Interview with Lital Marom

A thought leader on agile business processes, digital transformation, and the future of work, Lital Marom was recently featured in Corporate Meetings & Events (CM&E) magazine. She shared her insights into speaking trends and how, as individuals and leaders, we can find success in our incredibly digital and changing world.

Lital has led the sales and global strategy of several Fortune 100 corporations before founding four companies herself. Today, she is the founder and president of UNFOLD, where she works closely with leading global brands to drive digital transformation, and of The Academy of Tomorrow, where she helps young professionals learn the skillsets needed to become creative leaders in the 21st century.

Learn more about Lital and how she’s helping audiences around the world learn how to thrive in the future of work in the Q&A below.

CM&E: Which of your keynotes would you say is in greatest demand these days?

Lital: I’d say the keynote “Reimagine Your Future”. It’s on everyone’s mind right now, from the entrepreneur’s community to corporate leaders. Everyone wants to know how to build themselves and their company up for success — how to reimagine their future, to unleash new opportunities, and ultimately thrive in a world of constant change.

CM&E: What do you hope event attendees gain from your presentations?

Lital: My life’s work is to empower people to tap into their potential and the potential of their business. I help people hack their future to radically reshape their relationship with uncertainty and develop a bolder vision for their potential — turning challenges into opportunities and understanding that they can do so much more than they believe they can. You’ve got to start by pushing beyond fear — fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of not tapping into your potential. There is a lot of fear going around and it’s the number one thing that blocks everyone. And the best way to deal with fear is to redirect all that energy into action. Action kills fear. And we live in a time where the riskiest thinking you can do is take no risk.

CM&E: And when you talk about unlocking the potential of individuals?

Lital: I talk about the importance of learning and what kind of learning culture we need to create. We need to see learning as a process and not just an end goal. Learning never ends — not when you get your university degree, not when you get the job you always wanted. We always need to learn about new developments in this constantly changing world. Investing in learning is not a “nice to have” — it’s a must. It’s the only way to keep up with change and not be left behind.

CM&E: Any advice for corporate leaders navigating this increasingly digital world?

Lital: The urgency to move past fear and into action is at the core of everything. When we are afraid, we waste energy and end up in a fight, flight, or freeze mode. It’s not serving us. Instead, it’s destroying opportunities for success and growth. So, start with redirecting all that energy into action. Get busy building and creating the future that you want to see. And when you do that, understand that there are frameworks and patterns that all successful unicorns have in common. Study them, embrace them, and start building your future ahead. Build a data-based business, leverage emerging technologies and new business models, and constantly ask yourself — how can I improve my customers’ lives?

CM&E: Do you have any particular interests that you feel will become a focus for you in the future?

Lital: I firmly believe that the circular economy represents the means to save the planet and create an enormous market opportunity. With the circular economy, we can drive the optimization of resources, reduce the consumption of raw materials, and recover waste by recycling or giving it a second life as a new product.

Another area that I’ve been spending a lot of time working in is crypto and the metaverse. The ability to provide a shared environment and economy for all excites me. During the pandemic, many users turned to the metaverse for social activities and gatherings, even conducting entire weddings inside the platform. In the future, it could become as important as social media is to our lives today. It’s going to be interesting to see what the next big pandemic will look like. It’s not going to be Zooming, it’s going to be something much more immersive in the virtual world.

CM&E: People are reeling in response to headlines over the past few years. Are you optimistic about the future?

Lital: Being optimistic is fundamental for creating a better future because you can only create a better tomorrow if you believe in the possibility of making it so, and only then will you step up and move into action to create that future. If you assume there is no hope, you can be sure there will be no hope. I believe that we’re all here to grow, and if we’re not being optimistic, we’re not growing, tapping into our potential, or living our best lives. We are the creators of our reality.

Read more from Lital in the complete Q&A.

In her practical and engaging talks, Lital Marom shows organizations how to unlock the potential of their business by leveraging exponential thinking, emerging technologies, and new business models.