HBR IdeaCast podcast

HBR IdeaCast

A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management.

A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management.

 

#650

Tech at Work: What GenAI Means for Companies Right Now

If you’re a senior leader, managing technology has never been more challenging—especially as organizations struggle to deploy generative artificial intelligence. Since ChatGPT burst into the mainstream a year and a half ago, everyone has been scrambling to make sense of how to use these tools, what they can and can’t do, and what they mean for our work and our teams. Tech at Work is a four-part special series from HBR IdeaCast. Join senior tech editors Juan Martinez and Tom Stackpole for research, stories, and advice to make technology work for you and your team. New episodes publish in the IdeaCast feed every other Thursday starting May 2, after the regular Tuesday episode. In this episode, Ethan Mollick, a management professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and author of the new book [Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI] (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/741805/co-intelligence-by-ethan-mollick/) , discusses what he’s learned through direct experimentation with these tools, where he sees the most potential, and why organizations are struggling to create value with them. And please let us know what you think of the series and which technology topics you want us to cover at [ideacast@hbr.org] (mailto:ideacast@hbr.org) . Further reading: --- [ChatGPT Is a Tipping Point for AI (Ethan Mollick)] (https://hbr.org/2022/12/chatgpt-is-a-tipping-point-for-ai) --- [Why You (and Your Company) Need to Experiment with ChatGPT Now (HBR IdeaCast)] (https://hbr.org/podcast/2023/03/why-you-and-your-company-need-to-experiment-with-chatgpt-now) --- [The Social Cost of Algorithmic Management (Armin Granulo, Sara Caprioli, Christoph Fuchs, and Stefano Puntoni)] (https://hbr.org/2024/02/the-social-cost-of-algorithmic-management) --- [Deployment of algorithms in management tasks reduces prosocial motivation (Armin Granulo, Sara Caprioli, Christoph Fuchs, and Stefano Puntoni)] (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563223004454) --- [When AI Teammates Come On Board, Performance Drops (Juan Martinez)] (https://hbr.org/2024/05/when-ai-teammates-come-on-board-performance-drops) --- [Super Mario Meets AI: Experimental Effects of Automation and Skills on Team Performance and Coordination (Fabrizio Dell’Acqua, Bruce Kogut, and Patryk Perkowski)] (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3746564) ... Read more

Yesterday

37 MINS

37:20

Yesterday


#649

How Bad Leaders Get Worse over Time

There's plenty of advice on how to grow into a better leader. And it takes effort to become more effective. But bad leadership gets worse almost effortlessly, says Barbara Kellerman, a Center for Public Leadership Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. She shares real examples from the public and private sectors of how bad leaders spiral downward, and how bad followership enables that negative trend. She gives her advice for recognizing and avoiding ineffective and unethical leaders. Kellerman is the author of the new book Leadership from Bad to Worse: What Happens When Bad Festers. ... Read more

30 Apr 2024

20 MINS

20:26

30 Apr 2024


#648

Special Series: Tech at Work

If you’re a senior leader, managing technology has never been more challenging. You face hard decisions about how to incorporate technology into your organization. But how do you cut through the noise to understand what a tool—especially a brand-new technology like generative AI—could mean for your organization or your team? HBR IdeaCast has a new special series for you: Tech at Work. Every other Thursday, join our senior tech editors Juan Martinez and Tom Stackpole for research, stories, and advice to make technology work for you and your team. • How can we all get the most out of adopting generative AI? • Is your team making the best use of collaboration technology? • What does your company need to know about spatial computing? • How will digital marketing evolve without third-party cookies? You’ll get answers from expert researchers and experienced practitioners to help you lead effectively and stay ahead. Listen every other Thursday starting May 2 in the HBR IdeaCast feed, after the regular Tuesday episode. And please let us know what you think of the series and what technology topics you want us to cover at ideacast@hbr.org. ... Read more

25 Apr 2024

02 MINS

02:26

25 Apr 2024


#647

Feeling Unmotivated? Here’s How to Get Out of the Rut

Worker disengagement is on the rise around the world. Even those of us who generally like our jobs sometimes find it hard to muster energy and focus. So what's the key to regaining motivation? Harvard Business School professor Boris Groysberg and research associate Robin Abrahams share a four part process to help you get your groove back: detachment, empathy, action and reframing. They offer simple tips like thinking in the third person, helping others, and gamification to help get back on track. Groysberg and Abrahams are the authors of the HBR article "Advice for the Unmotivated." ... Read more

23 Apr 2024

27 MINS

27:05

23 Apr 2024


#646

Are You Asking the Right Questions?

Few leaders have been trained to ask great questions. That might explain why they tend to be good at certain kinds of questions, and less effective at other kinds. Unfortunately, that hurts their ability to pursue strategic priorities. Arnaud Chevallier, strategy professor at IMD Business School, explains how leaders can break out of that rut and systematically ask five kinds of questions: investigative, speculative, productive, interpretive, and subjective. He shares real-life examples of how asking the right sort of question at a key time can unlock value and propel your organization. With his IMD colleagues Frédéric Dalsace and Jean-Louis Barsoux, Chevallier wrote the HBR article "The Art of Asking Smarter Questions." ... Read more

16 Apr 2024

28 MINS

28:01

16 Apr 2024


#645

A Roadmap for Today’s Entrepreneurs

Many people aspire to entrepreneurship but we all know it's a high-risk endeavor. Bill Aulet, the Ethernet Inventors Professor of Entrepreneurship at the MIT Sloan School of Management, has for decades studied what it takes for start-ups to succeed and advises the next generation of founders on how to do it. He discusses the key trends and changes he's seen over the past few years, and outlines concrete steps anyone can take to get a new venture -- including those within larger organizations -- off the ground. Aulet is the author of the newly updated book Disciplined Entrepreneurship: 24 Steps to a Successful Startup. ... Read more

09 Apr 2024

27 MINS

27:14

09 Apr 2024


#644

Treat Email Like Laundry — and Other Tips from Google’s Productivity Expert

The amount of work we need to get done seems to grow daily. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, we have to become more productive than ever. Laura Mae Martin has advice on what has worked well at one of the biggest organizations in the world. She's the Executive Productivity Advisor at Google and shares the practical ways she helps her colleagues and company executives manage their time, calendars, email inboxes, and more. Martin is the author of the new book Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing. ... Read more

02 Apr 2024

27 MINS

27:12

02 Apr 2024


#643

Why the Glass Cliff Persists

It's been nearly two decades since the term "glass cliff" was coined; it refers to the tendency for women to break through the glass ceiling to top management roles only when there is a big crisis to overcome, which makes it more difficult for them to succeed. In short, senior female leaders are often set up to fail — and this continues to happen today, as recent examples from business, politics, and academia show. Sophie Williams, a former C-suite advertising executive and global leader at Netflix, has researched why the glass cliff remains a problem and offers advice for women facing them — as well as lessons for the broader corporate world. She's the author of the book "The Glass Cliff: Why Women in Power Are Undermined - and How to Fight Back." ... Read more

26 Mar 2024

29 MINS

29:16

26 Mar 2024


#642

Why Leaders Need to Value Their Retirement-Age Workforce

A growing number of workers are reaching retirement age around the globe. At the same time, many countries face a worker shortage, especially in critical areas like health care. Ken Dychtwald, cofounder and CEO of Age Wave, says it’s time for companies to stop overlooking this valuable labor pool, because AI alone won't alleviate the tight supply. He explains why many late-career people want to work longer. And he shares creative and often simple ways that companies can keep older workers engaged, including phased retirements, non-ageist recruiting, mentorship programs, and grandparental leave. Dychtwald is a coauthor of the HBR article "Redesigning Retirement." ... Read more

19 Mar 2024

27 MINS

27:00

19 Mar 2024


#641

What’s Your Interviewing Style?

There's a lot of advice out there on how to get job interviews right, whether you're the one trying to get hired or the one evaluating the candidates. But the dos and don'ts aren't always applicable to every person. In fact, author Anna Papalia thinks we're better served by understanding and leveraging our own natural interviewing style. Having spent years as a corporate recruiter, organizational consultant, and coach to students and professions, she's conducted thousands of real and mock interviews and noticed that people tend to fall into one of four categories: charmer, examiner, challenger, or harmonizer.  She outlines the strengths and weaknesses of each and explains how this framework can help us get better from both sides of the desks. Papalia wrote the book "Interviewology: The New Science of Interviewing." ... Read more

12 Mar 2024

28 MINS

28:29

12 Mar 2024


#640

To Negotiate Better, Start with Yourself

The coauthor of the classic book Getting to Yes has new advice on how to negotiate, designed for a world that feels more conflicted than ever. William Ury, cofounder of Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, has come to learn that the biggest obstacle in a negotiation is often yourself—not your opponent. Ury, who also coined the term BATNA, explains the latest thinking from his research and consulting. He shares his tried-and-true methods for overcoming yourself to negotiate better outcomes at work and in life. Ury wrote the new book Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict. ... Read more

05 Mar 2024

26 MINS

26:51

05 Mar 2024


#639

Rethinking Growth at All Costs

Many companies, especially in the tech world, have come to embrace the idea of growth at all costs. But according to research from Gary Pisano, professor at Harvard Business School, most firms fail to consistently increase revenues and profits over the long term, adjusting for inflation. He says that it’s important for leaders to think more strategically about not just the rate of growth they want to achieve but the direction they want to grow in and their method for doing so. Trying to grow too fast can be the downfall of many organizations. He shares examples of companies that have fallen into this trap, as well as those getting the balance right.  Pisano wrote the HBR article "How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?" ... Read more

27 Feb 2024

28 MINS

28:35

27 Feb 2024


#638

Companies Can Win by Reducing Overwork

Organizations regularly reward devoted workers who put in long hours. At the same time, “always-on” communication spurred by the pandemic and new digital tools encourage workaholism. But research shows that it’s not just individuals who are harmed by overworking. Their employers are, too. Malissa Clark, associate professor and head of the Healthy Work Lab at the University of Georgia, explains how companies unwittingly create a workaholic culture — one that ultimately backfires with higher turnover and disengaged employees. She shares what companies can easily do to change that. Clark wrote the new book Never Not Working: Why the Always-On Culture Is Bad for Business--and How to Fix It. ... Read more

20 Feb 2024

26 MINS

26:45

20 Feb 2024


#637

When Should Companies Weigh in on Contentious Issues?

In a globally connected and highly politicized world, organizations are increasingly expected to comment on social, political, and environmental issues. But taking a stance doesn't always make business sense and can backfire when employees or consumers see a disconnect between leaders’ words and actions. Alison Taylor, associate professor at New York University, says there's a better way to make decisions on corporate speech, which includes involving workers in the process. Taylor is the author of the HBR book Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World and the HBR article “Corporate Advocacy in a Time of Social Outrage.” ... Read more

13 Feb 2024

29 MINS

29:43

13 Feb 2024


#636

Stuck on a Problem? Try Switching Up Your Approach

Many leaders confidently go about tackling challenges. After all, relying on their experience got them to where they are. But taking the same approach over and over again can actually hold you back. Sometimes you need to switch up your tactics to break through to the next level. Decision-making expert Cheryl Strauss Einhorn says the first step is to understand your personal problem-solving style. Then she explains a framework to assess the situation and select the best approach. Einhorn is founder and CEO of Decisive. She also wrote the book Problem Solver: Maximizing Your Strengths to Make Better Decisions and the HBR article “When Your Go-To Problem-Solving Approach Fails.” ... Read more

06 Feb 2024

25 MINS

25:54

06 Feb 2024


#635

How to Reduce the Friction that Hurts You — and Harness the Friction that Helps

Organizations too often subject their employees and customers to unnecessary friction that creates inefficiency and causes frustration. But, in some situations, friction can be a positive force, spurring more innovation and better decision-making. So how do you reduce the bad kind and embrace the good?  Stanford professors Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao have studied this problem for seven years and offer strategies for leaders at every level to help them recognize when friction is needed or not and then add or subtract accordingly. They share ample examples of people and companies getting it right. Sutton and Rao are the authors of The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder, as well as the HBR article, "Rid Your Organization of Obstacles that Infuriate Everyone." ... Read more

30 Jan 2024

29 MINS

29:28

30 Jan 2024


#634

What the New Freelance Economy Means for Your Talent Strategy

The rapid pace of technological change is making a big impact on hiring. Some organizations are dynamically securing freelance workers through platform apps like Upwork and Freelancer. Other companies are investing heavily in work enabled by artificial intelligence. John Winsor and Jin Paik say these structural changes call for a reimagining of your talent strategy — one that is open to flexible, project-based work for talent inside or outside your organization — and they explain how to go about it. Winsor is the founder and chair of Open Assembly and an executive-in-residence at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard. Paik is a cofounder and managing partner at the AI consultancy Altruistic and a visiting research scientist at Harvard Business School. Together, they wrote the book Open Talent: Leveraging the Global Workforce to Solve Your Biggest Challenges and the HBR article "Do You Need an External Talent Cloud?" ... Read more

23 Jan 2024

30 MINS

30:11

23 Jan 2024


#633

Making Peace with Your Midlife, Mid-career Self

Research shows that happiness bottoms out for people in their mid to late 40s. We might struggle with mid-career slumps, caring for both children and aging parents, and existential questions about whether everything has turned out as we'd planned. But Chip Conley says we can approach this phase of our personal and profesional lives with a different perspective. He's a former hospitality industry CEO and founder of the Modern Elder Academy, and he explains how to reframe our thinking about middle age, find new energy, and become more fulfilled and successful people at work and home. Conley wrote the book Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age. ... Read more

16 Jan 2024

29 MINS

29:27

16 Jan 2024


#632

Supercharge Your One-on-One Meetings

Most good bosses know that they should schedule regular one-on-ones with each of their team members. But fewer know exactly how to manage these meetings well, in part because organizations rarely offer relevant training. Steven Rogelberg, Chancellor's Professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, has spent years researching the best way to prepare for, structure, engage in, and follow up on one-on-ones. He says they're a key way to boost performance, and offers tips for ensuring that we all get more out of them. Rogelberg is author of the book Glad We Met: The Art and Science of 1:1 Meetings. ... Read more

09 Jan 2024

30 MINS

30:40

09 Jan 2024


#631

The Best Return-to-Office Policies Aren’t One-Size-Fits-All

A growing number of companies are mandating office time for employees and structuring hybrid work under broad, rigid rules. But pushing people into the office is a mistake, argues Kimberly Shells, a senior director in the Gartner HR practice. She shares research showing how much flexibility and autonomy and belonging workers want. And Shells says organizations can still foster those qualities in an in-person office culture that also improves productivity and collaboration. She explains that companies should follow through on a clear purpose and craft policies that allow for options, flexibility, offsite team-building events, and support services such as on-site childcare. Shells cowrote the HBR article “Return-to-Office Plans Don’t Have to Undermine Employee Autonomy.” ... Read more

02 Jan 2024

24 MINS

24:20

02 Jan 2024


#630

Best of IdeaCast: Behaviors of Successful CEOs

For the qualities that top-performing CEOs have in common, research shows some surprising results. It turns out that charisma, confidence, and pedigree all have little bearing on CEO success. Elena Botelho, partner at leadership advisory firm ghSMART and coleader of its CEO Genome Project, studied high performers in the corner office. The analysis found that they demonstrated four business behaviors: quick decision making, engaging for impact, adapting proactively, and delivering reliably. Botelho cowrote the HBR article “What Sets Successful CEOs Apart.” ... Read more

26 Dec 2023

27 MINS

27:32

26 Dec 2023


#629

Why More Companies Are Getting in on the Resale Game

For a long time, conventional wisdom ruled that companies should avoid reselling their own products in used condition. There’s the threat of cannibalization, marketing confusion, and tricky logistics that can erase margins. But more name-brand retailers are jumping into resale, says Wharton marketing professor Tom Robertson. Thanks in part to Gen Z with its zeal for sustainability, he says consumer demand is rising fast for reused goods. He sees a revolution where brands cash in on resale, knowing that if they don’t own those customer relationships and sales, others will. Robertson wrote the HBR article “The Resale Revolution.” ... Read more

19 Dec 2023

25 MINS

25:25

19 Dec 2023


#628

How Hybrid Work Is (And Isn’t) Reshaping Cities

Economic activity has long been concentrated in big metropolitan areas. But has the rise of remote work technology -- and its accelerated adoption during the pandemic -- changed that? How are talent flows between geographies changing? And what does it mean for employers? Richard Florida, professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto known for coining the term "creative class," shares his latest research, which shows the deepening links between urban centers in various parts of the world, and he explains how these "meta cities" remain important places for people to connect. He is coauthor of the HBR article “The Rise of the Meta City.” ... Read more

12 Dec 2023

31 MINS

31:24

12 Dec 2023


#627

Setting AI Projects Up for Success

Unfortunately, you can’t set up your organization’s artificial intelligence projects like just any other IT project. By their nature, AI endeavors are quite different and suffer high failure rates. But there are proven approaches you can take to increase your odds of success. Iavor Bojinov, assistant professor at Harvard Business School and former LinkedIn data scientist, breaks down five critical steps for an AI project to turn into an effective product: selection, development, evaluation, adoption, and management. He’s the author of the HBR article “Keep Your AI Projects on Track.” ... Read more

05 Dec 2023

24 MINS

24:53

05 Dec 2023


#626

New Here: Getting a Raise Is a Process, Not a Conversation

Introducing HBR’s podcast for young professionals, [New Here] (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-here/id1705031803) , hosted by Elainy Mata. Whether it’s your first job or a fresh start, New Here will help you build a meaningful career on your own terms. In this episode, author and personal finance expert Anne-Lyse Ngatta and author, career advisor, and past HBR IdeaCast guest Gorick Ng explain how to lay the groundwork before you ask for a raise, when and how to start the conversation with your manager, and how to navigate the negotiation that may follow. Listen for free to season one of New Here at [HBR.org/Podcasts/New-Here] (https://hbr.org/podcasts/new-here) or wherever you get your podcasts. ... Read more

30 Nov 2023

33 MINS

33:12

30 Nov 2023


#625

Fast Casual Food Pioneer Ron Shaich Explains How to Find a Niche — and then Scale

The restaurant business is notoriously competitive and often propelled by passing fads. But, first at the helm of Au Bon Pain, and then as the founder of Panera Bread, Ron Shaich managed to create an entirely new category of dining between fast food and table service and then dominate that market in the United States. He says the strategies that brought him success can be applied in any type of organization:  listen to and observe customers so you know what they want, create a truly differentiated offering, execute with excellence, and find the right opportunities to grow. He’s employed this playbook as an investor in newer ventures like Cava and Tatte, as well. Shaich wrote the book Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations. ... Read more

28 Nov 2023

30 MINS

30:12

28 Nov 2023


#624

Why Private Equity Needs to Invest More in Talent Development

Traditionally, private equity companies have created value at the companies they own by taking on debt, restructuring, and exploiting underserved opportunities. But surging interest rates and increased competition have made it much harder to deliver strong returns. Ted Bililies, a partner and managing director of AlixPartners, says private equity leaders can no longer count on financial engineering to drive performance. Instead, they need to invest in the human capital at their portfolio companies. Bililies wrote the HBR article “Private Equity Needs a New Talent Strategy.” ... Read more

21 Nov 2023

22 MINS

22:46

21 Nov 2023


#623

Nvidia’s CEO On What It Takes To Run An A.I.-Led Company Now

The future of AI goes far beyond individuals using ChatGPT. Companies are now integrating artificial intelligence into all aspects of their businesses. One key player in this transition is Nvidia, the AI-driven computing company, which makes both hardware and software for a range of industries. In this episode, HBR editor in chief Adi Ignatius speaks with Nvidia’s CEO and cofounder Jensen Huang at HBR’s Future of Business conference about how he keeps his company agile in the face of accelerating change and where he sees AI going next. ... Read more

14 Nov 2023

22 MINS

22:35

14 Nov 2023


#622

A High-Performance Coach on the Key to Achieving Your Full Potential

What holds many people back from attaining the success they want - whether it's winning an Olympic medal or a seat in the C-suite - isn’t a lack of effort or talent. It’s the fear of other people’s opinions. That’s according to Michael Gervais, a performance expert and founder of the consultancy Finding Mastery. He works with top athletes and executives around the world to help them overcome FOPO and improve their performance and well-being. Gervais is the author of the book The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying about What People Think of You. ... Read more

07 Nov 2023

29 MINS

29:26

07 Nov 2023


#621

How Job Training Must Change in the AI Age

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence technology is creating, destroying, and changing jobs. And Harvard Business School professor Raffaella Sadun has been studying how leading companies are training and reskilling employees for this new paradigm. She says many firms underestimate how quickly and significantly workers will need to be reskilled and leave this effort to the HR department. Instead, she explains leaders and middle managers across the company are essential to manage this change. With Jorge Tamayo and Leila Doumi of HBS and Sagar Goel and Orsolya Kovács-Ondrejkovic of the BCG Henderson Institute, Sadun wrote the HBR article “Reskilling in the Age of AI.” ... Read more

31 Oct 2023

28 MINS

28:01

31 Oct 2023