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Dan Pontefract

@danpontefract.com
321 followers 227 following 88 posts

Award-winning 6-time author | leadership & culture strategist | keynote speaker | 5-time TEDx | Thinkers50 Radar | wristwatch hater 🇨🇦

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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 03/05/2026
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 23/03/2026
I am beyond stoked to announce that the renowned Rotman Events crew at the University of Toronto has invited me to launch my new book. If you're in Toronto, join me on April 23 at Desautels Hall for refreshments, a talk, Q&A, and a book signing. Join me! www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news-events-...
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 30/01/2026
I haven't really figured out Bluesky yet, although every time I scroll, I feel like you're my kinda people. So, with that, <checks ego> I wanted to let you know that I've got a new book coming out, all about age in the workplace. The indomitable Lynda Gratton of London Business School has said this:
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 08/06/2025
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 18/05/2025
In 2016, when Microsoft launched its chatbot Tay on Twitter, it was taken offline after about 24 hours, primarily due to... wait for it... denying the Holocaust. My, how times have changed at Twitter, where a bug has evolved into a feature.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 15/04/2025
I’m thrilled by Harvard University’s action. It’s also a #leadership lesson for all of us. Here’s what I wrote: www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
Harvard University’s Bold Lesson On Integrity And Saying No
Harvard University's refusal of federal government demands shows leaders why integrity and courage matter when values are tested.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 07/04/2025
Important new book from Faisal Hoque: "Transcend: Unlocking Humanity in the Age of AI." Check out these: 🔗⃗ Forbes Column: www.forbes.com/sites/danpon... 🔗⃗ Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/a... 🔗⃗ Spotify Podcasts: open.spotify.com/episode/1lPg... 🔗⃗ YouTube Video: youtu.be/B3Tx7LJ9eRM
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 02/04/2025
If you're Canadian, one can only surmise that Carney's call with Trump went extraordinarily well last week for "Liberation Day" not to include additional #tariffs against Canada. It seems that USMCA is being honoured, presumably until a new government is elected in Canada on April 28.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 29/03/2025
In 1961, JFK travelled to Canada, spoke in the House of Commons, and basically said, "Canada, you are awesome. Let's always be friends.” #leadership
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 26/03/2025
Walking through a cherry blossom blizzard is one of life's most wonderful treats.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 25/03/2025
Five books. I’ve written five books and Meta stole them all for their AI tool. Thousands of authors are in the same boat. It is so, so, so distressing. www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
Meta Stole My Books—And CEO Mark Zuckerberg Approved It
Meta pirated millions of books to train its AI. Mark Zuckerberg approved the steal.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 22/03/2025
It's not a new idea but a new take on the idea. "How will you show up?" #leadership #leaders #democracy www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
The Bully Or The Collaborative: How Will You Show Up?
While the bullies may be currently having their time in the limelight, history tells us they often lose late.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 20/03/2025
A few World Happiness Report observations: 1) Costa Rica - woah! 2) Consistency defined in Finland, Denmark & Iceland 3) US of A(n) Unhappiness
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 18/03/2025
Rewatched “The Social Network” tonight. Prescient and OMG 15 years later re: Zuckerberg.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 09/03/2025
Rewatched “Schindler’s List” last night. So good. Lost in the mix? The aftermath. Schindler failed at several business ventures post-war and eventually relied on financial support from "Schindler Jews" association—the people whose lives he saved during the war. An overall extraordinary story.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 04/03/2025
"Elbows Up," Canada. It's time. My latest column on Forbes. cc. @charlieangus104.bsky.social and @arlenedickinson.bsky.social 🇨🇦 www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
Enough Politeness—Why Canada Needs Elbows Up Leadership Now
The U.S. has imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods. It's time the country adopted an "elbows up" leadershp strategy.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 01/03/2025
When I read Zeihan's alarming book, I couldn't put it down. Mostly because I thought it was a fictional spy novel. It wasn't. It was rather prescient, sad as it is to say. Of his many predictions, Zeihan was correct—that the U.S. would abandon the role of global 'free world' leader.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 20/02/2025
Can’t tell you how good it feels to be Tesla free.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 19/02/2025
I remember meeting and listening to @umairh.bsky.social at the Drucker Forum in 2013. Maybe 2012? I was impressed. Then, I started following his writing & various appearances. It got darker & darker. Not apocalyptic, just failed state stuff. I couldn't shake it. So dark. And now? He was right.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 08/02/2025
Big weekend!
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 23/01/2025
Olympian Melissa Humana-Paredes said: “Winning at all costs is a terrible strategy.” I agree. If leaders “win at all costs” they myopically focus on the goal & disregard people’s emotions to achieve the "win." The cost of winning lies in investing in the well-being of others. Photo by Luke Hales
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 15/01/2025
👀
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Reposted by Dan Pontefract
Jeanette Leardi @jeanetteleardi.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
I'm thrilled that Forbes contributor @danpontefract.com is highlighting my book, "AGING SIDEWAYS: Changing Our Perspectives on Getting Older." Check it out, as well as the fun chat we had on his Leadership Now podcast: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbbI... www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
Why It’s Time To Tilt Your View On Aging
The aging brain often excels at making nuanced decisions and synthesizing knowledge from experience. Why aren't you supporting the fact that aging is a good thing?
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 15/01/2025
My podcast, "Leadership NOW," is in its 4th season. I chat with people from around the planet on issues related to leadership and organizational culture. Available wherever you get your podcasts. #podcast PS. Apple Podcast direct link: podcasts.apple.com/my/podcast/l...
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 13/01/2025
I’m in Tokyo at the moment and the incredible civility and calm on the subway is a lesson—if not a metaphor—for people in North America.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 11/01/2025
I'm still irked by Meta's bonkers content moderation decision. www.danpontefract.com/content/meta...
danpontefract.com
Meta and Losing the Plot on Leadership
Mark Zuckerberg’s decision on January 7, 2025, to overhaul Meta’s content moderation strategy has really irked me. Here’s why.First of all, it feels less
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 10/01/2025
I'm never writing another book. I'm never writing another book. I'm never writing another book. I'm never writing another book. I'm never writing another book. I'm never writing another book. I'm never writing another book. I'm never writing another book. Dammit! PS. I'm an idiot. #authors
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 09/01/2025
Be still my author's heart. Chatting today with Dr. Richard E. Clark, the researcher behind CTA (cognitive task analysis) and also a debunker of so many ineffective learning myths, he thanked ME for writing "Open To Think." Made my year, and it's only January. (Thanks @guywwallace.bsky.social)
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 09/01/2025
In a 48-hour period, I interviewed 25-, 29-, 78-, and 80-year-olds for my next book. I'm 53 and way richer for these conversations.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 08/01/2025
Looks a bit like Twitter 2010, which gives me all the feels. Skircle.me
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 08/01/2025
My latest on Forbes. One of the great leaders doing fab things in the longevity space: Michael Clinton, founder of ROAR Forward. www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
You Could Live To Be 100 — This Is How To Do It
If you're 50 or 60 and healthy, you are more than likely going to live to be 90 or 100. How will you prepare? What should organizations do?
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 14/12/2024
Very sad day. The great Charles Handy has passed. The social philosopher was so kind to me—and anyone he was in the company of. A truly remarkable thinker and human being. Thank you, Charles. ❤️
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 14/12/2024
It’s still not “working.” Only 28% of knowledge workers around the world have a healthy relationship with work. Only 44% of leaders have confidence in their human skills. www.hp.com/us-en/newsro...
hp.com
2024 HP Work Relationship Index Reveals Personalization Powered by AI Will Improve Future of Work
Today, HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ) released the second annual HP Work Relationship Index (WRI), a comprehensive study that explores the world’s relationship with work. The study, which surveyed 15,600 responde...
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 04/12/2024
OMG! How inhumane. Also, fun fact: the company reported a 24% increase in its year-over-year net income to $2.3 billion and a 24% increase in its year-over-year net profit margin.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 01/12/2024
There is a postal strike in Canada. The founder of Fluevog Shoes, John Fluevog, has been delivering orders across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia in his Mazda. "It's nice to connect with people,” he said. John is 76. 🥰
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 30/11/2024
No one will read it, but I wrote it anyway. www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
Corporate Culture Needs A Pulse Not A Pixel
We have the debate wrong—it’s not remote vs. office. The new knowledge of work is about purposefully designing interactions that foster a vibrant, resilient culture.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 28/11/2024
Wow. Using GPT-4o, researchers have replicated the personality and behaviour of more than 1000 people, in an effort to create an alternative to focus groups and polling. Agents are amongst us www.newscientist.com/article/2457...
newscientist.com
AI simulations of 1000 people accurately replicate their behaviour
Using GPT-4o, the model behind ChatGPT, researchers have replicated the personality and behaviour of more than 1000 people, in an effort to create an alternative to focus groups and polling
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 28/11/2024
If I'm not starving but kinda hungry, am I peckishish?
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 27/11/2024
Kudos to Gareth Southgate for being open and honest about his quest for purpose. I wrote about him today. #purpose www.forbes.com/sites/danpon...
forbes.com
Former England Manager Gareth Southgate Is On A Quest For Purpose
If you've ever wrestled with the burden of leadership or pondered what comes next, Gareth Southgate's explicit "purpose journey" provides some food for thought.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 24/11/2024
There are swathes of “tiger teams” in organizations plotting to use AI as a headcount reduction tool. What I wish for instead were for those teams to assess how AI can eliminate bureaucratic waste & inefficient processes. That way, AI becomes a complementary performance improvement tool.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 22/11/2024
Did I come out in a Sgt. Pepper outfit today for my #toronto keynote with I4PL? Yes. Yes I did. 😎
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 21/11/2024
Your moment of Zen. 😂 futurism.com/the-byte/ama...
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 21/11/2024
Delivered a half day workshop today to a gaggle of People & Culture leaders. The organization has long ago defined its purpose. What it’s moving towards is fully embedding the leadership *behaviours* of purpose into its operations. More P&C teams like this one are needed. Purpose is a muscle. 🙌
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Reposted by Dan Pontefract
Roy Jemison @royjemison.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Oof. Austrian Airlines made their final post on X.
Photo of Austrian Airlines’s final post on X:


Dear guests, you can stay connected with us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook & LinkedIn. Feel free to reach out anytime via our Austrian App or at austrian.com.

Inset photo:

Smiling flight attendant in red uniform looking at camera making hand gesture directing people toward aircraft exits.

Caption:

We took a moment to locate our nearest X-it.

Austrian is closing this account effective immediately.

Austrian logo
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 21/11/2024
Now that the social media split is in full flight between political stripes, in hindsight, I don't see anything wrong with it. I think I was naïve. I thought social media might be (was) a melting pot of ideas. Instead, social media has simply morphed into mainstream media. And that's ok.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 21/11/2024
Ya know how I got on Twitter? For you kids, back in the day? It was Dec 23. 2008. Vancouver. Freak Blizzard. It never really "blizzards" in YVR. I sent my first tweet asking if anyone needed anywhere to stay that night. No takers, but that was the spirit for about a decade.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 21/11/2024
I like Bluesky because (obvs) it reminds me of old Twitter. However, I think I forgot how to be on a nice platform like this because, well, I got deprogrammed.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 20/11/2024
I am not a fan of Gallup’s stranglehold on the misconception of “employee engagement” but that doesn’t mean they don’t do other excellent research. Like this. Oh my. Not good! #leadership
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 20/11/2024
A short clip with me and @sethgodin.bsky.social - Check out the full interview and his wide-ranging thoughts about #strategy on my show, "Leadership NOW," wherever you get your mental candy.
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Dan Pontefract @danpontefract.com · 19/11/2024
Book signings are great—but only when there are people who a) bought your book and b) want your book signed. 🤣
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