Looking Outside

What does it take to lead in volatile markets? In this Business Brief we look at how leaders respond under pressure and with competing directives - to transform the business for new external conditions while keeping the status quo.
Business Brief is a (very brief, just 5 mins) new solo series by Jo Lepore, exploring immediate business implications of emerging topics.
Learn more:
Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.com
Connect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.com
Watch this Business Brief on YouTube

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⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!
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Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.
All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2026. Theme song by Adrian Walther.

Leaders in volatile and unpredictable markets are often asked to steady the course and stabilize the ship. But what if chaos is the new business normal? Organizational change expert Niven Postma says any leader navigating uncertainty today needs to harness a new type of workplace intelligence. She points to the Stockdale Paradox, where the brutality of the moment is recognized as the reality. Pragmatism, therefore, is the most required skill of the future leader. Without that, Niven argues, the most idealistic leaders quickly become cynics, and cynics become complicit to the complacency of corporate life.
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Learn more:
Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.com
Connect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.com
Learn more about Niven at nivenpostma.com
Connect with Niven on LinkedIn
Grab a copy of Niven's book If you don't do politics, politics will do you
Check out Niven's LinkedIn courses on organizational leadership

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⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!
---
Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every month. Never the same topic.
All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2026. Theme song by Azteca X.

The modern influencer economy is worth billions so it's clearly influencing marketers, but does it pay off in the long term? In this Business Brief, we look at how brands have been winning, losing and controlling authority for decades, and why everyday influencers are here today, but will be gone tomorrow.
Business Brief is a (very brief, just 5 mins) new solo series by Jo Lepore, exploring immediate business implications of emerging topics.
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Learn more:
Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.com
Connect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.com
Watch this Business Brief on YouTube

---
⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!
---
Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.
All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2026. Theme song by Adrian Walther.

Influencer marketing is not a paradigm shift. At best it’s an over-inflated investment (in the billions), at worst it’s serving up false credibility to audiences, masked as ‘trust’. And yet, it’s all that seemed to be on the agenda at Cannes this year, and is being heavily weighted in the marketing media mix by marketers that should know better. Is marketing through influencers, or content creators, a waste of money then? Ramanathan Vythilingam says no - if it’s intentionally used. Ram has been researching the effectiveness of influencer campaigns, following two decades behind the scenes at Unilever. He says the name of the game now is to get savvy and more protective of brand assets and marketing dollars, especially in this marketing era of abundance and clutter.
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Learn more:
Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.com
Connect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.com
Connect with Ram on LinkedIn
Read Ram's WARC article on influencer marketing

---
⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!
---
Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every month. Never the same topic.
All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2026. Theme song by Azteca X.

Who will run your business in the future? We like to study, interview and market to young people, but are we really ready to handle the feedback they're serving? In this Business Brief, we look at the 'performative' nature of youth engagement and why this is causing a further disconnect for the next generation of leaders.
Business Brief is a (very brief, just 5 mins) new solo series by Jo Lepore, exploring immediate business implications of emerging topics.
---
Learn more:
Looking Outside podcast www.looking-outside.com
Connect with host, Jo Lepore on LinkedIn & Substack & jolepore.com
Watch this Business Brief on YouTube

---
⭐ Follow & rate the show - it makes a difference!
---
Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every 2 weeks. Never the same topic.
All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2026. Theme song by Adrian Walther.