In this episode of Vistage LIVE, Stephanie Christopher speaks with Mark Puncher, a leading expert in employer branding and talent marketing, about how business leaders can navigate today’s rapidly changing workforce landscape. With economic pressures mounting and employee expectations shifting, Mark explores the risks of employer-employee disconnection and the crucial role of leadership in fostering engagement, performance, and loyalty.

Key themes include:

• The Talent Landscape Shift – The job market has moved from a hiring boom to a more cautious and uncertain environment, requiring leaders to rethink their approach to people management.
• Authentic Leadership – Employees don’t just need to feel valued—they need to feel valuable. Leaders must engage their people in problem-solving and decision-making rather than just directing from the top.
• Balancing Empathy and Accountability – While businesses must prioritise people, they also need clear expectations and commercial discipline to succeed.
• Culture as a Competitive Advantage – Strong cultures aren’t about a one-size-fits-all approach but embracing the diverse ways teams operate while staying aligned to shared values.
• Transparent Hiring & Engagement – Leaders who acknowledge the realities of their workplace—both the strengths and the challenges—will attract and retain the right people.

This episode is essential for CEOs, business owners, and leaders who want to build a high-performance team in an evolving workplace. Mark offers practical strategies for creating a culture where people are genuinely engaged, empowered, and committed—not just compliant.

In this insightful episode of Vistage Live, host Stephanie Christopher sits down with Michael Donoghue, founder of AdvisorAI, to demystify the critical journey of AI adoption for businesses. Drawing from his 16 years of expertise in fintech, digital payments, and AI innovation, Donoghue provides a pragmatic roadmap for organisations navigating artificial intelligence. The conversation cuts through the hype and confusion, offering clear guidance on how businesses can strategically approach AI integration, emphasising the importance of understanding AI's transformative potential across entire organisations, large or small.

The discussion offers a practical approach to AI adoption, highlighting key strategies such as developing simple yet comprehensive AI policies, focusing on staff education, and embedding AI across all departments. Donoghue challenges business leaders to look beyond technological complexity and instead view AI as a powerful tool for strategic planning, creativity, and productivity.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into how to upskill employees, ensure data security, and proactively prepare for the significant technological shifts expected in the coming years, with a particular focus on 2025 as a pivotal moment of AI transformation.

Before you dive into strategic planning, have you clarified your strategic direction? In this episode of Vistage Live, Jon Lindsay, a leadership expert with over 30 years of business experience and Vistage Chair, shares the crucial first step that often gets overlooked: defining where you want to go and why and unpacks how leaders can bring clarity to their organisation's purpose and priorities, setting the foundation for meaningful strategic plans.

Now is the perfect time to do the preparation needed to kick off 2025 with strong foundations in place. Whether you're a CEO, entrepreneur, or business owner, this episode will inspire you to step back, refocus, and ensure your organisation is aligned on the big picture. Tune in to learn how to create a clear and compelling direction that sets you up for success in the year ahead.

3 top tips to prepare for 2025, Jon recommends that business leaders:

• • Keep things simple and focus on strategic direction rather than detailed planning right now. Use simple models and frameworks to facilitate open conversations with the leadership team.
  • Look outside the business to understand industry trends and changes in the external environment. Don't try to do too much between now and the end of the year, but use this time to reflect on what's coming down the track.
  • Prioritize clarity, usefulness, and focus in the strategic approach. The goal is to have a strategy that helps make decisions, not a lengthy document.