Dropping Tuesday, March 31 — but you’re getting this first.
If you’ve been wrestling with how to think about AI — genuinely excited by its possibilities, but nagged by a quiet unease you can’t quite name — this week’s episode is going to land for you.
My guest is Johan Roos, a longtime friend and colleague, former Global Chief Academic Officer at Hult International Business School, and one of the original minds behind LEGO Serious Play. He’s just published a new book called Human Magic: Leading with Wisdom in an Age of Algorithms, and our conversation ranged far and wide.
Here’s the central question Johan poses — and it’s deceptively simple: are we using AI to amplify what makes us distinctively human, or are we letting it quietly erode those very capabilities? He calls these our “five Cs” — curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration — and he makes a compelling case that these are precisely the muscles we’re at risk of letting atrophy. As I put it in our conversation: it’s a bit like always taking the elevator. Convenient, efficient — and eventually, you realize you can no longer climb the stairs.
What I found most striking was how far back Johan goes to make his argument — all the way to Cicero, the Socratic dialogues, and classical rhetoric — and how relevant it all feels in 2025. He also draws a sharp distinction between what he calls “algorithmic citizenship” (increasingly delegating judgment to the machine) and “professional citizenship” (deliberately practicing your human capabilities). That framing alone is worth the listen.
We also get into the future of business schools, the question of who really gets to make these choices about AI, and what it means for leaders navigating organizations right now.
This one goes live on Tuesday, March 31 — and as a Substack subscriber, you’ve got the heads-up ahead of the crowd. Stay curious.