We think of unusual events as rare - but as my Friday Fireside Chat guest, Jonathan Brill, points out, they may be rare individually, but when they accumulate, the chance of their creating a catastrophic inflection point increases. Indeed, his research finds that most firms in the US have faced four significant calamities every year! These are what he calls "rogue waves" or events in business that are like the huge waves that can come seemingly out of nowhere to sink even large ships. While he w...
Sep 15, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Zoe Chance graduated from a massively successful corporate career to doing groundbreaking research to teaching a hugely popular elective at Yale called Mastering Influence and Persuasion, aka "Doing Uncomfortable Things That Make You a Better Person.” She's a TED speaker, consults with major companies and has a new book coming out in 2022, "Influence for Nice People: The New Science of Making More Friends, Money, Impact—and Joy." We talk about the practical implications of her research and how i...
Sep 08, 2021•58 min•Season 2Ep. 18
I first met Zachary Karabell when he was enrolled in my Columbia Executive Education program "Leading Strategic Growth and Change" and he made a big impression on me all those years ago. I'm delighted to catch up with him to talk about his rich collection of activities - he has a brand new book out about Brown Brothers Harriman and the way capitalism used to work. He is an author and columnist, the founder of the Progress Network at New America, and president of River Twice Research and River Tw...
Aug 25, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 19
All digital, all the time - that's what we hear among the chattering business classes. My guest begs to differ. Instead, Robert E. Siegel points out, the competitors who will triumph combine both "Brains" (digital, smarts) with "Brawn" (operations and execution). Just one or the other won't cut it. Indeed, incumbents have shown that they can win by leveraging traditional strengths even as they bring on new capabilities. This should be fascinating. Come join us!
Aug 18, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Jayshree Seth, Ph.D., is a corporate scientist and chief science advocate for 3M Company, where she has worked for over 27 years to advance science and develop new technologies and environmentally sustainable industrial products. She has over 70 patents to her name (with more on the way), received the incredibly prestigious Society for Women Engineers Achievement Award and is one of the few top performing scientists to be inducted into the 3M Carlton Society. We're going to be talking about her ...
Aug 11, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 17
In the inflection point that is a public health crisis, an economic crisis, a crisis of social justice and an environmental crisis, few people have more smart things to say than Physicist, biotech entrepreneur, author and consultant Safi Bahcall. His most recent book "Loonshots," was an instant Wall Street Journal bestseller. He previously co-founded a company developing drugs for cancer which went through an IPO. We'll be talking about smart ideas, innovation, science and discovery.
Jul 21, 2021•10 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Judy Samuelson is the founder and executive director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, a high-impact initiative to uproot some of the more damaging beliefs that have led to income inequality, the lack of consideration of all stakeholders in corporate governance and skyrocketing executive pay that has no basis in value creation. She’ll be joining me to discuss these ideas as well as those in her forthcoming book, “Six New Rules of Business: Creating Real Value in a Changing Wor...
Jul 14, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Gina O’Connor was figuring out how to help companies innovate long before it was a hot topic. In her many books and articles, she’s shown how we can get beyond what I call innovation theater by building proficiency in three distinct processes: Discovery, Incubation and Acceleration. It can be done, and she’s demystified the process. In our conversation, we’ll cover some of the biggest myths that get in the way of true innovation (for instance, that it’s all about the ideas), what she thinks the ...
Jul 07, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 14
Tim Harford, the well known "Undercover Economist" columnist for the Financial Times was awarded an OBE in 2019 for his contribution to our economic understanding. I could not be more thrilled that he'll be joining me live and virtually to discuss, among other things, his new book. The US edition is called "The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics" and it's now available for pre-order. We'll talk about this book, his others, and whatever else he'd like to cover.
Jun 30, 2021•55 min•Season 2Ep. 13
I’ve been an unabashed fan of Rick Goings’ since we first met at a CEO Summit where one of the most memorable moments involved a real-time display of the creativity that goes into the Tupperware new product development process! Rick has a distinguished career in the military, as an entrepreneur and more recently as the long-time CEO of Tupperware, where he oversaw its successful global expansion, figured out how to create a truly diverse and inclusive workplace (for real – his accomplishments in...
Jun 23, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Did you know that in 1945, there were 4.5 million beehives in the United States, but that today there are only about 2 million? In what promises to be a fascinating new topic for a Friday Fireside Chat, I’ll be talking to Noah Wilson-Rich, a beekeeper, biologist, TED speaker and founder of the Best Bees Company, a premier beekeeping service. He’s a citizen-scientist who has created the world’s first mass sampling of data on bee behavior, enlisting thousands of people who have access to unused ur...
Jun 16, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Procedures that defy logic. Requirements that no one can meet. Practices that are designed to frustrate and confuse. These are all crazy, says my Friday Fireside Chat guest Martin Lindstrom. Martin, who is a world renowned expert on branding and one of the most influential marketing experts in the world will be joining me to discuss, among other things, his brand-new book “The Ministry of Common Sense.” In it, he argues that so much of what we accept about organizational life is actually nuts, a...
Jun 09, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Chris Yeh and his partner in the Global Scaling Academy and I get together to discuss Blitzscaling, what it means to be entrepreneurial, the company they have just started and predictions for whatever happens after we're done with the pandemic. Have a look at the replay!
Jun 04, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 9
One of the most exciting frontiers in medicine is the use of huge amounts of patient data to help design personalized and highly effective individual treatments which never would have been possible before. My Friday Fireside Chat guest, Glen de Vries, is the co-CEO and co-founder of Medidata, a company which provides an analytical platform that has completely transformed the way clinical trials are done, making them faster, better targeted and more effective. He is also the author of the recent ...
May 31, 2021•59 min•Season 2Ep. 8
My good friend Dorie Clark is a master of personal and professional reinvention. After starting out as a journalist and political operative (what careers could have brighter prospects?) she has transformed her career multiple times. She’s written three great books on how to be your own entrepreneur, is an accomplished and sought after speaker, and been at the leading edge of many career trends. While there is a lot we can talk about, I’m particularly interested in her take on how we are all goin...
May 28, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 7
Some of the most magical things that happen at work aren't expensive, hard or risky. Simple human connections, treating each other with dignity and kindness and leveraging the power of appreciation are things anyone at any level can do. My Friday Fireside guests this week are Chester Elton, the "Apostle of Appreciation" and his co-author and co-conspirator Adrian Gostick. Author of several best-selling books about corporate culture, teamwork, and leadership skills, they'll be joining me to lever...
May 24, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 6
One of the biggest barriers to growth and innovation is the overhang of the corporate budgeting process. Bjarte Bogsnes, Chairman of the Beyond Budgeting Institute and implementation head at Equinor, Scandinavia's largest company, has a better idea. Get beyond rote, mind-numbing budgeting processes and create flexible, changeable structures that allow your company to actually use the new strategy playbook.
May 21, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Carter Copeland is the President of Melius Research, where he is also the lead research analyst covering the global aerospace and defense sector. He is consistently ranked in Institutional Investor’s annual survey of top analysts, and was named the number one aerospace and defense analyst by Institutional Investor’s Alpha magazine. His recent co-authored book, "Lessons From the Titans" takes us on an analysts' journey to understand the inner workings of the corporate giants that are so critical ...
May 17, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Harvard's Amy Edmondson pioneered the breakthrough concept of psychological safety at work, in which people feel that they can speak up without fear of retribution. It's been shown to be crucial to innovation and growth. Psychological safety has also been essential for improvements in hospital care. I can't think of a more important topic for where we are right now. In this chat, we'll discuss the initial research behind the concept and how it has now been embraced. We'll also touch on the core ...
May 14, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Protests in the streets, against the backdrop of a deadly pandemic with political upheaval the world over. What kind of leadership should we look to under such complex and highly uncertain conditions? I'm grateful to be speaking with Chris Fussell of the McChrystal group, who together with Stan McChrystal, transformed the culture in the Joint Special Operations Command to distributed, not hierarchical, leadership with a network form of governance. What Chris learned in highly deadly military sit...
May 10, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 2
We are in the midst of several huge inflection points - a global pandemic, a recognition of structural inequities in American society and a looming economic crisis. How timely then to be talking to the founder of Women of Color in Pharma (WOCIP) and a senior executive at Otsuka, with a unique perspective on all three and what needs to happen next.
May 07, 2021•55 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Protests in the streets, against the backdrop of a deadly pandemic with political upheaval the world over. What kind of leadership should we look to under such complex and highly uncertain conditions? I'm grateful to be speaking with Chris Fussell of the McChrystal group, who together with Stan McChrystal, transformed the culture in the Joint Special Operations Command to distributed, not hierarchical, leadership with a network form of governance. What Chris learned in highly deadly military sit...
May 03, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 1
Clive Thompson's recent book "Coders" takes us into the minds and hearts of the people that are actually creating the digital world we all live in. From the first piece of code many learned to love - "hello, world" to the sophisticated interactions behind artificial intelligence, Thompson gives us a fascinating fly on the wall perspective. In this #FridayFiresideChat , he explains why coders hate to be interrupted, why they sometimes don't even eat and why grappling with inhuman amounts of frus...
Apr 30, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 30
It's pretty clear that we need a whole new playbook for strategy, and Erich Joachimsthaler has just published a thought-provoking new book on this very topic. While strategy used to be thought of as the property of a firm, the winners today are building what he calls "interaction fields" where value comes from the velocity of transactions partners can create between customers and suppliers and other value-system members. In this thought-provoking #FridayFiresideChat , the two of us draw the con...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 29
Gisbert Rühl, the CEO of German metals distributor Klöckner is one of my corporate heroes. He and his company have digitized a very old legacy business, changed their business model and created new growth in an incredibly difficult traditional business. In this recording of our Friday Fireside chat, we discuss why he felt digital transformation was an imperative, how Yammer became a tool for breaking through the bureaucracy and how he got the right balance between the legacy core businesses and ...
Apr 23, 2021•57 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Jennefer Witter, public relations expert, CEO and one of the “10 most successful black CEOS and entrepreneurs” by Madame Noire Magazine enjoy a spirited conversation in this #FridayFiresideChat . She describes her professional journey - from a financially strapped upbringing to a scholarship at Fordham to the challenging world of public relations to creating her own company. We talk about the importance of networking, diversifying your portfolio, and lessons learned through the experience of se...
Apr 19, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 27
The original Gotham Girl herself, Joanne Wilson, and I get into a great conversation! You can listen in while we talk about her varied interests, how NYC will come back, the insanity that has been venture capital in this past decade, how women can re-imagine their careers and so much more. One of my favorite quips she reported was to her husband, well known venture capitalist Fred Wilson, "How did you get to be Fred Wilson? I was supposed to be Fred Wilson!"
Apr 16, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Globally recognized leadership scholar Linda Hill is the author of well regarded business books "Being the Boss" and "Collective Genius." She's been interviewing leaders about how they are navigating the COVID-19 crisis and will share her insights with us.
Apr 12, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Even in the midst of a pandemic, we have to be thoughtful about our next career moves, what kinds of support we'll need to take our next step and what being ambitious - especially for women - really means. Join me and Shellye Archambeau, author of the forthcoming book "Unapologetically Ambitious" in what I know will be an empowering and informative conversation.
Apr 08, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 24
MOSTRA MENO In this #fridayfiresidechat @Sally Helgesen recounts aspects of @Francis Hesselbein's leadership style. Showing junior people how to handle a tricky call from the @NewYorkTimes, trusting associates to resolve differences on their own, avoiding becoming an #advicemonster , all part of the #webofinclusion that women leaders have historically created....
Apr 06, 2021•21 min•Season 1Ep. 23
