What's Next! with Tiffani Bova

Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. 
 
This week, I'm welcoming Alice Sesay Pope to the show. Alice is a Fortune 100 executive and former Global Vice President at Amazon, where she led a 10,000 person global organization across devices, Alexa and Prime Video. She's held senior leadership roles at Visa, Capital One, Microsoft, USAA, and Johnson& Johnson. She has a new book, out The Trust Algorithm.
 
THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR…leaders navigating AI transformation who want to build trust with their customers and employees while making technology work better for the business.
 
TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE…AI may be changing what businesses can do, but technology alone doesn't create better customer experiences or stronger businesses. Alice explains why leaders need to start with the friction they're trying to solve, involve employees in the process, and build a clear strategy for governance, data, and change. She also shares why trust has become one of the most important parts of AI transformation and what leaders can do to protect it.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Start with customer and employee friction instead of leading with new technology or features.
Employees need a voice in AI transformation because they see problems and opportunities leaders may miss.
Strong AI strategies require upfront planning around change management, governance, data, and accountability.
Leaders need to be honest about how AI will change jobs while also creating a vision for the new opportunities it can create.
Trust depends on knowing where AI can be used safely, what risks are acceptable, and where human oversight is essential.
 
WHAT I LOVE MOST…Alice brings the conversation back to something that can get lost in the rush toward AI: people. The technology may be new, but building trust still comes down to listening, transparency, good judgment, and putting people at the center of transformation.
 
Running Time: 27:02
 
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Alice's Book:
The Trust Algorithm: How Leaders Build Trust with Generative AI

How Great Teams Make Decisions with Ricardo Valerdi
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. 
My guest this week is Dr. Ricardo Valerdi. Ricardo has studied decision-making in some of very unique environments, from SpaceX and the U.S. Army to Major League Baseball and the NCAA. Ricardo is an engineer and a sports scientist professor at the University of Arizona, social entrepreneur, and author of the new book, The Five Tooled Team. His work challenges the idea that great decisions come from one brilliant leader and instead asks us to think about decision-making as a team capacity, something that can actually be designed, practiced and improved.
 
THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR…leaders, managers, and teams looking to make better decisions, build stronger decision-making processes, and create space for diverse perspectives.
 
TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE…we often think great decisions come down to having the smartest person, the most data, or the best technology in the room. Ricardo makes the case that it's really about having a good process and creating space for people to challenge assumptions, bring different perspectives, and ask better questions. In this conversation, he explains why leaders need to know which decisions deserve deep analysis and which ones can simply be made and adjusted along the way.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Great decisions can still lead to bad outcomes. It's best to focus on the quality of the decision-making process.
The smartest person in the room can sometimes make a team less curious and less willing to challenge assumptions.
Most decisions are reversible, so they don't need the same time and energy as truly irreversible decisions.
Strong teams align around the "why" while giving people flexibility in how they get there.
 
WHAT I LOVE MOST…better decision-making isn't about having all the answers. It's about asking better questions, listening to people who see things differently, and being willing to say, "I may be wrong."
 
Running Time: 28:20
 
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Find Tiffani Online:
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Find Ricardo Online:
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Ricardo's Book:
The Five-Tool Team: Bringing Out the Best in People to Make Better Decisions

Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. 
   
This week I am looking back to a conversation I had with Alain Hunkins. Alain is a sought-after speaker, consultant, trainer, and coach. He is the author of the gound-breaking book about leadership, Cracking The Leadership Code. Over his twenty-year career, he has led over 2,000 groups in 25 countries himself. Alain's clients include Wal-Mart, Pfizer, Citigroup, General Electric, State Farm Insurance, IBM, General Motors, and Microsoft. He has designed and facilitated seminars on numerous leadership topics, including teambuilding, conflict management, communication, peak performance, innovation, engagement, and change. Alain serves on the faculty of Duke Corporate Education and has published over 400 articles on leadership. 
   
THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR…leaders both new and old, aspiring and current! Anyone who wants to shorten the leadership learning curve and accelerate their growth. 
 
TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE…why do people choose to do what they do? Where is the disconnect between intention and actual performance? Are we truly self-aware? Alain breaks down how we can crack the leadership code and how we can learn from great leaders as well as mediocre ones to get the best results! Alain is all about shortening the learning curve and accelerating your growth. He analyzes the principles and what he terms "shadow principles," to help you get there too. 
 
WHAT I LOVE MOST…this conversation is as relevant in 2026 as it was a few years back. Alain's leadership lessons are evergreen!
 
Running time: 29:07
  
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Find Tiffani Online:
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Find Alain Online:
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Alain's Book: Cracking the Leadership Code

Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. 
 
My guest this week is Kipp Bodnar, CMO of HubSpot, where he spent more than 15 years helping scale the company from startup to a global customer platform. He is also the host of Marketing Against The Grain. He also released a new book with Kieran Flanagan, Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow. where the authors explore how AI is changing the ways customers discover, evaluate, and ultimately choose.
 
THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR…marketers, CMOs, and business leaders looking to rethink their growth strategy and adapt to AI.
 
TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE…AI is making it easier to create and distribute content at scale, but it's also raising the bar for what actually makes a brand stand out. Kipp explains why marketers need to move beyond chasing website traffic and instead focus on depth, faster learning, customer understanding, and distinctive ideas. Kipp argues that the future of marketing isn't about producing more but about knowing what matters and doing it exceptionally well.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Website traffic is no longer a reliable indicator of demand or revenue growth.

AI makes depth, focus, and faster learning critical sources of competitive advantage.

Great personalization requires strong customer data and a clear point of view.

The brands that stand out will earn attention through distinctive ideas, not simply by generating more content.

 
WHAT I LOVE MOST…AI may change how marketing gets done, but it doesn't change what makes great marketing great. The advantage belongs to the marketers who understand their customers, have something distinctive to say, and know how to turn great ideas into action.
 
Running Time: 29:15
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Find Tiffani Online:
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Find Kipp Online:
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Kipp's Book: Loop: Outlearn. Outmarket. Outgrow.

Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. 
 
Every once in a while, I get to sit across from someone who didn't just participate in an industry, but helped change what we expect from it. Ron Johnson is one of those people and I'm excited to have him as my guest. At Target, he helped bring great design to the mass market. At Apple, working alongside Steve Jobs, he created the Apple Store and helped reimagine a store as something much bigger than a place to buy things. He also has been the CEO of JCPenney and founder of Enjoy Technology. He has a new book out, Shop Different. 
 
THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR…entrepreneurs, founders, and business leaders looking to challenge conventional thinking, create differentiated experiences, and turn bold ideas into lasting business impact.
 
TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE…great businesses are about more than selling a product. Ron shares what he learned at Target, JCPenney, Apple about creating experiences that make people want to come back. He also talks about why leaders need both conviction and an open mind, and why the right people and culture are so important when you're trying to do something new.
 
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Conviction matters, but leaders need to stay close to customer feedback and remain open to changing course.

The best customer experiences start with a clear vision and an employee experience designed to support it.

Differentiation isn't simply about being different, it's about creating something meaningfully better.

Transforming a business requires the courage to think beyond what has worked in the past.

The strongest brands create experiences that go beyond transactions and give people a reason to come back.

 
WHAT I LOVE MOST…the best innovations don't always start with a goal of changing the world. They start with someone willing to think differently, do the work, and create something people genuinely value.
 
Running Time: 28:05
 
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Find Tiffani Online:
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Find Ron Online:
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Ron's Book:
Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius