Maybe we got digital transformation wrong. Not slightly wrong. Fundamentally wrong. Instead of transforming, we digitized. We took legacy models, legacy processes, legacy thinking…and made them faster. We optimized the candle instead of inventing the light bulb. That was the argument I made on stage at ServiceNow’s Knowledge 2025 in Las Vegas, in a keynote I called “Goodbye Digital Transformation, Hello AI-First Business Transformation.” Here’s what the data tells us: 70% of digital transformations fall short of their objectives. 51%…
Fear is rising, Trust is falling, and the AI industry has no one to blame but itself…and what to do about it
Fear is rising. Trust is falling. And the AI industry has no one to blame but itself. For the last two years, the loudest voices in AI have sold the future through a mix of inevitability, disruption, and dread: AGI is near, jobs are going away, the economy may collapse, and somehow this is all supposed to inspire confidence. It doesn’t. It creates narrative debt. And now that debt is coming due, especially among the very people who are supposed…
AI Is Reshaping Business, Yet Most Leaders Are Investing in the Optimization of Yesterday
If AI is eating the world, you could also say that it’s also exposing leadership. The companies that win next will not be the ones that automate the fastest, but the ones that learn to imagine bigger. That’s how we’ll start this story. Also, my keynote is below if you’d like to jump straight to the video. At Integrated Systems Europe in Barcelona, I talked about AI in a way that made some people nod, some people uncomfortable, and others…
Augmented IQ and the New Human Advantage
I lost a fight with the sidewalk the night before my talk at SXSW. Not exactly the kind of opening line you script for your first SXSW keynote in seven years, but there I was in Austin, cut-up but grateful and energized to be back on that stage talking about something that matters more than most leaders realize right now. The talk was called “Augmented IQ: Scaling Human + AI Potential.” It built on a simple but urgent thesis: the…
Why AI Darwinism Needs a Mindshift, and why You Can’t Automate Your Way to Business Model Innovation
When Richie Cotton asked me on DataCamp’s DataFramed podcast how I stay afloat with everything happening in AI, I joked that I wear “AI floaties.” Thirty tabs open. New “state of AI’ reports I need to read. Breakthroughs I need to understand. Every day, there’s a new model, a new breakthrough, a new viral article with a new “this changes everything” or “this is the end of…” headline. Honestly, I’m struggling to keep afloat too with all the AI advancements…
AI Darwinism can unleash new potential of energy workforce – Enlit Magazine
Coverage of Brian’s keynote at the Baker Hughes Annual Meeting in Florence, Italy, source: Enlit, Kelvin Ross Using artificial intelligence to transform the energy sector isn’t about automation – it’s about augmentation, says Brian Solis An AI digital futurist has urged energy leaders to see the full potential of artificial intelligence and not simply use the technology to cut corners cheaply. “The future doesn’t belong to companies that use the most AI,” said Brian Solis. “It’s those who reimagine their…
![Beyond the AI Revolution: Why Many Companies Live in the Past [Keynote]](https://briansolis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Brian-Solis-hero-1024x463.png)
Beyond the AI Revolution: Why Many Companies Live in the Past [Keynote]
by Chris Killian, Home Care Innovation Forum When Brian Solis, Chief of Global Innovation at ServiceNow, futurist, and bestselling author, took the stage at the Home Care Innovation Forum, he began his talk by delivering a sobering quote from legendary Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla. “Most businesses have no clue what is about to hit them in the next 10 years when most rules of engagement change,” Khosla said. Drawing from his decades of studying technological revolutions and writing over 60 research…
ScaleX Insider: The Mindshift Every Leader Must Make
Thank you, Brendan McGurgan. What a privilege to spend time with you. What if the greatest challenge facing leaders today isn’t technology itself — but how we think about it? In this episode of ScaleX™ Insider, Brendan McGurgan is joined by world-renowned digital anthropologist, futurist, and author Brian Solis for a powerful conversation on mindset, leadership, and navigating growth in an era defined by AI, acceleration, and constant disruption. Brian shares why meaningful scale begins not with tools or tactics,…
Brian Solis and Martin Ristov on How to Power Enterprise AI Innovation
I had the opportunity to work with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Martin Ristov, and Ann Culver on a video that explores how ServiceNow and AWS power intelligent AI transformation. By connecting workflows, data, and people, organizations can deploy customized AI solutions through the Now Assist platform using multiple foundation models while maintaining security and compliance. Learn how this partnership enables responsible AI practices and drives tailored outcomes without managing complex ML infrastructure. Please watch! 👀 Shot at AWS in San…
Innovation Meets Inspiration: 3×3 Insights Interviews Brian Solis about the importance of a Mindshift Right Now
3 questions…3 minutes. That’s the premise of this conversation. Innovation is having a moment, and not just in the “new tech, new tools” way. What I’m seeing (and writing about) more than ever is a deeper shift: how leaders are rethinking transformation through the lens of people, purpose, and possibility. That’s the foundation for my latest book, Mindshift: Transform Leadership, Drive Innovation, and Reshape the Future. That’s why I enjoyed joining Katja Weber on the latest episode of Deutsche Telekom’s…