Leadership books are everywhere, yet very few acknowledge an uncomfortable truth: many of the principles that built successful organisations in the past may no longer work in the future. Mike Soutar’s Next Gen CEO is built around that very idea.
We are living in a period of extraordinary change. Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, remote and hybrid work have transformed office culture, and economic uncertainty has become a permanent feature rather than a temporary challenge. In such an environment, leadership can no longer be defined by rigid hierarchies or old-school management habits.
Mike Soutar argues that the traditional leadership playbook has reached its limits.
Rather than offering another collection of corporate clichés, Next Gen CEO presents sixty concise lessons that aim to help leaders adapt to a world that refuses to stand still. The result is a book that feels contemporary, practical and refreshingly straightforward.
Soutar brings a wealth of experience to the subject. As an entrepreneur, business leader and familiar face from BBC’s The Apprentice, he has spent years observing how people perform under pressure, make decisions and respond to failure. Those experiences shape every chapter of the book.
One of the book’s strongest ideas is its challenge to the image of the leader as the ultimate problem-solver. Many professionals fall into the trap of believing they must have answers to every question and solutions to every obstacle. Soutar pushes back against this mindset.
For him, effective leadership is about creating capable teams that can function independently rather than building organisations that depend entirely on one individual. A successful leader, he suggests, should gradually become less indispensable.
The advice may sound simple, but it is surprisingly difficult to put into practice.
Another memorable lesson centres on embracing disagreement. Soutar encourages leaders to become comfortable with losing arguments if it means arriving at better outcomes. In an era where confidence is often mistaken for competence, this perspective feels particularly valuable.
He makes a compelling case that leadership is not about proving you are the smartest person in the room; it is about ensuring the best ideas rise to the surface.
The book also pays close attention to one of the defining challenges of modern professional life: burnout. Endless meetings, constant notifications and the pressure to always be available have blurred the boundaries between work and personal life. Soutar addresses these realities without sensationalising them.
Instead of glorifying relentless hustle, he advocates for sustainable performance. The goal, he argues, is to maintain energy and purpose over the long term rather than sacrificing wellbeing for short-term gains.
Technology, unsurprisingly, occupies an important place in the conversation. Soutar recognises that artificial intelligence and rapidly evolving workplaces are changing the skills leaders need to develop. Yet he avoids presenting technology as either a miracle solution or a looming threat.
His focus remains on adaptability.
The leaders who will succeed in the coming years, he argues, are those willing to continuously learn, unlearn and adjust their approaches as circumstances evolve.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is its format. Each chapter is brief and focused, making it easy to absorb one lesson at a time. The writing is crisp, direct and free from unnecessary complexity. Readers are unlikely to feel overwhelmed, even when tackling challenging ideas.
At the same time, the bite-sized structure occasionally leaves certain topics feeling abbreviated. Some readers may wish for more detailed examples or deeper analysis. However, the book never pretends to be an academic study. Its purpose is to provide practical tools that can be applied immediately.
What lingers after finishing Next Gen CEO is a shift in perspective.
Soutar reminds readers that leadership is not a designation printed on a business card. It is a daily practice built through decisions, habits and interactions with others.
In many ways, the book is less about becoming a chief executive officer and more about becoming the kind of person people willingly choose to follow.
At a time when workplaces are undergoing profound transformation, Next Gen CEO arrives as a timely and relevant guide. It strips away unnecessary jargon and offers a simple but powerful message: success in the future will belong to those who remain curious, adaptable and willing to evolve.
The world is changing too quickly for leaders to rely on yesterday’s methods. Mike Soutar’s book is an invitation to rethink what leadership means before the future forces us to.
Insightful, accessible and highly relevant, Next Gen CEO is a practical handbook for anyone seeking to lead with confidence in an increasingly unpredictable world.
