Future Leadership

"Middle manager." The term evokes a bygone industrial era in which managers functioned like cogs in a vast machine and bureaucracy ruled. In recent decades, midlevel managers became a favorite target for the chopping block—underappreciated, often considered a superfluous layer of the organization. Not only does this outdated perspective need to change, the future demands it. In Power to the Middle, McKinsey thought leaders Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, and Emily Field call for a profound reimagining of what middle managers can and must be able to do.

In 27 inspiring and insightful essays, this audiobook celebrates the wisdom of some of the most recognized thought leaders of our day, who share their unique visions of leadership for the future. Our post-9/11 world presents new and unexpected challenges for present and future leaders, and the articles in this audiobook reaffirm, reconsider, and expand on the basic principles and values of leadership as they apply to emerging and unforeseen challenges, opportunities, and trends.

What is strategic thinking exactly? Are we born with it, or can we nurture it? As a distinct and important capability in leaders, strategic thinking is a remarkably poorly defined, little understood concept, confined to management courses and board meetings. But in The Art of Strategic Thinking, world-renowned expert Michael Watkins shows leaders how they can benefit from it, as long as they have the tools to nurture it.

We are living in a strange world—Salmon calls it “the New Not Normal.” The Phoenix Economy explores the ramifications of the pandemic years, many of which are surprisingly positive. In doing so, Salmon makes sense of one of the most disorienting and devastating events of our lifetimes. He examines the critical aspects of our lives that have been transformed in three parts: Time and Space, Mind and Body, and Business and Pleasure.

Artificial intelligence is changing our world faster than we can imagine, and it will impact every area of our lives. And this is happening whether we like it or not. You might have heard that many jobs will be replaced by automation and robots, but did you also know that at the same time a huge number of new jobs will be created by AI? This book covers many fascinating and timely topics related to artificial intelligence, including: self-driving cars, robots, chatbots, and how AI will impact the job market, business processes, and entire industries, just to name a few.

Dwight Zscheile, Michael Binder, and Tessa Pinkstaff build on Scripture, theology, and the latest leadership and change theories to guide church leaders on a journey toward grassroots, participatory spiritual growth. This faithful innovation begins with a three-step process: listening to God and to each other, acting so we can learn, and sharing our stories in community. Real-life stories and supportive spiritual practices make each step toward effective change accessible and actionable.

This deeply contextual biography centers on the tensions generated by the pope’s attempt to turn the Church away from power and tradition and outwards to engage humanity with God’s mercy. Through battles with corrupt bankers and worldly cardinals, in turbulent meetings and on global trips, history’s first Latin-American pope has attempted to reshape the Church to evangelize the contemporary age. At the same time, he has stirred other leaders’ deep-seated fear that the Church is capitulating to modernity.

The much-anticipated and inspiring memoir by Indra Nooyi, the trailblazing former CEO of PepsiCo, offering clear-eyed insight and a call to action for how our society can really blend work and family - and advance women - in the 21st century. For more than a dozen years as one of the world's most admired CEOs, Indra Nooyi redefined what it means to be an exceptional leader. The first woman, person of colour and immigrant to run a Fortune 50 company, Nooyi transformed PepsiCo with a unique vision, a vigorous pursuit of excellence and a deep sense of purpose.

Since the release of Doug Stephens’ first book, The Retail Revival, change in the global retail sector has accelerated beyond even the boldest forecasts. As predicted, online giants like Amazon and Alibaba.com are growing at a dizzying pace. Hundreds of well-known brick-and-mortar retailers have closed their doors, and brands and retailers across categories are struggling to understand the shifting needs and expectations of a new consumer.

Based on over 100 CEO interviews and a survey of nearly 14,000 employees, renowned leadership thought leader and futurist Jacob Morgan shares candid stories and original research that shows how leaders can tap into vulnerability to transform themselves, their teams, and their organizations. This book will show you why it's so crucial to lead with vulnerability and how to do it well.

#1 Must-Read for Future-Focused Leaders, Innovators & Change-Makers Are you ready to stop reacting to change—and start creating it? Disruption doesn’t knock—it crashes in. Whether it’s a sudden shift in market dynamics, groundbreaking technologies like AI, economic uncertainty, or global crises, one thing is clear: the world is changing faster than ever. And in today’s high-stakes environment, those who wait to adapt are already behind. Seeing the Future: Anticipating Disruption, Creating Opportunity, and Leading Forward is your essential playbook for thriving in a world of chaos,...

Drawing on a wide array of people and places, Uncharted traces long-term projects that shrewdly evolved over generations to meet the unpredictable challenges of every new age. Heffernan also looks at radical exercises and experiments that redefined standard practices by embracing different perspectives and testing fresh approaches. Preparing to confront a variable future provides the antidote to passivity and prediction.

Working from Home: Making the New Normal Work for You provides listeners with a detailed strategy on how to turn working from home into a powerful career choice. Author and Salesforce executive Karen Mangia teaches listeners how to: build the future of work in any kind of space: ideas for your home office that fit anywhere; create personalized time management routines designed specifically for remote productivity, impact, and balance - even while wearing your sweatpants; deal with Zoom fatigue; and more.

In the knowledge economy, your team’s brainpower—their intellect, creativity, learning capacity, and decision-making ability—is the key factor in their success at work. And their scattered focus dilutes that brainpower, hindering your organization’s ability to succeed. Today's "always-on" work culture too often prevents your staff from producing what matters most: ideas, innovation, and meaningful results. How can you and your team be successful when exhaustion and frustration from 24/7 communications, changing priorities, and constant distractions are the norm? Executives must protect their teams (and themselves!) from the high cost of chronic stress and burn-out. To achieve this and improve your company’s results, you must invest in how well you and your teams manage attention. When employees master attention management, they are more successful, engaged, and productive.

Sometimes the events that seem pivotal are just blips, while the more meaningful cultural shifts are hiding in plain sight. Marian Salzman’s job is to uncover those hidden shifts. So what’s in store for the next two decades? In this acutely observed guide, Salzman, whose past predictions have been heralded for coming uncannily close to the way we live now, unpacks the course of human life from the bumpy turn of the millennium through the pandemic era.

This myth shattering book reveals the methods Nouriel Roubini used to foretell the current crisis before other economists saw it coming and shows how those methods can help us make sense of the present and prepare for the future. Renowned economist Nouriel Roubini electrified his profession and the larger financial community by predicting the current crisis well in advance of anyone else.

Imagine a world where companies can move successfully into the future, where these brittle solutions are replaced with a flexible, simple approach that also delivers enterprise-grade capabilities. This book introduces asset operations management (AOM), an operating principle founded on the belief that asset-intensive organizations have much to gain by adopting new approaches to data, collaboration, and communication—all supported by modern, consumer-grade technology experiences.

From the world’s leading high-tech strategist comes the definitive road map to help established companies create next-generation growth.

The Future Leader is a business fable that serves as a practical resource, offering guidance to prepare for leadership while navigating the unique challenges of family dynamics and business responsibilities. Follow a candid dialogue between Jordan, a new successor, and Kelly, a family friend who has years of firsthand experience in the trials of succession.

In today’s world, the acceleration of megatrends – increasing longevity and the explosion of technology among many others – are transforming life as we now know it. In The Perennials, bestselling author of 2030 Mauro Guillén unpacks a sweeping societal shift triggered by demographic and technological transformation. Guillén argues that outmoded terms like Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z have long been used to pigeonhole us into rigid categories and life stages, artificially preventing people from reaching their full potential.