Why The Tao of Leadership -- and the future of leadership itself -- is anything but a no-brainer
🎧 Listen now: https://nobrainerpodcast.com/jack-myers/
When the lines between human and machine blur, when intelligence is no longer singular but shared, what does leadership look like?
That question takes center stage in the newest episode of the No Brainer podcast, where media ecologist, futurist, and bestselling author Jack Myers joins hosts Greg Verdino and Geoff Livingston for a high-impact conversation that pulls no punches and offers no easy answers -- just the kind of clarity today’s leaders need.
This isn’t just a podcast episode. It’s a masterclass in leading through uncertainty.
From the seismic shifts rocking the media and advertising industries to the human dilemmas posed by AI and automation, Myers offers both a sobering diagnosis and an inspiring prescription: reinvent leadership as a conscious practice of humility, emotional intelligence, and cultural stewardship.
And at the heart of it all is The Tao of Leadership in the AI Era -- Myers’ groundbreaking book that reimagines leadership not as control but as co-creation, not as hierarchy but as harmony.
Machines Can Predict -- Only Humans Can Lead
In the podcast, Myers reflects on decades of watching media evolve from mass communication to algorithmic curation. But today’s changes, he warns, aren’t just technological -- they’re epistemological. “What we’re experiencing is a fundamental rewiring of how people know what they know,” he says. “The Tao of Leadership is about reclaiming our human capacity to navigate that.”
The challenge? Our legacy systems -- especially in marketing and media -- are built for a mechanical age. Myers pulls from his research with The Myers Report to point out that while the tools have changed, most leadership habits haven’t. “We’ve optimized for efficiency,” he tells Verdino and Livingston. “But we’ve lost the ability to sit with complexity, to trust intuition, and to lead without a map.”
What’s required now isn’t just a new strategy -- it’s a new consciousness.
Emotional Fluency: The New Leadership Currency
In a moment that lands with quiet force, Myers speaks about the role of emotional fluency in a synthetic world. As AI gets better at simulating emotions, real human connection becomes both more precious and more essential.
"Leadership today isn’t about charisma or certainty -- it’s about emotional calibration," he says. "Knowing how to feel, how to listen, how to read the invisible currents in a room -- that’s the work."
This echoes one of the central themes of The Tao of Leadership: that presence, not power, is the defining trait of modern leadership. The best leaders aren’t the loudest in the room -- they’re the most attuned.
Why the Future Isn’t Automated -- It’s Chosen
Throughout the episode, Myers returns to a core provocation: AI isn’t the future. We are.
Technology is an accelerant, a mirror, a partner. But it cannot replace purpose. Myers challenges business leaders to stop asking what AI can do and start asking who we want to become alongside it.
“AI can write a song, but only a human can mean it,” he says. “We have to teach the machine what matters. That’s the leadership opportunity of our time.”
This is where The Tao of Leadership breaks from conventional business books. It doesn’t teach you how to win the AI race. It invites you to change the terrain altogether -- leading not for domination, but for dignity. Not for growth alone, but for generational wisdom.
From Media Metrics to Meaningful Impact
As founder of The Myers Report and MediaVillage, Myers is no stranger to data, trends, and the business side of media. But in the No Brainer interview, it’s his humanist streak that stands out. He speaks not only to CMOs and CEOs, but to anyone navigating a future where the old rules no longer apply.
He talks about media organizations not as content factories, but as cultural actors.
He challenges advertisers to move beyond efficiency and toward empathy.
He calls on leaders to stop outsourcing ethics to algorithms.
And he makes it clear: the future will not be led by technocrats or visionaries alone, but by those humble enough to ask better questions -- and brave enough to choose a more human path.
Why You Should Listen -- and Then Read
If you’re a business leader, marketer, creative, educator, or anyone who senses that we are in the middle of something bigger than a tech upgrade, this podcast is your wake-up call -- and your invitation.