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 Deborah Perry Piscione, co-author of the book “EMPLOYMENT IS DEAD: How Disruptive Technologies are Revolutionizing the Way we Work” and co-founder and Chief Future Officer of the Work3 Institute.

0:22: Welcome and Introduction to “Employment is Dead”

1:39: The Core Thesis: Why Employment as We Know It Is Ending

6:18 The Destruction of Jobs: AI, Humanoids, and Physical Work

14:18: Carlota Perez’s Theory of Economic Transitions

17:54: The Work3 Institute: Advising Organizations Through the Shift

20:32: Education: What K–12 and Universities Must Become

27:23 Alpha Schools and New Models for Learning

31:00 Economics, Purpose, and the Meaning Crisis

37:40 Humanoids, AI Relationships, and Human Identity

42:49 Optimism, Pessimism, and Where We Stand

50:11 What Leaders and Organizations Should Do Now

52:15 Where to Learn More

Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators?

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

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, welcomes Sangeet Paul Choudary– expert on platform economics and network effects, and the recipient of the 2025 Thinkers50 Strategy Award – to discuss his new book Reshuffle.

0:00 - Intro & Teaser

0:31 - Welcome & Guest Introduction (Sangeet Choudary, author of "Reshuffle")

1:49 - The Maginot Line Analogy: Why We're Solving the Wrong Problem with AI

4:07 - AI's Automation Lens vs. the Coordination Lens

5:02 - AI's Real Impact: Changing How the Economy Connects

7:15 - What Inspired the Book "Reshuffle"

9:40 - The Shipping Container Analogy: Lessons for AI

11:21 - From Port Automation to Systemic Transformation

13:04 - How AI Makes Tacit & Unstructured Knowledge Usable

15:35 - AI's Impact on Jobs & Roles: What Really Disappears

17:51 - Coordination as AI's Magical Property

18:27 - What AI Means for Strategy

19:08 - From Operational Uncertainty to Structural Uncertainty

19:51 - Industry Boundaries Are Collapsing

21:46 - The New Way to Win: Reshaping the Playing Field

26:51 - The TikTok Example: Intelligence-First vs. Social Graph

29:34 - Shein & AI-Driven Fast Fashion

33:45 - Sephora: AI as a Consumer Decision-Making Assistant

36:13 - Solution Providers vs. Tool Providers (Two Strategic Roles)

41:55 - What Will Happen to Consulting?

44:22 - New Business Models: Rentable, Recombinable & Scalable (Mr. Beast Burgers)

48:30 - Sangeet's Next Book: "Unfair Advantage"

51:01 - The Dynamics of Transition: From Petroleum Age to Digital

53:00 - Apple's Masterclass in Value Migration (iPod → iPhone)

57:37 - Closing Remarks & Farewell

New episodes of the Thought Sparks Podcast are released every Tuesday at 11am Eastern.

Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators?

Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.

Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.

Connect with Rita on TikTok.

Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.

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

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, welcomes Christian Marcolli, a performance psychologist who works with elite athletes and executives on how to achieve and sustain high performance, and the author of “Winning Match: Leadership for Game Changers”

00:27 Introductions and Novartis’ Culture Leadership Advisory Board

2:19: From Professional Soccer Player to Psychology PhD Candidate

8:37: Working with Roger Federer

10:05: Creating Frameworks that Nurture Talent

12:55: The 4 Traits of a Potential Game Changer

14:32: The Role of Generosity in Leadership

17:03: Leadership Sparring: How Leaders Get Feedback as Organizations Flatten

23:35: The Five Practices for Performance Improvement

29:42: Examples from NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang and Airbnb’s Brian Cheskey

33:36: Case Study in Performance Improvement

36:59: How Leaders Foster the Development of Potential

38:49: The Hidden Talents That Leaders Miss

42:20: Examples from Elite Athletes: How Mindset Boosts Performance

47:33: How to Find a Leadership Sparring Partner

48:59: Why Peer-to-Peer Leadership Support is Indispensable

52:03: Takeaways to Implement Right Away

Thought Sparks are the brainchild of Rita McGrath. They are insightful actions, strategic ideas, actionable suggestions and innovative approaches that help organizations and leaders master the future with less fear and more confidence.

New episodes of the Thought Sparks Podcast are released every Tuesday at 11am Eastern.

Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators?

Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.

Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.

Connect with Rita on TikTok.

Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.

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