Global organizations operating in the contemporary business landscape need to tightly link financial rigor and strategic insight. Increasingly senior financial executives are playing influential roles in strategy development and implementation working closely with the CEO and the board to creatively assess and design growth opportunities. The question is: Are CFOs prepared to move beyond the number-crunching function to act and lead in this capacity? Wharton’s Jason Wingard and John Percival dis...
Jun 06, 2013•19 min
Donna Noce entered college with the intent to major in veterinary medicine. But when a part-time job at a local retail store led to the chance to try her hand as a fashion buyer she became hooked on the retail industry. For the past six years Noce has been president of White House Black Market a retail chain that sells designs focused around the classic color combination. In this interview with Knowledge at Wharton Noce drew on more than three decades of experience to discuss what has changed in...
Jun 05, 2013•22 min
Many people in the Western world used to anticipate retiring in their 50s or 60s. Now they are embarking on new ”encore” careers at the very time when they might have previously been expected to begin a life of leisure. Marci Alboher author of The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life spoke to Wharton professor Stewart Friedman about second -- and even third -- acts. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informa...
Jun 05, 2013•23 min
Brad Feld sold his Boston startup and moved to Boulder Colo. in 1995. The city already had a bustling entrepreneurial community and Feld was soon in the thick of things. He co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and earlier Intensity Ventures a company that helped launch software companies. More recently he co-founded two early-stage venture capital firms -- the Foundry Group and TechStars -- which provide seed funding and angel investors. A startup community has to tap its ”natural resources ” he sa...
Jun 05, 2013•22 min
READ Global an international non-profit that uses community libraries as a platform for creating social change in rural villages throughout India Bhutan and Nepal is the winner of the second annual Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize awarded to an organization that is creating social impact through leadership and innovation. Wharton administers the prize on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania. Michael Useem director of Wharton’s Center for Leadership and Change Management recently intervi...
May 08, 2013•14 min
Online real estate marketplace Zillow has brought to home buying and selling what a previous generation of travel websites provided to shoppers wanting to compare the prices of hotels rental cars and airline flights -- transparency. But finding data that is reliable across the board can be difficult according to Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff. And the key is not just simply to offer the information Rascoff said during a recent conversation with Knowledge at Wharton and Wharton real estate professor ...
Apr 24, 2013•20 min
A colleague asks you for feedback on a report. A LinkedIn connection requests an introduction to one of your key contacts. A recent graduate would like an informational interview. New research from Wharton management professor Adam Grant reveals that how you respond to these requests may be a decisive indicator of where you’ll end up on the ladder of professional success. Grant recently spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about his findings which are explored in his new book Give and Take: A Revolut...
Apr 10, 2013•16 min
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Apr 04, 2013•24 min
In a world focused on increased productivity and instant gratification it’s hard to imagine that businesspeople have much time for meditation. But huge corporations -- including Google Monsanto Hearst and National Grid --have discovered the benefits of meditation at work including improved teamwork more effective decision-making and lower levels of employee stress. In this interview with Knowledge at Wharton Mirabai Bush co-founder of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society spoke with Kathe...
Mar 27, 2013•44 min
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- better known as Obamacare -- was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. Since then it has generated enormous amounts of debate controversy and uncertainty. In an interview with Knowledge at Wharton Bruce Broussard president and CEO of Humana the fourth-largest health care insurance group offers his take on Obamacare and the challenges -- and opportunities -- it presents to health care stakeholders. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Ac...
Mar 27, 2013•17 min
If you have watched and shared PSY’s ”Gangnam Style” video or gone into an unknown restaurant simply because it was full of people and appeared to be popular you have the basis for understanding what makes things go viral. Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger’s new book Contagious: Why Things Catch On distills six principles that cause people to talk about and share an idea or product. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 13, 2013•16 min
To report on food sourcing and access in the United States author Tracie McMillan went undercover picking garlic in the fields in California and working at a Walmart in Michigan and an Applebee’s in New York. She published a book about what she learned from these experiences called The American Way of Eating. Knowledge at Wharton recently spoke with McMillan about how income level affects food consumption who controls the food we eat and why the food system might be transformed if people threw a...
Mar 06, 2013•19 min
Named one of The Wall Street Journal’s top 10 nonfiction books of 2012 Steven Ujifusa’s A Man and His Ship: America’s Greatest Naval Architect and His Quest to Build the SS United States brings William Francis Gibbs’ story to life. Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor G. Richard Shell recently sat down with Ujifusa to learn more about what inspired the author to tell Gibbs’ story what led Gibbs to build ships and how the builder’s firm became responsible for 70% of all ships built...
Mar 06, 2013•19 min
How do we know which of our successes and failures can be attributed to either skill or luck? That is the question that investment strategist Michael J. Mauboussin explores in his book The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business Sports and Investing. Wharton management professor Adam M. Grant recently sat down with Mauboussin to talk about the paradox of skill the conditions for luck and how to avoid overconfidence. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...
Mar 06, 2013•22 min
Whether you are an educator an art director or a project manager you are in sales. So argues bestselling author Daniel Pink in his new book To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others. Pink recently visited the University of Pennsylvania as a guest lecturer in the Authors@Wharton series. Wharton management professor Adam M. Grant interviewed Pink while he was there to learn more about the ideas in his book including why consumers mistrust salespeople what the new ABCs of selling a...
Mar 06, 2013•21 min
Though stock market volatility continues to rattle investors’ nerves the future looks bright for equities in the U.S. and many emerging markets according to Wharton finance professor Jeremy Siegel. In an interview with Knowledge at Wharton Siegel says that investors should think about reducing their bond holdings buying more stocks and keeping just enough cash for a rainy day and other liquidity needs. He also discusses the housing market and offers his take on where the stock market is headed f...
Feb 27, 2013•17 min
With the spotlight on U.S. budget cuts a timely book looks at the unique nature of the country’s debt and the options available to avoid hitting the debt ceiling. Is U.S. Government Debt Different? -- a collection of 15 articles published by the Wharton Financial Institutions Center -- is co-edited by Wharton finance professor Franklin Allen who shares insights from the book with Knowledge at Wharton. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 27, 2013•19 min
Newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to take Japan’s economy in a daring new direction to end 20 years of stagnation and deflation. His policies resemble past efforts -- but with far more firepower behind them. That means even looser monetary policies and a sharp rise in government spending to boost demand. Some analysts say it’s just the medicine Japan needs and on the spending side at least the opposite of what Europe and the U.S. are doing. But Wharton finance professor Franklin Alle...
Feb 13, 2013•19 min
In a career spanning 34 years Edward Breen has faced many difficult situations perhaps none as challenging as his most recent assignment -- CEO of Tyco International -- which he took on when the company was facing bankruptcy. In an interview with Wharton management professor Michael Useem Breen who just stepped down from Tyco talks about the importance of knowing when and how to make the ”bold big decisions ” mentoring and always raising your hand for assignments among other topics. (Video with ...
Feb 13, 2013•22 min
When Princeton professor Anne-Marie Slaughter published an essay in The Atlantic titled ”Why Women Still Can’t Have It All ” in July 2012 she touched a nerve across generations and set off a renewed public debate on women’s progress and work-life balance. In an interview with Stewart Friedman director of the Wharton Work/Life Integration Project Slaughter shares what it was like to draw back the curtain on her life as someone perceived to ”have it all” and suggests how companies can make life be...
Feb 13, 2013•23 min
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Jan 30, 2013•26 min
Africa is the next frontier for global business presenting a rare growth opportunity in a stagnant world. But navigating this complex continent with more than 1 billion people can be exceedingly difficult and many businesses have failed to make a lasting impression in the region. Kenyan business tycoon Manu Chandaria chairman and CEO of the multi-billion dollar privately held Comcraft Group explains in an interview with Knowledge at Wharton how he mastered the African market and how others can f...
Jan 30, 2013•33 min
Although the global economy is in better shape than it was during the worst days of the 2008-2009 financial crisis don’t expect to see a dramatic turnaround in 2013 say Wharton professors Mauro Guillen and Kent Smetters. In separate interviews with Knowledge at Wharton they discuss some of the challenges that the U.S. Europe China and emerging markets such as Brazil and India are facing going into the New Year. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 16, 2013•31 min
Cloud computing is creating waves in different industries across the developed world helping both entrepreneurs and large conglomerates quickly respond to opportunities and manage their business processes more effectively. A recent survey by Knowledge at Wharton and enterprise software firm SAP reveals that people have very high expectations for the future of cloud computing; at the same time they admit that they don’t fully understand the technology. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with David Spence...
Jan 16, 2013•36 min
Maneet Ahuja began her career at age 17 as a credit risk analyst at Citigroup. Now 10 years later she has been named to the Forbes 2012 ”30 under 30” list is a producer for CNBC’s Squawk Box and has written a new book called The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World’s Top Hedge Funds. Knowledge at Wharton recently talked with her about the alpha masters she profiled in her book and about where she thinks the hedge fund industry is headed. (Video with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See a...
Dec 17, 2012•30 min
Are you happy? Could you be happier? Gretchen Rubin was already ”pretty happy” when she asked herself these very questions. In search of the answers she started her own pursuit of happiness which eventually became a New York Times bestseller titled The Happiness Project. She has now written a second book called Happier at Home. Knowledge at Wharton recently spoke with Rubin about why happy people work more hours each week how to make and keep happiness resolutions and how to ward off the three h...
Dec 17, 2012•17 min
Swarthmore professor Barry Schwartz says rules and incentives are an ”insurance policy against disaster but [they don’t] produce excellence.” In his recent book Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing Schwartz and co-author Kenneth Sharpe also a Swarthmore professor say that what is needed is not more bureaucracy. Instead society needs the Aristotelian ideal that trumps all others -- practical wisdom. Knowledge at Wharton recently discussed with Schwartz why individuals fail to do ...
Dec 17, 2012•19 min
New York Times editor Adam Bryant has interviewed more than 200 CEOs for his Corner Office column. In his book The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed Bryant shares what he has learned from Xerox CEO Ursula Burns Ford CEO Alan R. Mulally Yum Brands CEO David C. Novak Teach for America CEO Wendy Kopp Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus and other leaders. Knowledge at Wharton recently sat down with Bryant to discuss five qualities of successful leaders...
Dec 17, 2012•12 min
Just as the Internet enabled anyone with a computer to become an entrepreneur today’s newest technologies have spawned a DIY (do it yourself) micro-manufacturing movement so anyone can be both inventor and manufacturer. Wired editor Chris Anderson author of the new book Makers: The New Industrial Revolution recently spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about how technology is changing the limits of what inventors can do what the Maker Movement is why he started DIY Drones and how the new technologies...
Dec 17, 2012•18 min
For many implementing an innovation strategy which requires changes within an organization means adding layers of new processes. Lisa Bodell author of Kill the Company: End the Status Quo Start an Innovation Revolution argues that there are straightforward ways to make change without bogging down the organization. Knowledge at Wharton spoke with Bodell recently about her approach to getting companies to face their vulnerabilities why taking risks is essential and why small changes make all the d...
Dec 17, 2012•10 min
