Every year, I leave Cannes Lions with a notebook full of ideas, fresh inspiration and a new appreciation for the people shaping our industry.

This year was no different.

AI was part of almost every conversation, but what struck me was how often the discussion came back to people. To leadership. To trust. To the teams that bring great ideas to life.

That felt especially meaningful because it’s something we think about every day at Indeed. We spend every day helping connect people with opportunity, and it reinforced something we’ve believed for a long time: the future of work won’t be defined by AI alone. It will be defined by how well we use technology to unlock human potential.

Technology may be changing the playbook, but talent is the ultimate competitive advantage.

If you want to win in today’s landscape, you have to throw out the old rules. Talent is the ultimate playbook.

Lessons from the Court to the Corporate World

One of the highlights of the week was hosting Indeed’s Coach’s Corner at Sports Beach, and having the opportunity to sit down with sports icons NBA Hall of Fame Coach Doc Rivers and 3x WNBA Champion Candace Parker. Although the conversation centered on sports, the lessons couldn’t have been more relevant for business leaders. In sports, a brilliant playbook is completely useless without the right players to execute it, adapt to it, and trust one another when the pressure hits. The same applies to the corporate world.

Doc and Candace reminded us that building a championship team isn’t just about collecting a roster of individual “superstars”—it’s about chemistry, shared vision, and cultural fit. The same goes for building corporate teams. 

Companies that win in the future will be built entirely differently. We are moving past rigid, siloed structures and embracing fluid, highly connected teams. As Doc emphasized, this is “building equity” within your roster. When a team has deep, built-in trust, they gain the ultimate superpower: the ability to pivot at the speed of culture.

This is one of the reasons why Indeed is helping job seekers and employers find each other based on more than just keywords on a resume. When you’re building a winning team, leaders need to consider skills, potential, and deeper alignment to create a culture where people can thrive. 

Fandom & Community 

Across our conversations in Cannes we kept coming back to a related question: how do brands create real connection in a world shaped by constant change, fragmented attention and rapidly evolving technology?

One answer is community. 

We spent a lot of time talking about fandom and the thriving creator economy. With World Cup fever in full swing, every brand wants a piece of the excitement, but the ones that stand out are the ones that do so in a way that feels authentic.

That’s what makes our partnership with FOX Sports and FOX one to help hire the Chief World Cup Watchers so compelling. This program has shown that when you lean into a unified fandom with authentic storytelling, you move the needle. By using Indeed’s matching technology to place real creators inside the Times Square viewing cube, we proved that no matter how much tech evolves, it takes real people to bring an authentic cultural moment to life. 

Looking Ahead: The Human Imperative

I’m returning from Cannes inspired and grateful for the learnings from our peers. But more than anything, I’m proud of the perspective we brought to the table.

At Indeed, we talk about the future of work every single day. Seeing the world’s top creative minds align on the fact that people, culture, and team composition are the ultimate drivers of growth was incredibly validating.

To everyone who shared the space with us, engaged in our sessions, and pushed the conversation forward: thank you. Now, let’s go build some extraordinary teams.