What I’m Taking Away from Thinkers50
Two days at Thinkers50 in London. So many thought-provoking ideas, inspiring speakers, and meaningful conversations.
I’m coming home with a notebook full of leadership insights from Thinkers50 and plenty to reflect on.
There was so much to take in. Here are a few of my highlights:
Values are tested when decisions get difficult.
Erin Meyer challenged us to move beyond abstract statements of organizational values and consider the dilemmas that bring those values to life.
Nobody is going to say they value corruption over integrity. The real challenge comes when two positive values are in tension, such as transparency and stability, or innovation and avoiding mistakes.
Which one takes priority?
That’s when organizational values become meaningful and help guide decisions. And concrete, visual language makes those values more memorable and easier to translate into behavior.
Optimism is a choice.
Jesper Brodin reminded us that when we shift our focus from problems and fear to optimism, we begin to see opportunities and possibilities. And we find the courage to act on them.
Friction has benefits.
Rahaf Harfoush challenged our obsession with efficiency and frictionless experiences.
The struggle is exactly where learning, critical thinking, and growth happen.
As we increasingly turn to AI, we need to be careful not to outsource our thinking along with our tasks.
The lasting impact of good and bad bosses.
Liz Wiseman expanded on her work with Multipliers to explore how our experiences with bosses shape the way we lead. Great bosses can bring out capabilities and confidence we didn’t know we had. But bad bosses can also have a profound influence, sometimes shaping how we lead others long after we’ve stopped working for them. The question is, what do we learn from both experiences, and how do they influence the leaders we become?
Don’t find your way. Make your way. Then commit.
The discussion on renewing purpose with Herminia Ibarra, Lynda Gratton, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, and Gianpiero Petriglieri was refreshing.
I appreciated the speakers’ humor and candor as they challenged each other and the notion that purpose is something we simply discover through introspection.
We create purpose through action, experiences, relationships, and the choices we make.
Friends who challenge us, adventures that take us outside our comfort zones, and the willingness to try something new all help shape who we become.
And as AI takes on more of what we do, it raises an even bigger question:
What gives our work and our lives meaning?
The common thread
Different speakers. Different perspectives. Yet a common thread kept emerging for me.
The importance of being intentional about how we lead, how we work, and how we live.
Beyond the presentations, I appreciated the opportunity to connect and exchange ideas with old and new friends.
The best part of conferences like Thinkers50 isn’t just the ideas we hear. It’s what we choose to do with them.
Which of these ideas resonates most with you?
About Miki Feldman Simon: Miki is an executive coach, speaker, and award-winning author of CORE Leadership: A Four-Step Framework to Lead Yourself, Grow Your Influence, and Amplify Your Impact. She helps leaders turn insight into intentional action, strengthen their agency, and increase their impact.
