Jeremy Zimmer was not supposed to be heading one of the "big four" talent agencies in Hollywood. As a child he struggled in school and eventually dropped out of college to become a parking lot hustler, making money running schemes as a valet and spending nights partying. But that all stopped suddenly one day when he was violently attacked on the job. When he got back on his feet he found new focus and began his improbable rise to the top of the talent agency world. See Privacy Policy at https://...
Oct 12, 2022•48 min•Ep. 54
When Sylvia Mathews Burwell was appointed Secretary of HHS in 2014, Health and Human Services — the agency responsible for administering Obamacare — was already under intense scrutiny. And the crises just kept coming: a government shutdown, unaccompanied minors at the border, Ebola and Zika. How she found compromise amidst crisis, and mastered preparing for the unexpected. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in...
Oct 05, 2022•57 min•Ep. 53
Leadership strategist and business speaker Greg McKeown is the author of two New York Times -bestselling books: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and Effortless: Make It Easier To Do What Matters Most . The core of McKeown's philosophy of "Essentialism" is to identify what is absolutely essential — and then work to prioritize that, and eliminate everything else. McKeown encourages readers to recognize the trade-offs inherent in trying to "do it all so you can have it all." His framew...
Sep 28, 2022•45 min•Ep. 52
Running the world's wealthiest charitable foundation is all about tough choices. During her meteoric rise at Microsoft, Melinda Gates never guessed she'd spend decades trying to solve global problems. Learning to give by asking the right questions and accepting the limits of your own impact. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Sep 21, 2022•50 min•Ep. 51
Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Lewis is Associate Professor of History of Art and Architecture and of African and African American Studies at Harvard. Early in her career, she became fascinated with what she calls "back-turned paintings"--the paintings which artists keep turned around in their studios, thereby shielding them from view. She realized all of them were necessary steps in the artists' pursuit of mastery. Dr. Lewis talks about the "ever onward almost" on the path to mastering painting, writing, ...
Sep 14, 2022•42 min•Ep. 50
Why isn't Intuit dead? The key was transforming it into a "36 year old start up," says former CEO Brad Smith. Giving people the chance to make an impact, he says, is vital to energizing a workforce. How he lost $40 million and got promoted, and why vulnerability and failure are intrinsic to good leadership. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Sep 07, 2022•48 min•Ep. 49
In this special live episode, how David Coleman leveraged criticism to revamp the SAT, revive the College Board, and introduce new ways to battle education inequality. The ACT was fast becoming the college entrance heavyweight when he came in to lead the College Board, and the SAT was on 'the brink of elimination.' For many years, detractors argued the test favored the white and wealthy, but Coleman found ways to make it more fair and more popular. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...
Aug 31, 2022•38 min•Ep. 48
Shellye Archambeau knew as a teenager she wanted to grow up and become a CEO. But when Shellye started as an undergraduate at the Wharton School of Business in 1980, there were just two female CEOs of large corporations, and none of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies were Black. Despite the lack of representation, Shellye became the first Black woman to lead a division of IBM overseas. She broke barriers and took risks leading to a successful career with leadership positions at Blockbuster, Zaple...
Aug 24, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 47
Greg Wasson was an aspiring pharmacist with dreams of building his own pharmacy, but before he'd even finished his degree, he found himself climbing the corporate ladder at Walgreens. Bigger opportunities at the company opened up, and he continued to climb, until he eventually reached the CEO chair during a difficult moment in the company's history. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Aug 17, 2022•36 min•Ep. 46
Carl Bass, a renegade and reluctant executive, took the helm at Autodesk, and steered the company out of the global economic crisis. At one point, he was so sure it would fail that he was desperate to find a buyer. Instead, he put his own money at risk to try a whole new business model. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Aug 10, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 45
David Novak has been a driving force behind brands like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, and he co-founded YUM! Brands Inc., one of the biggest players in the quick service restaurant industry. He's written bestsellers including Taking People With You , The Education of an Accidental CEO , and his latest, co-authored with Jason Goldsmith, titled Take Charge of You: How Self Coaching Can Transform Your Life and Career . In this episode: how Novak learned to lead by bringing everybody along with him. Se...
Aug 03, 2022•52 min•Ep. 44
When Lou Gerstner became the CEO of IBM in 1993, he had never worked for a technology company, and IBM was in big trouble: competitors like Microsoft, Dell, and Compaq were eating up market share. Gerstner took the challenge head-on by reimagining IBM's structure and culture, and eventually helped IBM reclaim its position as a dominant force in the tech industry. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 27, 2022•46 min•Ep. 43
Explorer, writer, and publisher Erling Kagge was the first person to complete the Three Poles Challenge — reaching the South Pole, the North Pole, and the top of Mt. Everest — on foot. He talks about what a life of extreme exploration has taught him about silence and the value of failure. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 20, 2022•41 min•Ep. 42
Black Entertainment Television helped make the first Black billionaire in the US and was the first Black-owned business traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Debra Lee, a young lawyer drawn to the company's mission, was pivotal in turning the small, revolutionary cable station into an industry staple. Growing BET and finding confidence as a CEO amid cultural controversy. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-inf...
Jul 13, 2022•52 min•Ep. 41
Yahoo had been churning through executives when Marissa Mayer became its 7th CEO in just over 5 years. She left a track record of success at Google to take on a floundering company faced with obsolescence. How she infused value into Yahoo on the eve of its acquisition and why failure should be embraced, not feared. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 06, 2022•57 min•Ep. 40
In 2016, Maria Ross realized that she was trying to teach her son that empathy was a way to success, when the world around them seemed to be sending the exact opposite message. So she took her years of experience as a management and brand consultant to make the case for empathy not as a moral imperative, but as a business strategy. She turned her research into a book called The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for Success. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/priv...
Jun 29, 2022•52 min•Ep. 39
Customers crave simplicity, Dan Hesse figured out early in his career, as he streamlined phone bills at Sprint. He saved 2 billion dollars, just by taking better care of customers in a few key ways. Plus, just how hard Sprint had to work to get the iPhone on its network, and the movie he hoped would change the company culture. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jun 22, 2022•46 min•Ep. 38
What does it take for a person to change? BJ Fogg, founder of Stanford's Behavior Design Lab, says the key to behavior change isn't what we've always been taught. In Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything Fogg draws upon true experiments - from his lab and his life - to outline a system anyone can use to create good habits or unravel the bad. In this episode: on making change through design and celebration. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Not...
Jun 15, 2022•46 min•Ep. 37
General David Petraeus took on a uniquely complex leadership challenge in Iraq in the aftermath of the U.S.-led war there. He oversaw the training of a new and entirely Iraqi army. He says that the key to leadership is first getting the big ideas right, then constantly refining them, and communicating them across the whole organization. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jun 08, 2022•35 min•Ep. 36
How a New Orleans native turned around a cruise company sinking from a public relations disaster... to one of the most valuable brands in its industry. When Arnold Donald took over Carnival Corporation and the nine cruise lines it operates, one of the biggest things he did was build a new leadership team. Seven of the cruise lines got new heads, including more women and minorities. He says that "diversity of thinking is a business imperative and a powerful advantage," and that you get better ide...
Jun 01, 2022•51 min•Ep. 35
Sanjiv Yajnik is no stranger to taking risks and adapting to change. In fact, he was a marine engineer for more than a decade before deciding to move from India to Canada to pursue an MBA. Since leaving the open sea for the C-suite, he's become known for his purpose-driven leadership and nimble approach to risk management. In this episode: How a young man from Calcutta went from 13 years at sea to being the President of Financial Services at Capital One. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/p...
May 25, 2022•51 min•Ep. 34
When Gap was failing, Mickey Drexler didn't just increase sales. He made it into a pop culture staple of the 80s and 90s. But that wasn't enough to keep him from getting fired. At his next job, he was not just the CEO. He bought stock with his own personal money to bolster J. Crew. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
May 18, 2022•58 min•Ep. 33
Over a career spanning four decades, Roger Martin has been a management consultant, an influential business strategy thinker and author, as well as the Dean of the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto. He advises CEOs of global companies such as Ford, Proctor & Gamble, and Lego. He is well known for developing and exploring the concept of "integrative thinking" in management problem solving and for troubling conventional management wisdom as he does in his newest book, A New ...
May 11, 2022•42 min•Ep. 32
Cheryl Bachelder decided to go into business after an early setback derailed her potential career in music education. She became President of KFC years later, but a job that started as a major opportunity wound up being a massive failure. How Bachelder learned from her failures and went on to turn Popeyes into one of the biggest success stories of the past decade. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
May 04, 2022•51 min•Ep. 31
When Robin Ganzert joined American Humane as it's new president and CEO, she thought she was helming one of the oldest and best known animal welfare organizations in the US. What she didn't know was that American Humane was $12.2 million dollars in debt following the 2009 financial crisis. By running the non-profit more like a for-profit, Robin fixed American Humane's finances while changing its work culture and branding. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Not...
Apr 27, 2022•41 min•Ep. 30
For over a decade as CEO of direct-sales giant Avon, Andrea Jung was one of the most powerful women in the cosmetics industry. During her tenure, Jung saw striking success, but also faced daunting challenges with a failed product rollout and massive restructuring. Since 2014, Andrea has brought her passion for supporting female entrepreneurs to her job as CEO of Grameen America, a non-profit focused on micro-lending. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice a...
Apr 20, 2022•35 min•Ep. 29
There was a devastating data breach, a failing foray into Canada, and they were losing US customers fast. In 2014, Target seriously needed a win—Brian Cornell was that win. He'd turned around plenty of other retailers like Safeway, Michael's, and Sam's Club, but this time he was thinking bigger. Playing the long game to make Target a brand that lasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 13, 2022•40 min•Ep. 28
As a young management consultant at Boston Consulting Group, Morten Hansen regularly put in long hours–up to 90 a week. The highest performer in his office, however, was a colleague who clocked significantly less hours and rarely came in on weekends. This experience helped inspire Hansen's research on work and is a central topic in his latest book, Great at Work: How top performers do less, work better, and achieve more. On making a greater impact by doing less. See Privacy Policy at https://art...
Apr 06, 2022•51 min•Ep. 27
Margaret Heffernan is an entrepreneur, CEO, executive leadership coach, and author of six books. Her often counter-intuitive insights on collaboration, consensus-building, and decision-making have earned her a reputation as a smart thinker who challenges conventional business wisdom. In her latest book, Uncharted: How to Map the Future, Margaret explains why attempts to predict the future, even in today's world of AI and Big Data technologies, are often doomed to failure. She offers alternative ...
Mar 30, 2022•40 min•Ep. 26
Ivan Seidenberg worked his way from splicing cables for the phone company, all the way to being the CEO of Verizon. During his career, he helped the company weather not one but two tectonic changes: the breakup of Ma Bell's monopoly, and the shift from copper lines to wireless broadband. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Mar 23, 2022•42 min•Ep. 25
