Events

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Interbrand - the company that helps brands create iconic moves - is at the very forefront of new thinking about building brands and creating connections. I've been working with them on the concept of leaving behind industry-anchored thinking and embracing more arena oriented thinking. Charles also leads a fantastic podcast series called "Outside In With […]

My Friday Fireside guest this week is Michael Schrage, who was so far ahead of the rest of us on all things digital that he helped design the Microsoft CEO Summit for many years (an assignment I was part of as well). His day job is as a research fellow with the MIT Sloan School […]

Marissa King's fascinating new book "Social Chemistry: Decoding the Patterns of Human Connection" is leading people to completely rethink the networks they have and the networks they need. We all know that people who progress in their careers - and in life - manage their networks with great skill. What has been missing until now […]

Nina McLemore and I first met through the Committee of 200, a powerful women's organization and subsequently during her Executive MBA program at Columbia Business School. She's a former big-company exec, and entrepreneur and a visionary with respect to how women show up at work. Powerful women wear her clothes - think Janice Yellen (catch […]

Adam Bryant knows a thing or two about CEO’s and leadership – as he well should. In his years writing the famed “Corner Office” interview for the New York Times, he’s spoken to over 600 of them! He and the former CEO of Amgen, Kevin Sharer, have an exciting new book coming out that synthesizes […]

Led Google's AdWords team - arguably one of the most commercially successful innovations of all time - and author of a great book, "The Right It" - my guest this week is inventor, entrepreneur and Pretotyper extradordinaire, Alberto Savoia. He has a marvelous perspective on entrepreneurship, which he shares with eager students and businesspeople alike. […]

Julie Lythcott-Haims is a best-selling author, speaker, advisor and wise person. Her New York Times Bestselling book "How to Raise an Adult" drew on her years of experience as Dean of Freshman at Stanford Business School and changed the national conversation about overparenting and the stress, anxiety and depression it can cause. Her brand-new book […]

Tony Ulwick, Author and founder of the consultancy Strategyn is well known as one of the creators, with Clayton Christensen and the gang at Innosight, of the jobs-to-be-done theory of customer understanding. His book "Jobs to be done: Theory to Practice" is a super-useful guide to making this important idea come to life in your […]

Do you ever wonder why some social shifts seem to 'stick' while others, despite a lot of light and heat, never get off the ground? Why policies that are broadly popular never seem to be enacted because of small groups of passionate opponents? Well, join me this Friday for a chat with Leslie Crutchfield, whose […]

Ram Charan was a management guru before the category was well and truly invented! A friend, mentor and longtime collaborator, Ram's work with CEO's and leaders has had an outsize impact on the global economy. Despite a frenetic travel schedule, he's written at least 27 books that I could track down, including the bestselling "Execution" […]

It takes someone special to be a thought leader amidst all the brainpower at the BCG Henderson Institute, and Martin Reeves is just that special. I've enjoyed collaborating with him over many years, and was tickled that he listed the transient advantage approach as a new strategy idea in his book "Your Strategy Needs a […]

It is seldom that a management book could be described as "delightful." But, I'm thrilled that David Duncan's new book "The Secret Lives of Customers" is exactly that. It's a detective story with a hero who is a data detective, clues to solving the customer behavior challenge and a terrific (and very user friendly) introduction […]

George Stalk is a legend in the field of strategy. He was called a "Johnny Appleseed" at respected strategy consultancy BCG, invented a concept called time-based competition and has introduced many other ideas that have fundamentally shaped the field. He's had a huge influence on my thinking and I'm thrilled that he will be joining […]

And now for something completely different! I first learned about category-defying artist Dessa from her brilliant Hamilton-style rap song in honor of Janet Yellen, the first female secretary of the Treasury. She's a singer, songwriter, author, speaker and just all-around fascinating person and I'm really looking forward to sharing an hour learning about her world. […]

Something we don't do enough when looking for answers for big, hairy social problems is find places where solutions are actually working and see how we might benefit from their success. David Bornstein's "Fixes" column in the New York Times is a shining exception. He finds novel and unusual ways in which social problems can […]

Recent events from the COVID-19 pandemic to the killing of George Floyd have sparked social justice movements around the world and have placed diversity, equity, and inclusion at the forefront in politics, classrooms, and corporations. Financial institutions too are taking part as keen investors increasingly turn their attention to the “Social” aspects of Environmental, Social […]

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 […]

When I learned that Rob Siegel had been the lead researcher for Andy Grove's book "Only the Paranoid Survive," I knew I just had to meet him! Today, he is a lecturer in management at Stanford, is a partner in a venture investment fund, sits on a bunch of boards and is generally very plugged […]

Quick: When I say "tax guy" at a Big Four accounting firm, my guess is your pulse doesn't start to quicken. But in the case of Jeff Saviano, you'll find a delightful departure from that stereotype. Jeff hosts a podcast called "Better Innovation," is the EY Tax Innovation Leader for the firm and has just […]

The thing about inflection points is that steady-state is not an option. You’re either going to seize the moment and thrive or miss it and suffer a setback. The good news is that using the tools built for high-uncertainty environments, you can move forward into the future with more confidence. Rita McGrath will share her […]

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 […]