(Obviously this is imagined. In this fictional interview series, using the incredible power of AI, we will imagine and ask the visionary leaders from the past about the world of today.)
Interviewer: Marcus, thank you for joining us. Let’s begin with what matters most. Humans.
In an age where machines can now make decisions, what still makes a human leader essential?
Marcus Aurelius
The soul.
A machine cannot cultivate virtue. An algorithm cannot feel duty. A leader exists not to make choices but to make the right ones. That takes discipline, humility, and inner clarity.
Machines compute. Humans judge.
Advice for CEOs and founders
AI can suggest. Only you can decide. If you give away your judgment, you give away your leadership. Hold the line.
How should a founder govern their company when market chaos, global unrest, and exponential tech are out of their control?
Marcus Aurelius
Begin by governing yourself.
Markets move. Customers change. Fortune is unstable. But your values are yours to lead. Anchor there.
Respond to chaos with principle, not panic. Power begins with self-command.
Advice for CEOs and founders
You control your focus, your time, and your team. When the world turns sideways, return to what you can move. One right decision at a time.
What advice would you give to those building power through AI, tools that now shape choices at massive scale?
Marcus Aurelius
Power is responsibility.
If you design systems that influence others, you are accountable for their outcomes. The more efficient your tools, the more essential your ethics.
Use power to uplift. Not to control.
Advice for CEOs and founders
Influence without awareness is corruption. You are building more than software. You are shaping perception. Do it with care.
You wrote, “The impediment to action advances action.” What modern business struggles carry hidden advantages?
Marcus Aurelius
Every single one.
A market dip reveals what matters. A broken system shows you where to rebuild. A failed product teaches faster than a successful one.
What blocks you also shows you what to build next.
Advice for CEOs and founders
Don’t flinch from friction. Zoom in. Name the obstacle. Turn it into a system. This is how companies grow wisely, not just quickly.
What would a Stoic organization look like, built on discipline, humility, and service?
Marcus Aurelius
It would move quietly. With precision. With purpose.
It would not chase applause. It would chase results. Leaders would hold themselves to higher standards than they expect of others. Praise would be earned. Blame would be owned.
The culture would be built, not branded.
Advice for CEOs and founders
Culture is what happens when you’re not in the room. Build yours through action. Through clarity. Through example.
Any final words for today’s business leaders?
Marcus Aurelius
The greatest danger is not the machine. It is the man who forgets he is still responsible.
