Helping Leaders Win in the AI Economy.
He's the author of the forthcoming The Explorer's Mindset: The Leadership Advantage in an AI-Driven Economy and an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School's AI Institute, where his research focuses on AI and the future of work. His argument is simple: AI is not a technology challenge but a human and organizational one. The advantage now belongs to leaders who can move through terrain that has no map.
The mountain is moving.
In 1993, John was one of fourteen expert skiers caught in a thousand-foot avalanche on a bluebird day. They had checked everything. The data said the slope was stable. They did everything right, and the mountain moved anyway.
That is where most leaders stand with AI today. The dashboards look reassuring, the plans are approved — and the ground is already sliding. Three years ago, access to a frontier model was an advantage. Today it's a commodity. The half-life of every advantage is collapsing.
AI rewards the mindset you bring to it. Bring it curiosity, and it accelerates discovery. Bring it certainty, and it accelerates obsolescence.
For a century, business rewarded operators — people who scaled known systems. That era is over. The work left for humans is the work machines can't do: navigating what has never been mapped.
Counsel for unmapped terrain.
John keeps a small number of standing advisory relationships — CEOs and senior teams navigating AI-driven transformation who want a thinking partner who has built companies, sold them, studied the shift from inside Harvard, and lived through more than one avalanche.
Fewer, deeper, and built around your decisions, not a deck. Advisory clients get direct access, a standing rhythm, and the full weight of the research behind The Explorer's Mindset.
Expeditions
John excels at inspiring leaders to think boldly, act decisively, and embrace curiosity to thrive in the face of digital disruption. By blending decades of strategic expertise with real-world adventure, John translates complex challenges into clear, practical paths forward. Discover why global organizations rely on John to unlock resilience, innovation, and sustained growth, transforming disruption into lasting opportunity.
“John combines deep practical experience with thoughtful analysis, making him a leading voice in user-driven, open, and distributed innovation. As an advisor, he offers invaluable insights and practical wisdom.”
Eric von Hippel
Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management
Writing
John is the author of six books, including the bestselling Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges and a six-time founder, exiting his companies for over $100 million. Additional writings can be found at Harvard Business Review and Forbes.
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