Boundless Creativity And Design Mastery With David "Shingy" Shing - TWMJ #1020
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1020 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when technology listens more closely than people realize and advertising feels less predictive than presumptive, understanding how culture, data and human behavior collide has become essential. has spent his career at that intersection, shaping how global brands think about creativity, relevance and the emotional consequences of digital systems. Know as the Digital Prophet at (and then ) and a very influential voice in modern branding and innovation, Shingy has advised companies, leaders and...
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Leadership Unblocked With Muriel Wilkins - TWMJ #1019
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1019 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when leadership is being tested less by strategy and more by inner capacity, clarity of judgment and emotional steadiness, the work of stands out for its insistence that progress begins from the inside out. Muriel is an executive coach, CEO of , and a trusted advisor to senior leaders navigating complexity at the highest levels of organizations, drawing on more than two decades of experience working with C-suite executives and high-potential leaders. A graduate with a background in consulting...
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More Humane Work With Joe O'Connor - TWMJ #1018
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1018 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when burnout is normalized and productivity is still measured by hours rather than impact, the five-day workweek is starting to look less like a foundation of modern life and more like an outdated design choice. is the CEO of and one of the world’s leading architects of the four-day workweek, having designed and led large-scale pilots across multiple countries, industries and organizational types. His work sits at the intersection of labor economics, organizational culture and performance...
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Why We're All Digitally Exhausted With Paul Leonardi - TWMJ #1017
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1017 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when technology promises limitless capability yet leaves so many people mentally depleted, the question is no longer whether digital tools are powerful, but whether we know how to live with them. is a leading expert on digital transformation, the future of work, and organizational networks, with more than two decades of research and advisory work focused on how technology reshapes collaboration, innovation, and human behavior. A professor at the , where he holds the Duca Family Endowed Chair...
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AI And The Future Of Marketing With Mark Schaefer - TWMJ #1016
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1016 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when artificial intelligence is reshaping not just how markets operate but how people think, feel, decide and connect, understanding the human consequences of that shift has become essential. is a keynote speaker, educator, strategist, and a voice in modern marketing, with more than three decades of experience spanning global sales, public relations and brand strategy. He is a faculty member at . Mark’s latest book, , extends his body of work by examining how AI is quietly rewiring consumer...
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Navigate Hidden Markets With Judd Kessler - TWMJ #1015
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1015 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when scarcity shapes everything from opportunity to attention, understanding who gets what (and why) has become one of the most consequential questions in modern life. is the inaugural Howard Marks Endowed Professor at the , an award-winning economist, and one of the leading thinkers in market design, public policy and behavioral economics. His research examines how rules, incentives, and institutional structures shape outcomes in environments where price alone cannot (or should not) decide...
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Creators And Entrepreneurs With Joe Pulizzi - TWMJ #1014
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1014 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a moment when careers feel increasingly precarious and algorithms quietly dictate how value is created and captured, it’s worth learning from someone who has spent more than two decades helping creators and entrepreneurs reclaim ownership of their work and their futures. is the founder of multiple influential startups, including , the and is widely recognized as the person who first coined the term “content marketing” in 2001, long before it became an industry unto itself. A bestselling...
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Emotionally Intelligent Teams With Vanessa Urch Druskat - TWMJ #1013
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1013 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). At a time when organizations are wrestling with fractured cultures, hybrid work, and teams struggling to stay connected, it helps to learn from someone who has spent three decades proving that collaboration is not a personality trait but a designed environment, which is why this episode turns to the work of , an award-winning researcher, educator at the , and one of the world’s leading experts on team emotional intelligence. Vanessa has devoted her career to understanding how teams actually function in...
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Facing Fear And Finding Purpose With Ranjay Gulati - TWMJ #1012
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1012 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). Amid a moment when uncertainty defines every industry and leaders everywhere are confronting fear disguised as strategy, it is worth turning to someone who has spent his career decoding how individuals and organizations find the courage to act, which is why this week’s guest, , offers such rare authority. Ranjay is the Paul R. Lawrence MBA Class of 1942 Professor at , a globally recognized organizational sociologist, bestselling author, and one of the world’s most cited scholars on leadership,...
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Why Great Teams Beat Star Talent With Jon Levy - TWMJ #1011
Thinking With Mitch Joel
Welcome to episode #1011 of Thinking With Mitch Joel (formerly Six Pixels of Separation). We tend to romanticize leadership as an act of personal brilliance, but the deeper story is often about the people who understand what truly moves human beings toward one another. has built a career around that question. A renowned human behavioral scientist, consultant and creator of the long-running - a global, invitation-only experiment where guests cook together anonymously to dissolve status cues and foster authentic connection - Jon has spent over fifteen years studying why people bond,...
info_outlineWelcome to episode #998 of Six Pixels of Separation - The ThinkersOne Podcast.
Annie Wilson is a marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and co-author, with Ryan Hamilton, of The Growth Dilemma - Managing Your Brand When Different Customers Want Different Things. Her work examines the deep interplay between consumer behavior, culture and brand identity, helping leaders understand why growth often creates as many risks as it does opportunities. In The Growth Dilemma, Annie unpacks how efforts to reach new customer segments can clash with the values of loyal buyers, sometimes threatening the very meaning of a brand. Drawing from real-world examples (from Apple’s software missteps to Gucci’s unintended association with reality TV fame) she reveals how scarcity, exclusivity and cultural perception shape brand power in ways most executives overlook. Beyond brand strategy, Annie’s research and teaching explore the ways marketing has evolved as a discipline, especially in an era of AI, fragmented media and globalization. She highlights how authenticity, community and cultural nuance are becoming non-negotiable for sustainable success, and why short-termism remains one of the most dangerous traps for modern marketers. For those navigating the intersection of consumer connection and cultural influence, Annie offers a critical lens on how to balance growth with integrity, how to adapt without betraying your core identity and how to see branding not just as a commercial practice, but as a cultural one. This conversation is essential listening for anyone grappling with the future of marketing in an age of shifting consumer expectations, technological disruption and global homogenization. Enjoy the conversation...
- Running time: 1:01:53.
- Hello from beautiful Montreal.
- Listen and subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.
- Listen and subscribe over at Spotify.
- Please visit and leave comments on the blog - Six Pixels of Separation.
- Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
- Check out ThinkersOne.
- or you can connect on LinkedIn.
- ...or on X.
- Here is my conversation with Annie Wilson.
- The Growth Dilemma - Managing Your Brand When Different Customers Want Different Things.
- Follow Annie on LinkedIn.
Chapters:
(00:00) - The Changing Landscape of Marketing.
(02:56) - AI's Role in Marketing Education.
(05:49) - The Evolving Perception of Marketing as a Career.
(09:13) - Advertising in a Fragmented Media World.
(12:07) - Branding in a Personalized Market.
(14:59) - The Growth Dilemma: Balancing Consumerism and Sustainability.
(33:01) - Cultural Influence Over Brand Identity.
(35:53) - The Balance of Growth and Authenticity.
(39:01) - The Evolution of Consumer Connection.
(41:47) - Navigating Brand Growth and Consumer Expectations.
(47:07) - Short-Termism in Marketing Strategies.
(51:58) - Scarcity and Exclusivity in Brand Strategy.
(55:52) - Consumer Perception and Brand Influence.