Episode 41 | Are You Optimizing Yesterday Instead of Building Tomorrow? | Brian Solis

🚀 AI DARWINISM: Futurist Brian Solis reveals why most companies are using AI to optimize yesterday — and the "spark of the possible" that separates real transformation from glorified digitizing. Learn why ServiceNow's AI maturity index actually DROPPED in 2025, how IKEA's chatbot generated €1 billion in new revenue, and why intellectual humility beats technical expertise for AI-era leaders.

⏰ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 "What if?" — Cold open 00:16 Welcome and bio 01:14 Meet Brian Solis — what he's up to at ServiceNow 03:06 What is AI Darwinism? 09:12 The 5 stages of AI maturity 13:31 Why the AI maturity score dropped from 44 to 35 18:43 How leaders react to AI — and where they get stuck 23:51 Visionary vision: the leadership shift AI requires 28:30 The IKEA story — how €1B came from asking the opposite question 38:48 MindShift — exploring what you don't know you don't know 50:19 Leadership Corner: managing younger, less experienced execs 59:35 What if? Closing thoughts

🔑 KEY INSIGHTS: - ServiceNow's AI maturity index dropped from 44/100 to 35/100 between 2024 and 2025 — and that's actually progress, not regression - "Visionary vision" requires CEO/board agreement to change measures, incentives, and reward structures, not just AI adoption goals - Most digital transformations failed because they were just digitizing — the same pattern is happening with AI now - IKEA reskilled customer service reps as AI interior designers and generated €1B in net new revenue in year one - The AI-era leaders who win aren't the most technical — they share deep curiosity and intellectual humility - "Spark of the possible" beats "art of the possible" — what AI makes newly imaginable matters more than what was already imaginable

📚 RESOURCES: MindShift (Brian's book): https://www.briansolis.com/mindshift/ Brian Solis website: https://www.briansolis.com ServiceNow AI Maturity Index report: https://www.servicenow.com/research/

🔗 CONNECT: Brian Solis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briansolis/ Submit Leadership Questions: [email protected] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megandamyshow/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-meg-amy-show

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