HBR IdeaCast

HBR IdeaCast

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

Episodes

Strategy Summit 2026: Why AI Means Radical Change

March 19, 2026 • 28 mins
What changes need to be made for an organization to truly succeed with their AI strategy? In this four-part special series, we'll share conversations from the recent HBR Strategy Summit to help you get ahead. In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley shares what she's learned about successful AI implementation and organizational transformation, from the minimum technological capabilities needed to what it tak...
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The Shifting Relationship Between Business and the U.S. Government

March 17, 2026 • 21 mins
As the Trump administration continues to reshape the U.S. and global business landscape, many have been left wondering why CEOs and other business leaders aren't vocalizing their views. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld is a professor at the Yale School of Management and has conversations every day with leaders of some of the country's biggest companies. He explains how many leaders are navigating the current state of affairs in the U.S., explain...
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Strategy Summit 2026: Why AI Transformation Needs a Human Touch

March 12, 2026 • 30 mins
AI needs to be central to any organization's strategy today, but many are still not implementing the technology in the most effective ways. In this four-part special series, we'll share conversations from the recent HBR Strategy Summit to help you get ahead. In this episode, HBR editor in chief Amy Bernstein speaks with Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient, a digital transformation company. Vaz explains that many enterprise-wide AI i...
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The Hidden Causes of AI Workslop—and How to Fix Them

March 10, 2026 • 28 mins
As organizations and their employees ramp up their generative AI experimentation, leaders are facing a new problem: the rise of AI-generated "workslop," which seems okay on the surface but doesn't actually pass muster and, when passed on to colleagues, ultimately hurts team efficiency, performance, trust and morale. Kate Niederhoffer, chief scientist at BetterUp, and Jeff Hancock, professor of communication at Stanford, say that w...
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The New Leadership Structures that Unblock Innovation

March 3, 2026 • 30 mins
The ability of an organization to innovate over and over again, for the long term, depends on leadership structure, culture, and systems. That's according to Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill, who has spent years researching the true drivers of innovation, taking lessons from the world's most successful companies. She explains why today's leaders need to shift from the focus on decision-making and producing to creating t...
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Assuming the Best About Others is Hard—But Necessary

February 24, 2026 • 29 mins
Are you guilty of bracing for the worst when it comes to your clients, colleagues, and bosses? Amer Kaissi, professor at Trinity University, explains why bringing that negative mindset to work will quietly undermine your team, organization, and career. He wants leaders to instead adopt a "positive intent mindset," which means giving everyone -- even people who disappoint you or with whom you vehemently disagree -- the benefit of t...
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With Rise of Agents, We Are Entering the World of Identic AI

February 17, 2026 • 30 mins
What if the AI you integrate into your organization isn't just about efficiency or creating digital assistants, but completely changes how you work? Longtime digital trend watcher Don Tapscott says the next wave of artificial intelligence is all about identic AI - where personalized agents don't just complete tasks, but understand your judgment and values and take actions on your behalf. He explains the technologies for this that a...
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What You Must Deliver to Win Customers Today

February 13, 2026 • 29 mins
What if your customers aren't looking for better products and services, but for a way for themselves to become better? While the experience economy remains important, Strategic Horizons cofounder B. Joseph Pine II argues that it's not enough to acquire and retain customers in today's competitive environment. He sees the next wave in business as one focused on offering outcomes to customers - and that might even mean only getting pa...
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The Cognitive Science Behind Sudden Change

February 3, 2026 • 25 mins
Difficult change is an inevitable part of life, but few of us have the skills and mindset to handle it well. That can trickle into our work and careers, but there are lessons from psychology that can help us be more resilient. Dr. Maya Shankar, cognitive scientist and host of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans, shares concepts that can help you react, reframe, and adapt in life or work. She offers evidence-based strategies for le...
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The Case For Becoming a Project-Based Org

January 27, 2026 • 30 mins
What does it take to stay agile and compete effectively in today's business world? Smart leaders are entirely reorienting their organizations around project-based work, says Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, CEO of Projects & Company. This requires learning how to better prioritize, fund, and staff these initiatives; measure and incentivize success; and quickly end projects that aren't working so resources can be diverted to ones that are....
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Ray Dalio on Economic Trends, Investing, and Making Decisions Amid Uncertainty

January 20, 2026 • 29 mins
Over the years, investor Ray Dalio built his hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, into one of the largest in the world. He's done that in part by understanding the history of economic cycles and macroeconomic trends. He's also made shrewd investing and management decisions and stands by his values. He shares where he sees the U.S. today in terms of economic power and the progress that leaders of all kinds need to make to better the ...
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What You Need to Know About Executive Recruiting

January 13, 2026 • 28 mins
Professional search firms play a big role in discovering and choosing leaders for senior roles. That’s why anyone with C-suite ambitions needs to understand the recruiting process and what these evaluators are looking for. Mark Thompson, chairman of the Chief Executive Alliance, and Byron Loflin, global head of board advisory at Nasdaq, explain the ins and outs of recruitment, how to develop your narrative and navigate formal asses...
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Where McKinsey—and Consulting—Go From Here

January 6, 2026 • 30 mins
How does an organization with 100 years of history stay relevant, adaptable, and forward-looking? Bob Sternfels, who runs McKinsey & Company as the Global Managing Partner, has led the company through a wave of recent challenges while trying to plan the road ahead for the consulting industry leader. He explains the balance he's aiming to strike between AI agents and human employees, how he's handled moments of scrutiny, and the way...
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How to Manage—and Motivate—Gen Z

December 30, 2025 • 32 mins
How different is the newest generation in the workforce, really? While stereotypes abound — some of them unfair — it’s important to understand what the young adults of Gen Z have in common and how they differ from Millennials, Gen X and Boomers. Tim Elmore is a leadership coach and author who says that this generation in particular craves connection with their colleagues, meaningful work, and assurances that they’re seen as people ...
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What Leaders Can Learn from a Formula 1 Turnaround

December 23, 2025 • 26 mins
What does it take to rebuild a legendary brand, lead through failure, and win on the world’s most competitive stage? Zac Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, which competes in Formula 1 racing, explains how he helped guide the company through a rough chapter of its history, powering through financial strain and declining performance to change the company culture and get it back on the winning track. As part of the HBR Executive Live serie...
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Why Great Leaders Focus on the Details

December 16, 2025 • 29 mins
Senior executives are often told to focus on big-picture strategy while delegating the specifics of execution. But, according to Scott Cook, cofounder and former CEO of Intuit, smart leaders also spend time on the details of how the organization gets work done at every level, including the front lines. Working with Harvard Business School professor Nitin Nohria, he studied companies from Toyota to Amazon to better understand why ha...
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Future of Business: Mars CEO on How Business Can Be a Force for Good

December 11, 2025 • 29 mins
What does it look like for a business in 2025 to build a strategy around sustainability? In this Future of Business series, IdeaCast hosts Alison Beard and Adi Ignatius sat down with four leading CEOs to understand where global business is going. In this episode, host Adi Ignatius speaks with Poul Weihrauch, CEO of Mars, about how he manages the family-owned global pet care, snacking and food company. They discuss balancing short-t...
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Moving Beyond the Slow, Hierarchical Organization

December 9, 2025 • 33 mins
Most companies say they want to be more innovative, agile, and customer-centric. But in reality, many still operate like 20th-century factories: hierarchical, risk-averse, and slow. Jana Werner, executive in residence of enterprise strategy at Amazon Web Services, argues that organizations should instead think of an octopus: an organism that manages complexity, can work in many different modes with some autonomy, but all moving in ...
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Future of Business: Moderna’s Founder on Innovation That Breaks Through

December 4, 2025 • 29 mins
What are CEOs across industries doing to build resilience and strong cultures in an age of uncertainty? In this Future of Business series, IdeaCast hosts Alison Beard and Adi Ignatius sat down with four leading CEOs to understand where global business is going. In this episode, host Alison Beard speaks with Noubar Afeyan, the CEO of Flagship Pioneering and Chairman of Moderna. Afeyan shares the organizational models and practices t...
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Could Your Company Benefit from Fastvertising?

December 2, 2025 • 27 mins
It's harder than ever for companies to get their marketing messages in front of the right customers. One increasingly popular -- but also risky -- tactic is fastvertising, the rapid development of ads that tap into a cultural moment, aiming to increase brand relevance and awareness. Harvard Business School associate professor Ayelet Israeli shares pitch-perfect examples, including those from her coauthor, the actor Ryan Reynolds, a...
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