I’m speaking at HubSpot’s UNBOUND 2026 event in September. In my talk titled “The Fandom Playbook” I’ll be sharing ideas for how to create genuine human connections that build fans in an algorithmic driven world.
A major focus of my talk will be about passion. Without passion, you risk becoming replaceable and uninspiring, blending into a sea of sameness just as AI commoditized routine skills.
Human Skills
The HubSpot team asked me and four other UNBOUND 2026 speakers the same question: “As AI upskilling dominates the conversation, what's the one human skill people need most right now and aren't investing in enough?”
I love this question!
Most people treat business communication as a performance of competence, keeping personal enthusiasm separate from their work identity. As AI generates more competent-sounding output for everyone, the human behind the work becomes the differentiator and most people have stopped showing that person.
As I will share in my talk, not sharing your passions, the genuine enthusiasm you bring to your work and to what you love to do outside of work, means missing out on the most magnetic, human force in any team or organization and the counterpart to AI.
Passion is visible and contagious in ways that polished output isn't. The more AI levels the floor on execution quality, the more the ceiling belongs to people who show up with real enthusiasm.
Check out how the others answered the question.
