HBR IdeaCast

How AI Is Changing Innovation: Why Speed Alone Isn’t a Strategy

AI is making it faster and cheaper than ever to turn ideas into prototypes, products, and businesses—but that abundance creates new challenges for leaders. In episode 3 o

What Retail Legend Ron Johnson Learned from Apple’s Success and JCPenney’s Failure

How do you know when to trust your previous experience in a transformation environment, and how do you know when to listen, observe, and adapt? Ron Johnson helped create

How AI Is Changing Communication: Weighing Efficiency with Efficacy

AI is rapidly changing how top leaders communicate with employees, customers, boards, and each other. In episode 2 of a special four-part series on how AI is changing lea

What New CEOs Get Wrong About the Job

Becoming CEO can look like the culmination of a career. But the skills that help someone rise to the top job aren't necessarily the ones that make them successful once th

How AI Is Changing Talent, Not Just Tasks: Rethinking Where Human Judgment Matters Most

The decisions leaders must make about AI today go far beyond what platforms to invest in: AI is changing organizational culture and leadership for good. In episode 1 of a

What It Takes to Make Progress When the Future Feels Out of Control

When the future feels increasingly out of our control, how can leaders and organizations make progress? University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman, a pioneer

A Leading Restaurateur on What It Takes to Scale a Winning Culture

When a company is small, maintaining a strong culture can feel relatively easy. But as organizations grow, layers of management, geographic distance, and pressure for eff

Are Great Leaders Truly Great—or Just Lucky?

How much does a leader actually matter to an organization’s success? We tend to credit CEOs, founders, and other powerful figures with shaping the institutions they lead,

How People Without Formal Power Gain Influence

In today’s increasingly decentralized workplaces, leaders often need to get things done without having direct authority over the people they depend on. So how can you inf

Living and Working in the Age of Longevity

People are living longer, healthier lives than ever before. But many of our assumptions about executive careers—from climbing the corporate ladder to retiring at 65—haven

The Innovation Strategy Most Companies Miss

Companies often build products for wealthy markets first and then try to adapt them for the rest of the world. But according to Dartmouth Tuck professor Vijay Govindaraja

Why Great Turnarounds Start with Culture, Not Strategy

In an era of constant disruption, successful turnarounds require more than a new strategy—they demand a new culture. Dan Schulman, former CEO of PayPal, came out of retir

Introducing The Founder Mindset: Tim Ferriss on Experiments, Risk, and Freedom

What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur in today's uncertain world? How do you balance risk, decision-making, and curiosity? We’re sharing an episode from The F

What Makes Chinese Companies So Competitive?

To compete in business anywhere today, leaders at all levels need to learn about the culture and mindset that sets Chinese businesses apart. Stanford research fellow Dan

Leadership Summit 2026: Inspiring Grit and Growth Amid Unprecedented Change

Most leaders are asking the same question about AI: Will it make their teams more productive—or slowly erode the very skills they're trying to build? In this special epis

Why Great Leaders Need More Than Good Judgment

What if the key to success in today's business world wasn't about making difficult decisions quickly—but about broadening the scope through which you make decisions? Lead

Leadership Summit 2026: AT&T CEO John Stankey on Developing Technology and Talent in the AI Era

How do you reinvigorate a legacy company without losing what made it great? In this special episode, as part of the recent HBR Leadership Summit 2026, AT&T CEO John Stank

The New Rules for Becoming an Enterprise Leader

What does it take to succeed in an enterprise-level leadership role today? Michael Watkins, professor at IMD and author of the book The First 90 Days, says that the leap

Leadership Summit 2026: Honest Company CEO Carla Vernón on Leading with Focus in Turbulent Times

How do you take a young, purpose-led company to the next level? In this special episode, as part of the recent HBR Leadership Summit 2026, The Honest Company CEO Carla Ve

How Leaders Can Use AI to Solve Real Business Problems

Many organizations are investing heavily in AI, but too few are asking the most important question: What problem are we actually trying to solve? Journalist and author Jo