What if you could design the future — instead of reacting to it?

In today's episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, Peter Winick sits down with futurist and design strategist Lisa Kay Solomon to explore how leaders can use design thinking to actively shape what’s next.

Lisa is a Designer-in-Residence at Stanford’s d.school, an educator, a bestselling author, and a respected voice on the Thinkers50 Radar list. She helps leaders and organizations make better long-term decisions in a short-term world. Her superpower? Turning vague uncertainty into actionable insight — by teaching leaders how to think like futurists.

Lisa shares how she guides boards, conference planners, and executive teams through complex challenges. She doesn’t just create better experiences — she builds capabilities that last. Whether it’s designing strategic conversations or preparing teams to operate in ambiguity, Lisa brings a toolkit of creative, repeatable practices to move from stuck to strategic.

If you’ve ever found yourself saying, “Yeah, but that would never happen here,” Lisa has a chapter — and a strategy — just for you.

This conversation is packed with high-impact takeaways for those who want to lead with intention and design a future worth inhabiting.

Three Key Takeaways:

• Designing the Future Is a Teachable Skill
Lisa argues that futures thinking isn’t a mysterious talent—it’s a learnable capability. Most leaders have been trained to focus on short-term goals. Lisa teaches them how to widen their lens, shift perspective, and think long-term using strategic design practices.

• Great Ideas Need More Than Strategy—They Need Capability
Organizations often bring Lisa in to spark innovation—whether at board meetings or large conferences. But the real value she delivers goes beyond a single event. She helps teams build the capabilities to sustain innovation, adapt to change, and continue asking the right questions long after she’s gone.

• Overcoming the “Yeah, Buts” That Block Progress
Lisa names the top three “yeah, buts” that sabotage future thinking: short-term pressure, lack of resources, and not knowing how. Her approach disarms these mental blockers by reframing possibility as practical—and showing leaders how to move from reactive to proactive in shaping what’s next.

If you found Lisa Kay Solomon’s insights on designing the future and building long-term leadership capabilities compelling, you won’t want to miss our episode with Joseph Press: Thought Leadership for Future Thinking. Both Lisa and Joseph explore how leaders can move beyond short-term fixes to shape more intentional, future-ready organizations. While Lisa focuses on strategic conversations and capability building through design, Joseph dives into how thought leadership and digital transformation intersect to foster future thinking. Together, these episodes offer a powerful one-two punch for anyone looking to lead with clarity, creativity, and courage in uncertain times. Listen to both and equip yourself with the mindset and tools to not just predict the future—but actively shape it.

In this special compilation episode of Leveraging Thought Leadership, host Bill Sherman brings together four voices at the forefront of AI and innovation: Jen Cohen, Stephanie Grayson, Amelia Ross, and Spencer Ante. Each offers a powerful, firsthand take on how AI is changing the way we lead, communicate, and make decisions.

Jen Cohen explores how AI can amplify—rather than replace—human potential. She’s seen how automation can unlock joy and confidence, from safe driving to elder care. For Cohen, AI is about purpose, empathy, and enabling people to thrive through their “ikigai.”

Stephanie Grayson shares how AI is becoming an essential research partner in the world of B2B thought leadership. But she also flags real risks—from bias to hallucinations—and warns that without humans in the loop, AI can damage brand trust faster than it can build it.

Amelia Ross breaks down how natural language processing (NLP) can make sense of real-time chaos, like the war in Ukraine. She reveals how AI-driven insights helped governments and companies cut through disinformation and find clarity in crisis—demonstrating the societal power of smart content strategy.

And Spencer Ante takes us to the edge of the AI frontier, where generative tools like ChatGPT are reshaping not just how we work, but how we think. A former investigative journalist, he calls on business leaders to collaborate with AI—not fear it—and to focus on managing truth, training systems, and preserving human creativity and empathy.

From content to ethics, strategy to scalability, this episode is a must-listen for anyone leading in a world shaped by machines—and guided by human insight.

Four Key Takeaways

AI should be used to amplify human capability, not replace it. Whether in automated driving or elder care, AI can remove risk and enhance joy—while preserving purpose and human involvement.

Thought leadership must remain human-led and carefully validated. AI is a powerful research assistant, but without human oversight, it risks spreading misinformation and damaging trust.

AI-driven NLP can turn unstructured real-time data into actionable insight, helping organizations cut through disinformation and respond quickly to fast-changing global events.

AI won’t replace human creativity—it will augment intelligence. Leaders must learn to collaborate with AI tools, supervise them, and guide them with empathy and strategy.

Can doing good in the world be quantified like ROI?

Peter Winick sits down with Nick Cooney, founder and managing partner of Lever VC, to explore how a venture capitalist measures moral return alongside financial return. Nick’s not your typical VC—he’s also the author of "What We Don't Do: Inaction in the Face of Suffering and the Drive to Do More", a book that fuses analytical thinking with a deep commitment to reducing suffering.

Nick reveals how dictating thoughts during a long car ride led to a full-fledged book deal with Simon & Schuster. But this isn’t just a passion project—it’s a strategic move. Nick shares how writing the book expands his credibility with mission-driven founders and impact-minded investors.

You’ll hear how he uses the “Brady Rule”—a nod to NFL legend Tom Brady—to challenge philanthropists to pursue giving with the same intensity as professional athletes pursue greatness. And how the overlap between financial rigor and moral responsibility creates a powerful (and rare) kind of leader.

Peter and Nick dive into the strategic value of thought leadership for VCs: from deal flow to LP trust, to long-game positioning. Plus, Nick shares what he’s learned from marketing the book, why the publishing timeline misses the mark, and what feedback surprised him most.

This is a conversation for anyone looking to align meaning with metrics—and use content to drive serious business outcomes.

Three Key Takeaways:

• Thought Leadership Can Power Business Strategy
Nick’s book isn’t just a personal project—it’s a tool to build credibility, drive deal flow, and attract like-minded investors and founders. A well-positioned book can serve as your most powerful business card.

• Impact and Analytics Aren’t Mutually Exclusive
Nick bridges the gap between rigorous financial thinking and doing good. He argues that applying ROI-based decision-making to philanthropy and impact can dramatically increase the effectiveness of our efforts to reduce suffering.

• You Can—and Should—Train for Good Like an Athlete
One standout idea from Nick’s book is the “Brady Rule”—a call for people to approach doing good in the world with the same intensity, discipline, and optimization mindset as elite athletes do their sport.

If Nick Cooney’s episode got you thinking about how doing good can be measured, optimized, and scaled—then you’ll want to dive into our conversation with Dr. Moshe Engelberg. Like Nick, Moshe challenges traditional business thinking by bringing purpose and values into the spotlight. In his episode, we explore how love—yes, love—can be a strategic business advantage, driving both culture and performance. Both Nick and Moshe offer bold frameworks for leaders who want to align their success with meaningful impact. If you’re rethinking ROI to include humanity, ethics, and long-term value, this is the perfect next listen:
Love from Thought Leadership with Moshe Engelberg