Workplaces are at their best when every individual’s strengths are recognized and supported. Together, Dr Molly Taylor & Tala Odeh will explore what neurodivergence truly means, the strengths it brings, and the misconceptions that limit progress.

Together, we’ll look at the everyday realities of neurodivergent employees and the steps leaders can take to design systems, cultures, and learning experiences where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

This session provides leaders, people & culture professionals, and L&D executives who want to build environments where neurodivergent employees can thrive.

A conversation with Russell John Cailey, CEO and Founder of Elham Studio and Almach AI, and Tala Odeh, Capability Development Lead at Cosmic Centaurs.

As AI accelerates, collapses time, and democratizes knowledge, the world of work is undergoing a transformation unlike anything we have seen before. The question is no longer whether AI will replace some jobs. The real question is: What human capabilities become more valuable than ever

In this session, Russell and Tala explore:
• How AI is reshaping how we learn, grow, and work
• Why traditional learning systems lag behind and how to reimagine them
• The uniquely human skills we must double down on
• Firefly Sprints and the Collapse of Time from Russell’s book, The Firefly Effect
• Six month transformation cycles and why they work
• What leaders must do to build adaptive, future ready organizations
• What employees can practice to stay relevant and resilient in an AI driven world

Drawing on decades of global learning innovation, from THINK Global School to advisory work with educators, foundations, and companies, Russell brings a rare systems level perspective. His book The Firefly Effect challenges outdated assumptions about time, capability, and human potential, offering practical ways to design learning that is continuous, contextual, and deeply human.

Tala brings Cosmic Centaurs’ perspective on systems thinking, leadership development, and organizational capability building, exploring how companies can move away from annual cycles and surface level AI adoption and toward real, meaningful transformation.

About the Speakers
Russell John Cailey
CEO and Founder, Elham Studio and Almach AI
Amazon Bestselling Author of The Firefly Effect
Global Leader in Transformative Education and Learning Innovation

Tala Odeh
Capability Development Lead, Cosmic Centaurs

Topics Covered:
AI and learning, capability development, systems thinking, organizational transformation, Firefly Effect, Firefly Sprints, collapse of time, leadership in uncertainty, six month transformation cycles, future skills, emotional intelligence, discernment, storytelling, strategic learning, L and D innovation.

Resources:
The Firefly Effect by Russell John Cailey: https://www.thefireflyeffectbook.com/bookhome

Cosmic Centaurs: https://www.cosmiccentaurs.com

If you enjoyed this session, share your reflections in the comments and subscribe for more conversations on leadership, learning, and the future of work.

After seven weeks of exploring systems thinking through the lens of leadership, culture, and transformation, the 2025 Cosmic Conference comes full circle with a powerful closing conversation.

Professor José Santos, Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management at INSEAD, joins Marilyn Zakhour to challenge and deepen the conference’s central idea: Is the system really the strategy?

Together, they explore how leaders can move from managing parts to understanding the whole and why seeing organizations as living, interconnected systems may be the most strategic mindset of all.

They discuss:
🔹 Why most leaders struggle to see systems and how to learn to see them
🔹 The difference between simple, complicated, and complex systems
🔹 How emergence and interaction shape performance over time
🔹 Why resilience comes from managing relationships, not parts
🔹 How imagination, observation, and time help leaders design better systems

This closing session is a reflection on the essence of systems thinking, a bridge between theory and practice, between how we lead and how we live.