One of many nice issues about internet hosting a podcast about B2B advertising is that I get to attach with associates from the enterprise and advertising world that I’ve know for a few years – individuals I respect and which have had a major influence on transferring the trade ahead.

An important instance of somebody who has performed simply that’s this week’s visitor on Past B2B Advertising, Brian Solis, Head of International Innovation at ServiceNow.

I met Brian practically 20 years in the past when he had his personal digital PR/advertising company and was one of the crucial distinguished champions of social media earlier than anybody else.

Quick ahead to at the moment and we discover Brian as a 9-time finest promoting creator, worldwide keynote speaker, digital futurist and deep thinker on all issues AI and transformation. He travels the world educating and galvanizing enterprise and know-how leaders on enterprise and digital innovation and transformation methods.  The credentials listing on Brian could possibly be a weblog publish on it’s personal.

For these of us working in a advertising management perform, we all know transformation is entrance and heart for B2B manufacturers and that’s why I used to be pleased to attach with Brian for a dialog concerning the Mindshift of B2B Advertising and the position of belief, AI and human connection.

On this episode of Past B2B, Brian and I discuss how AI is reshaping management, creativity, and belief in B2B advertising. We speak concerning the core concepts from his ebook Mindshift on why transformation begins with how we predict, not what we do and the rising want for leaders to stability automation with creativeness. Brian additionally shares how one can make thought leadership extra human and credible, why empathy is the inspiration of belief, and the way essentially the most profitable corporations shall be people who design for a human-led, AI-powered future.

Key Questions Answered in This Episode:

  • What does the Innovation Workplace at ServiceNow do, and what’s its mission?
  • Why does Brian say transformation begins with mindset, not know-how?
  • How can B2B leaders use AI as a “forcing perform” for innovation as an alternative of simply automation?
  • What’s the distinction between iteration and innovation, and why does it matter?
  • How will AI and clever brokers reshape the way forward for work?
  • How can entrepreneurs retain human creativity in an AI-powered world?
  • What makes nice thought management content material reliable?
  • Why is empathy extra highly effective than experience in constructing credibility?
  • How ought to corporations take into consideration AI discoverability for thought management content material?
  • What does a “human-led, AI-powered” future actually appear to be for B2B manufacturers?

Watch the total dialog between Brian and I right here:

Take heed to the total dialog with Brian right here:

When you’d desire a textual content abstract of our dialogue, right here you go:

Brian Solis has all the time been forward of the curve, and this dialog proves it as soon as once more. From his early days pioneering digital and social advertising to his present position as Head of International Innovation at ServiceNow, Brian’s work has been pushed by curiosity, empathy, and a need to make know-how extra human. On this episode of the Past B2B Advertising podcast, he shares how the ServiceNow Innovation Workplace helps organizations transfer from reacting to disruption to designing their future by exploring AI, automation, and rising tech by way of the lens of enterprise worth. He explains that the mission is about utilizing know-how to unlock creativeness and new fashions of worth creation.

“Mindshift is about reworking the way you suppose earlier than you remodel what you do.”

That concept on the heart of our dialog is round Brian’s newest ebook, Mindshift, which challenges enterprise and advertising leaders to concentrate on inside transformation earlier than chasing exterior innovation. Brian explains that almost all organizations rush to implement know-how however skip the mindset work, which implies questioning assumptions, unlearning habits, and creating house for creativeness. For B2B entrepreneurs, he says, this shift means transferring from optimization to reinvention and from reporting on efficiency to reimagining what’s doable. The excellence is vital as a result of essentially the most disruptive change typically begins with asking higher questions earlier than shopping for higher instruments.

“AI isn’t taking jobs-it’s taking duties. What disappears are the elements of our work which are mechanical.”

From there, the dialogue strikes to the way forward for work and the evolving relationship between people and AI brokers. Brian frames AI as a associate in progress moderately than a substitute, urging leaders to see it as an amplifier of creativity and empathy. Essentially the most profitable corporations, he says, will design for human-led, AI-powered experiences the place automation handles the mundane, liberating individuals to concentrate on creativeness, storytelling, and trust-building. Innovation, in his view, isn’t about scaling effectivity however scaling humanity – one thing many B2B organizations overlook as they chase productiveness metrics.

“Thought management isn’t simply knowledge or experience; it’s emotion with integrity connected to imaginative and prescient and route. It’s exhibiting individuals there’s a human on the opposite aspect who truly offers a rattling.”

One of the crucial beneficial elements of the dialog with Brian was his distinction between subject material experience and true thought management. He reinforces that within the present enterprise atmosphere, credibility comes from empathy and usefulness. It comes from understanding what audiences are scuffling with and serving to them navigate uncertainty. He says that thought management succeeds when content material is deliberately crafted to supply readability, perspective, and risk vs. than self-promotion. With our feeds, streams and inboxes more and more crammed with AI-generated sameness, it’s human perception, voice, and care that grow to be the true differentiators.

I recognize Brian’s ideas on the facility of differentiation that thought management brings for B2B manufacturers and I additionally recognize his contribution to our new analysis report, Answer Engine: The State of B2B Thought Leadership in 2026.

Brian Solis is a must-follow on LinkedIn and his web site, BrianSolis.com. You may also discover extra data on his best-selling ebook,
Mindshift by Brian Solis
Mindshift: Transform Leadership, Drive Innovation, and Reshape the Future.

Download PDF B2B Thought Leadership Research Report 2026
When you’d prefer to entry our newest analysis on B2B Thought Management which options insights from Brian, there’s an ungated version of the report here.

Beyond B2B Marketing Podcast Lee Odden

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Concerning the creator

Lee Odden has been acknowledged as a high B2B Advertising skilled by Forbes, The Economist and the Wall Road Journal. For over 20 years he is labored together with his group at TopRank Advertising to assist elevate the B2B advertising trade by way of artistic advertising applications that ship extra genuine, experiential and inclusive content material for manufacturers like LinkedIn, Dell and Adobe. Lee is the creator of Optimize and has revealed over 1.4 million phrases on his company’s B2B advertising weblog. As a trusted advertising thought chief, he has given practically 300 displays in 20 totally different international locations on B2B content material, search and influencer advertising. When not advertising, Lee might be operating, cooking or touring.


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