will make all the difference to the future of business.