Chief Change Officer
#243 Lisa Bodell: The Future is Simple—If We Stop Overcomplicating Everything — Part One
Wed, 19 Mar 2025
Lisa Bodell didn’t just study the future—she built a career helping companies prepare for it. As the CEO of FutureThink, she’s been at the forefront of innovation for over 20 years, teaching leaders how to embrace change before it’s too late. But her path to becoming a futurist wasn’t planned—it started in advertising, took a detour into consulting, and ultimately led her to reinvent how organizations approach creativity and change.In Part 1 of this two-part series, Lisa shares her personal journey—from selling creative ideas in ad agencies to studying foresight and helping Fortune 500 companies navigate uncertainty. Along the way, she breaks down what it really means to be a futurist (hint: it’s not about predicting trends) and why most companies resist change until it’s too late.Key Highlights of Our Interview:From Ad Agencies to FutureThink – “I was great at selling creative ideas. But I realized people needed to learn how to generate them.” How Lisa’s early career sparked a passion for teaching innovation.What the Heck is a Futurist? – “No, it’s not about guessing trends. It’s a structured way of planning for multiple possible futures.” Why real futurists use models—not crystal balls.Taking the Leap into Entrepreneurship – “When you work for yourself, there’s no safety net. But that’s what makes it exciting.” Lisa’s shift from corporate life to running her own company.Why Most Companies Resist Change – “People aren’t tired of innovation. They’re tired of all the other stuff getting in the way.” Why complexity kills creativity in organizations.The Power of Pivoting – “The best entrepreneurs know when to shift—because nothing stays the same.” How Lisa evolved FutureThink over the years.______________________Connect with us:Host: Vince Chan | Guests: Lisa Bodell______________________--Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Deep Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives, Visionary Underdogs,Transformation Gurus & Bold Hearts.10 Million+ All-Time Downloads.Reaching 80+ Countries Daily.Global Top 3% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.130,000+ subscribers are outgrowing. Act Today. --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.12 Million+ All-Time Downloads.Reaching 80+ Countries Daily.Global Top 3% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>140,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.<<<
Chapter 1: Who is Lisa Bodell and what is FutureThink?
My guest is Lisa Burdell, the top 40 global speaker on simplification, innovation, and change, as well as the CEO of FutureThink. She's helped companies like Google and Pfizer cut through the clutter, kill pointless rules, and actually get things done. In this two-part series, we'll dive into her journey, how she went from advertising to futurism, why most organizations resist change,
and how simplicity is the secret weapon for real innovation. We'll also unpack why AI won't replace human skills, but overcomplicated systems just might. If you've ever sat in a meeting thinking this could have been an email, you won't want to miss this one. Let's get started. Lisa, good morning to you. Welcome to Chief Change Officer. I'm so excited to host you.
Oh, I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me. I know we're going to have a very interesting discussion, so let's do it.
Sure, Lisa. You've done a lot and you are still doing a lot. through FutureThink, the platform you started 20 years ago. That was before the iPhone, before AI became mainstream. Yet, you were already thinking ahead, already focused on the future. Now, 20 years is a long journey, and I know we can't cover everything in just one conversation. So let's focus on the key moments.
Let's start with your story. Before FutureThink, what led you to this? What triggered you to start it? Maybe a bit of your background, both personal and career. And then how FutureThink has evolved over the last two decades. Let's start there.
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Chapter 2: How did Lisa Bodell transition from advertising to futurism?
My parents were entrepreneurs and that's right. Sure, I got the idea to go off on my own rather than working at an organization. And that, in fact, was the case. I got out of business school and I went into advertising because I was always a very creative person, but I was very good at business. Right. So I could write and I could really help the creatives out within the ad agency.
But what I was really good at was selling their ideas. And so I wanted to teach people how to be more creative or more innovative. It was just when the term innovation was coming into vogue. And I started off on my own, actually, after being in advertising for several years, because I said, I need to teach people how to do this.
And that's what made me start, was actually consulting and teaching people how to get better ideas. Early in my career then, when I owned my business, I also met somebody who was a futurist. And I thought, these people have great ideas. What is a futurist? And this is before anyone even talked about futurists.
Chapter 3: What does it mean to be a futurist?
I met a guy, his name was Andy Hines, and he was the head futurist at Dow Chemical Company here in the States. And I said, what do you do? What is a futurist? He taught me about how there is a structured way that you can approach change and actually drive it rather than react to it. I became a futurist. I studied futuring. It's called foresight. I got my certificate in it.
I worked with all the top people who teach it around the world. And that made me a better idea and creative person. And I brought that to my company, Future Think, as how we can help people better manage change and respond to change as well as drive it. And I think that's what makes my business different than others. It's not just about creativity and coming up with ideas.
It's how you actually react as well as prepare for change. And that's what we're good at teaching. So that's what I do.
Wow. So in your own career, you started in the corporate world and then transitioned out. And this was way before coaching, entrepreneurship, and tech startups became mainstreamed. You've been in the consulting and coaching space for a long time. Looking back, how would you describe your own evolution? Would you call it reinvention?
When you made the move, stepping out of that safety net into solo entrepreneurship, what was that experience like?
It was risky. I think you have to have a stomach for it, as they say. You have to be able to be prepared that you are your own safety net. When you work at a big company, there is lots of other people to support you. You are making change with somebody else's money. And you are taking measured risks within what we say guardrails.
And if you fail, there's some level of, it's okay, you're not going to lose your job. When you're an entrepreneur, all that goes away. It's your money, it's your risk, and it's your reward. And it's all up to you, 100%. You have to really have confidence. You have to be a risk taker.
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Chapter 4: Why do organizations struggle with change?
You have to be an idea person and you have to be willing to pivot a lot because everyone thinks that the future of creating your destiny is a straight line and it is the squiggliest, windiest road that goes back and forth that you've ever seen. And I think that it takes a certain type of person to be able to do that. I think at first it was a lot. It was blind faith, as they say.
It was a big leap. But I'm glad I did it because I'm in control of my life, not someone else.
You started this journey way ahead of the curve before it was the norm. And it must have been scary. It was definitely risky. Were there moments when you thought, maybe I should just go back to corporate America? Did you ever question your decision?
Never. No, I don't know many entrepreneurs that, true entrepreneurs that ever say, oh, I'm just going to go back. No, they do. Like people go back and forth like that's their exit or it didn't work out. They go back for a little bit because of money, right? But they eventually leave. They have... You know what they say, they have to scratch that itch.
They always are itching to do something different. And the appeal of being on their own and creating something that they can say, I did that, is usually so strong that people don't stay at companies very long.
Earlier, you mentioned learning about futurism, how you got inspired by someone in the field, study it, and eventually step into that role yourself. Now you are helping organizations navigate their future. Before we dive into organizational change, I want to ask more about your journey.
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Chapter 5: How do futurists help companies prepare for multiple futures?
When you took that leap of faith, when you left behind the old path to create a new future for yourself, did you already have a clear vision? Did you see exactly where you were heading? Did you know, this is it, this is my future, these are the steps I need to take? Or were you still figuring things out, navigating as you went?
Hmm. I think you have to always have a plan. My original thought was I'm going to teach people how to be. I think everyone is creative, not just certain people within companies. And back then, that was the thinking, which is we're in advertising. Only certain people that sit in the creative department could be creative thinkers. And we all know now, 25, 30 years hence, that's wrong, right?
Everyone needs to be innovative within a company, whether it's procurement or legal or product development. Everyone has a role. And my vision early on was just that. And it proved to be right. How I did it is very different then than it is now. It used to be teaching people in workshops. I still do that. But now I've written books. I have on-demand courses. I keynote. So there's coach.
There's many different ways that I go about it. So it's evolved over time. I think that's the best entrepreneurs is and this relates to futuring. So I'll segue into that a little bit. They know when to pivot because nothing stays the same. You have to be ready to adapt to the cultural zeitgeist. So, for example, we used to teach courses that were several days long. Now, are you kidding?
People want them in an hour or less. Things have rapidly changed. We had to respond to that. That's actually what futurists do. They don't just teach people how to respond to change, but they do it themselves. Futuring is about realizing there are multiple possible futures. There's not one.
And so you think through different scenarios that could be in the next five, 10 or 15 years, and you prepare for them. And you say, if this happens, this is what we could be. If this happens, this is what we could be. And these are the things I would need to do. I would need different staff. I would need different technology. I would need different investment.
And what's nice about that is thinking through different scenarios helps you prepare for change. And actually, how do I want to say it? You're more resilient as a result.
As you were explaining, I kept thinking about decision trees. I studied finance. And back in business school, we actually covered this in a class that connected economics with strategy. Professors taught us about decision trees. And if you go deep into the math, you get into multi-color simulations, big data, and statistical models. But stepping away from the numbers, the idea still applies.
Different scenarios lead to different risks, different uncertainties, and different possible paths. And from what you've shared so far, futurists help people Master change, not just react to it, but own it, master it, and drive it. Over the last 10 years, the term futurist has become much more common. A lot of people now call themselves one.
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