What happens when competence becomes a commodity?
Mark Schaefer has spent decades studying what makes businesses grow and people connect. He's written 12 bestselling books, teaches at Rutgers University, and advises companies like Pfizer, Cisco, and the U.S. Air Force. His latest book, Audacious, tackles how humans can stand out in a world increasingly shaped by AI.
In this episode, Mark shares how a high school play changed his life by giving him something he desperately needed: a place to belong. That theme of belonging runs through everything he does today, including his book Belonging to the Brand and his research into why our children and grandchildren have become "the loneliest generation."
Mark gets honest about what AI means for all of us. If you're merely competent, he warns, you'll be overwhelmed. But he also offers a path forward with four foundations for thriving: personal brand, community, experiences, and what he calls transcendent content.
We talk about why real human stories approach the level of art, why AI-generated Bruce Springsteen songs will never replace the real thing. Why Mark put the darkest moment of his life in his bestselling book on personal branding. And why, when no conference would hire him to speak, did he create his own event and draw 750 people from 13 countries?
Mark also shares his experiment with the Markbot, a custom AI trained on all his work that's helped thousands of people and occasionally tells them they need a hug.
This conversation will remind you why your story matters, why connection matters, and why the heart will always beat the algorithm.
Key Topics:
• The four foundations for humans in an AI world
• Why competence is now a commodity
• Building community in an age of loneliness
• Creating content that approaches art
• Taking risks when no one will give you a chance
• Experimenting with AI tools every day
Guest: Mark W. Schaefer, author, speaker, futurist, and business consultant
Hosts: Billy Dexter and Melissa G. Wilson
Check out Mark's blog: businessgrow.com/blog
Connect with Melissa @ - https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissagwilson/
Connect with Billy @ - https://www.linkedin.com/in/billydexter/
Connect with John @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-st-augustine-1b3192/
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.