Expert on Social Media, Marketing and Leadership; Author, Groundswell, Open Leadership, and The Disruption Mindset
Charlene Li is an influential thought leader and guide on digital transformation, with a specific focus on customer experience, leadership in the digital era, and the future of work.
For more than three decades, Charlene Li has helped organizations navigate the disruptions that redefine industries, leadership, and work. Today, she is helping executives tackle perhaps the greatest transformation yet: creating business value with AI.
She’s the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestseller, “Open Leadership,” and co-author of the critically acclaimed book, “Groundswell”. Her latest book is the bestseller “Winning with AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success.”
Charlene is also an entrepreneur, the Founder and CEO of Altimeter, a disruptive analyst firm acquired in 2015. She most recently served as the Chief Research Officer for PA Consulting and currently leads her firm, Quantum Networks Group.
Charlene has worked with hundreds of top companies ranging from Adobe to Southwest Airlines and advised 49 Fortune 100 companies. She has spoken at events like the World Economic Forum, TED, and South by Southwest.
Named one of the most creative people in business by Fast Company and a LinkedIn Top Voice on Culture, Charlene graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School. She lives in San Francisco and teaches her cat tricks in her spare time.
TEDInstitute: Giving Up Control: Leadership in the Digital Era
Charlene Li Speaker Reel
TEDInstitute: Giving Up Control: Leadership in the Digital Era
Charlene Li’s Speech Topics
The Future of Work
New technologies pop up daily that allow us to connect and communicate with employees in real time. Yet organizations are wired for a bygone era when there was the luxury of time and proximity. Most organizations measure employee engagement in yearly surveys—hardly the way to truly engage employees in the digital era.
In this speech, Charlene makes the case to develop a new mindset, one that’s centered on creating a long-term relationship with employees that melds holistically with creating great experiences for customers. From creating belonging among hybrid workers to the adoption of AI, we’ll dig deep into how technology is changing the nature of work and our relationship with employees.
Audiences will learn to:
Understand how employee expectations in the workplace are being influenced by their personal use of technology , especially AI
Prepare for the long-term implications for employee engagement
Identify the experiences that employees value the most
Create rich collaboration experiences that support a different way of work
Leadership in the Digital Age
Digital technologies have revolutionized relationships, and leadership is no exception. To be truly engaged, effective leaders must harness and master the power of digital communications and branding, especially with the challenges of leading a distributed team.
In this speech, Charlene explains that the key is understanding how your personal leadership style can be extended and scaled through digital techniques to achieve your most important goals. You’ll learn the art and science of how to listen, share, and engage with employees and customers in the digital era. We’ll also discuss common objections and concerns of leaders and how to address them.
Audiences will learn to:
Master a new way of developing relationships, which begins by stepping out of traditional hierarchies
Listen at scale, share to shape, and engage to transform
Shift to a digital mindset
Apply the right digital tools to meet strategic goals
Leading with Wisdom
What does it mean to be wise? Wisdom is not just a matter of intelligence, knowledge, or character. Smart people make foolish decisions all the time. But what if we could improve our decision-making even a little bit and make consistently wiser choices? Imagine the exponential impact if we could intentionally support the people in our organizations to be wiser, regardless of their experience levels.
In this speech, Charlene takes audiences on a journey of discovery toward experiencing the true power of wisdom. With the right tools and guidance, you, too, can learn to make the right decisions and create a life and organization filled with meaning, purpose, and happiness.
Audiences will learn to:
Define wisdom in the context of leading an organization
Develop wisdom in themselves and others
Create a wise organization capable of consistently making great decisions
Winning With AI: Crafting a Future-Ready Strategy
Explore the transformative world of AI in this keynote, tailored to introduce its strategic implications. Learn how to integrate AI with your organization’s core mission, enhancing competitive advantage and driving long-term growth. This session offers insights into prioritizing transformative initiatives, understanding workforce implications, and mitigating risks while maximizing opportunities. Gain foundational knowledge to develop a robust AI strategy that aligns with your strategic goals and prepares your organization for the future.
Creating a Unified AI Strategy: An Executive Roadmap: In-Company Executive Session
Delve into the strategic integration of AI, specifically crafted for executive leadership. This session focuses on aligning AI with the company’s overarching objectives, identifying key initiatives for substantial impact, and addressing workforce evolution. Discussions will also cover risk management and the importance of a cohesive, actionable plan that commands executive alignment. Emerge with a unified vision and a clear strategy for leveraging AI to enhance organizational excellence.
Strategizing AI: Vision, Alignment, and Execution
This session is designed for AI leaders, focusing on the intricacies of formulating and executing a comprehensive strategy. Create a compelling vision for AI that aligns with long-term organizational goals, ensuring stakeholder buy-in and executive support. Explore the balance between innovation and risk, the impact on the workforce, and the steps needed to maintain a competitive edge. This discussion aims to equip leaders with advanced strategies for leading their organizations in the AI space, fostering innovation and sustainable growth.
Audiences will learn to (based on the session content):
Ground the AI strategy in the company’s purpose, values, and business strategy
Identify the top ways AI can strengthen and defend your competitive advantage
Understand the workforce, leadership, and culture implications of AI adoption
Create a robust AI strategy amid a fast-changing and uncertain technology landscape
Disruptive Transformation
“Disrupt or die” has been the rallying cry for decades, but what does it actually mean to be disruptive, to make it the center of your strategy? Many established companies set a goal to develop “disruptive” innovations, believing innovation will disrupt their market and drive growth. But that’s not how it works: Disruption doesn’t create growth. Growth creates disruption.
In this speech, Charlene acknowledges that transformations are never easy, and the unrelenting pace of technological change makes it doubly difficult. But there’s hope and a way forward—starting with reframing your strategy, leadership, and culture so that disruptive growth is at the top of your agenda.
Audiences will learn to:
Define what disruption is—and isn’t—and how it can drive disruptive growth
Identify and prioritize the right disruptive growth moves and align the organization around them
Understand how leaders must show up differently when pursuing a disruption strategy