Podcast

SPOS #970 – Rohit Bhargava On Non-Obvious Thinking

Welcome to episode #970 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Rohit Bhargava isn’t just a brilliant thinker, entrepreneur and bestselling author – he’s also a close friend who has been a regular guest on this podcast for over fifteen years. Every time we talk, he brings fresh, non-obvious insights that challenge how we see the world. His latest book, Non-Obvious Thinking – How To See What Others Miss, continues this tradition, offering a four-step framework to help people become more observant, uncover insights, and think in a way that stands out. In this conversation, we explore how this mindset applies not just to creativity but also to the ever-changing landscape of publishing and business books. As the founder of Idea Press, Rohit has redefined what it means to be an author, building a hybrid publishing model that gives writers more control, better royalties, and an alternative to traditional publishing. We talked about the increasing volume of business books, the challenge of maintaining quality, and how shorter, more engaging formats are shaping the future of reading. Rohit also shared his perspective on book marketing in a saturated world, the role of curation in cutting through noise, and the importance of managing attention in an age of constant distraction. Beyond publishing, we dove into the broader theme of Non-Obvious Thinking – why we need to be open-minded, embrace different perspectives, and push back against the confirmation bias that dominates so much of modern discourse. It’s always a pleasure catching up with Rohit, and this podcast is no exception. If you’re looking for smarter ways to navigate business, creativity, and the way you absorb information, this one’s for you. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:02:23.
Hello from beautiful Montreal.
Listen and subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.
Listen and subscribe over at Spotify.
Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.
Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
Check out ThinkersOne.
or you can connect on LinkedIn.
…or on Twitter.
Here is my conversation with Rohit Bhargava.
Non-Obvious Thinking – How To See What Others Miss.
Idea Press.
Non-Obvious Thinker Newsletter
Non-Obvious Guides.
Follow Rohit on X.
Follow Rohit on LinkedIn.
This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Chapters:

(00:00) – The Evolution of Idea Press and Independent Publishing.
(03:03) – The Hybrid Publishing Model Explained.
(05:57) – The Changing Landscape of Business Books.
(09:02) – Quality vs. Quantity in Business Literature.
(12:02) – The Role of Authors and Writing Quality.
(15:03) – Trends in Book Formats and Reader Engagement.
(18:02) – The Audiobook Dilemma.
(20:52) – Emerging Themes in Business Literature.
(23:59) – The Future of Book Marketing and Reader Engagement.
(32:17) – Innovative Book Marketing Strategies.
(35:03) – The Art of Curation in Content Creation.
(38:56) – Non-Obvious Thinking: Becoming Your Best Self.
(45:10) – The Science of Attention and Distraction.
(49:29) – Capturing and Absorbing Information Effectively.
(51:27) – Navigating Confirmation Bias.
(54:50) – Expanding Horizons in a Divisive World.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #970.

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.