As organizations race to adopt AI and navigate constant disruption, many still rely on outdated mental models that limit their potential. Brian Solis, Head of Global Innovation at ServiceNow and author of MindShift, joins Perficient to explain why new leadership thinking is no longer optional. It is a requirement for shaping the future.
Here are the leadership shifts every organization needs to make.
1. Self-Awareness Unlocks Exponential Growth
Solis stresses that most leaders approach transformation with an expert mindset rather than a beginner’s mind. This limits what they can imagine and slows their ability to see new possibilities created by AI. Leaders who only ask how to make yesterday better will see incremental gains. Leaders who ask what they can now do that was previously impossible create exponential change.
"If the mindset is limited to what it knows, then all it can do is iterate… but we are going to have people who say, ‘What if we use AI to do things we could not do before?’ That is going to create exponential growth."
With generative AI, new work models, and societal change happening at the same time, leaders must challenge their own assumptions. Curiosity is now a strategic skill.
2. Storytelling Isn't Communication — It's Your Innovation Engine
During the episode, Solis describes how he learned the power of storytelling from Pixar storyboard artist Nick Sung. Storytelling is not about relaying facts. It is about creating a believable future that people can see themselves in.
He explains that when companies talk about disruption or AI, they often try to create urgency through fear or burning platforms. Instead, effective storytelling lets people imagine how they can thrive in a new world. Characters are modeled on real stakeholders, and the story shows each one succeeding.
"You inspire someone to be in the story of what the new world is going to look like and how people are going to thrive."
The takeaway is clear. Storytelling is not decoration. It is a leadership tool that unlocks alignment, imagination, and forward momentum.
3. Leadership Is a Movement, Not a Title — And It Can Come From Anywhere
Solis describes how Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph emphasized the need to let go of successful legacy models to make room for new opportunities. In every major shift, Netflix could have protected what was working. Instead, leaders committed to what customers would need next. This requires courage, humility, and the willingness to lead without permission.
Solis argues that leadership cannot remain confined to titles. Transformation cycles are accelerating, and organizations need people at every level who can interpret disruption and move from “what does this mean,” to “so what does this matter,” to “now what do we do.”
These leaders become what Solis calls “CEO whisperers,” the people who can help organizations see possibility rather than risk.
The Bottom Line
Organizations have a choice. They can stretch forward during disruption and snap back to their old models, or they can use each disruption to unlock new opportunities. The leaders who will shape the AI era will shift from:
- management to imagination
- iteration to transformation
- expertise to curiosity
- communication to storytelling that inspires belief
These shifts define who will create the future instead of reacting to it. The leaders who will shape the AI era are the ones who move from iteration to transformation and from expertise to curiosity.
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These insights come from Brian Solis’s appearance on Perficient’s What If? So What? podcast.