Here are 11 of the most impactful leadership learnings from Oslo Business Forum 2025: The Big Shift, to help you shift your ways of thinking and transform your leadership.
Learning #1: Optimism is honest, not naïve.
Simon Sinek is a leadership visionary, the author of Start with Why, and the host of "A Bit of Optimism." The founder of The Optimism Company is dedicated to inspiring purpose-driven leaders worldwide.
At Oslo Business Forum, Simon challenged the common misconception that optimism is blind positivity. False positivity, he warned, can make people feel worse. True optimism acknowledges difficulty while pointing toward possibility. It sounds like this:
"It's a difficult time and I don't know how long it will last, but if we stick together and take care of each other, we'll get through it."
"Optimism, he argued, is a choice. "At the end of the day, you'll always find the thing you're looking for. If you want to find darkness, you'll find it. If you want to find light, you'll find it."
"At the end of the day, you'll always find the thing you're looking for"
And while optimism itself is crucial in a leader's toolbox, there's another trait we must all master: humility. The number one reason many leaders fail, Simon said, is that they think they have to do it all alone. That belief leads to feelings of overwhelm and poor decision-making. His advice is to share the burden and ask for help, especially from your team.
Learning #2: The next era of innovation runs on heartware.
Pippa Malmgren is a geopolitical strategist who equips leaders to decode uncertainty, spot early signals of change, and thrive at the intersection of markets, technology, and global security.
At Oslo Business Forum, Pippa took the audience on a journey to show that while the world is volatile, the future holds unprecedented promise for those ready to lead with imagination and heart.
"I believe we are going to war with problems."
She described the current landscape as a world choosing between conflict and cooperation. She identified four frontiers expanding at record speed and creating massive potential for profit, jobs, and progress:
Learning #3: We must not fight change, but fall in love with it.
April Rinne is a change navigator, futurist, and expert in navigating uncertainty. She helps leaders and organizations adapt to change, uncover opportunities, and build future resilience.
In an age where leaders are juggling a thousand competing priorities, perhaps the most important thing we can do is boost our flux capacity. A Flux Mindset begins with the ability to see all change—good or bad, expected or unexpected—as an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve.
"Uncertainty is opportunity in its purest form."
Through her research and work with leaders across industries, April has identified eight "Flux Superpowers"—habits that can be developed to thrive in times of uncertainty. At Oslo Business Forum, she explored three, calling them the most consistent predictors of adaptability and sustainable performance.
A lot of what we've been taught about leadership has assumed a world we can control, not a world in flux. "Think of these as new rules for navigating unending change and being ready for that big shift."
Diana Kander is a New York Times best-selling author and renowned innovation strategist. She empowers leaders to drive exceptional growth by transforming curiosity into a sustainable, strategic advantage.
Diana brought energy and sharp insights to Oslo Business Forum with a simple but powerful message: in a world defined by uncertainty, leaders who ask better questions will unlock the path to growth.
Curiosity is the antidote to stagnation, and Diana believes growth lies in the gap between what we know today and what we want to discover. When we replace "to-do lists" with space, we create room to explore, innovate, and find better ways forward.
She described three simple steps to fast-forward innovation:
Diana urged leaders to embrace a "better is possible" mindset by remembering that today is day one—and there is endless potential ahead.
Learning #5: Data tells the story of your journey.
Aksel Lund Svindal is a legendary Olympic gold medalist and serial entrepreneur, inspiring teams to thrive under pressure, lead with resilience, and embrace the winning mindset needed for success in any arena.
At Oslo Business Forum, Aksel shared lessons from the Norwegian Alpine Skiing Team—a small team with fewer resources than many, yet one that went on to dominate the world stage.
For the Norwegian team, data was central to their success. Good data not only sharpens performance, but it also builds trust. In a culture where feedback is routine, teammates can hold each other accountable for showing up prepared, respecting the team, and improving together.
"It's ok to be a bad loser, but you can't have bad winners."
In the end, Aksel reminded leaders that it's not just about building strategy; it's about building culture. And culture, he said, must be grounded in data. "Nothing is as sharp as something you can't debate. If you want to build a strong culture, you have to handle the data very well."
Learning #6: Love is the most powerful force in business.
Marcus Buckingham is a global researcher and New York Times best-selling author focused on unlocking strengths, increasing performance, and pioneering the future of how people work.
At Oslo Business Forum, Marcus drew a distinction between failure, mediocrity, and excellence. He shared five insights from his research that can help leaders unleash the most powerful force in business for long-term success:
"If you want to excel, you have to engage with love."
Marcus urged leaders to adopt what he calls a DLI Lens: Design Love In. This is where the deepest growth happens. Because if those you lead or serve don't say they love the experience, you've settled for mediocrity.
Learning #7: Leadership is as important as strategy and structure.
Bob Sternfels is a Global Managing Partner at McKinsey & Company. He helps leaders and organizations navigate disruption and build resilience by highlighting the need for clarity, agility, and long-term vision.
At Oslo Business Forum, Bob acknowledged that companies and their leaders are under greater pressure than ever. "Baseline uncertainty has more than doubled since 1990, and its frequency and impact are accelerating," he said.
While it's true that strategy defines direction and organization enables execution, it's leadership that brings both to life. The most critical factor that will determine whether we succeed or fail is how we lead. Bob emphasized four critical traits of next-generation leaders:
"The rewards for bold navigation have never been higher."
In a world defined by complexity, the leaders who win will be those who combine clarity of strategy, simplicity of structure, and humanity of spirit.
Learning #8: Every company can be an AI company.
Priya Lakhani is is an entrepreneur and AI advocate who helps business leaders navigate the intersection of technology, ethics, and innovation, transforming industries while keeping AI accountable.
Priya shared an alarming statistic with leaders at Oslo Business Forum: According to a recent study by McKinsey, 95% of companies are getting zero measurable return on their AI investments. The top barriers to ROI include:
"AI isn't magic; AI is math."
These insights remind us that behind every successful implementation lies a fundamental truth: technology alone doesn't create value, especially not when it operates in a silo.
If you treat AI as a separate initiative, adoption will fail. Instead, Priya said, we must start with the outcomes we want to achieve and build from there. "First, you need a data strategy. You do not need an AI strategy. Your question on Monday morning is 'What data do we have?'"
Learning #9: Technology and human connection work together to bridge the generational divide.
Dr. Eliza Filby is a thought leader on generational trends, a trusted advisor to global organizations, and the best person in the world to help you understand the new workforce and Generation Z.
At Oslo Business Forum, she revealed how leaders can harness the power of multiple generations coming together in the workplace. It starts by shedding a common assumption: technology isn't the great divider. Rather, the gap between generations is driven by values.
"We're seeing rising individualism," Eliza said. "And that is very difficult to integrate into a company built on processes, standardization, and teams."
The biggest generational flashpoints show up in how we view:
We're now witnessing the rise of what Eliza calls Gen AI: an augmented generation for whom artificial intelligence will define education, communication, and creativity. The risk lies in further dehumanizing the workplace if we fail to adapt.
Leaders can turn generational tension into a source of strength by identifying friction points, raising awareness, and shifting the conversation from condemnation to curiosity. Because, she says, "Every business needs two things: the innovative spirit of youth and the wisdom that comes with age."
Learning #10: The biggest threat to business isn't disruption, it's hesitation.
Terence Mauri is a leading expert on leadership, AI, and disruption. His work reveals how leaders can unlearn old rules, harness the upside of disruption, and thrive in a new era.
At Oslo Business Forum, Terrence delivered what he called a "double espresso" for leaders—a jolt to spark thinking, ignite new perspectives, and push past the bureaucratic misery index.
Most companies today are stuck in one of two "deadly zones," as Terrence describes them. In the panic zone, urgency outpaces readiness. In the complacency zone, overconfidence outweighs humility. Both are dangerous, and the real task for leaders is to step into a new space where boldness, agility, and humanity drive growth.
"The biggest risk you can take right now is thinking too small"
He argued that the true enemy isn't disruption, but the hesitation that keeps leaders from moving forward. In the end, he warned, inaction will be our greatest regret. His advice is to reframe risk as opportunity. "Don't be afraid to go first. Instead of calling it risk, call it R&D."
Learning #11: Culture can be a competitive advantage.
Gianpiero Petriglieri is a professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD and an expert focused on humanizing leadership. He helps leaders connect authentically and lead with purpose.
At Oslo Business Forum, Gianpiero helped leaders see how the dominant model of leadership is flawed. Most models explain leadership by describing the necessary elements of vision, strategy, and persistence. But he noted a flaw in this model: it's always looking backwards.
"Retire the dominant model of leadership."
That's because leadership is not a position or a possession—it is a relationship.
An interesting experience emerges in the best relationships: standing next to this leader makes us feel more like ourselves. Gianpiero's radical take on leadership is that it's a kind of love. It's within people and between people, and its job is to move us forward. "There are only two ways to move people: with faith or with force."
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