Thinkers & Ideas BCG Henderson Institute
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- Business
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Inspiring and thought-provoking conversations with leading thinkers about influential ideas on business, technology, economics, and science. Hosted by Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, and Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Global Chief Economist of BCG.
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This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
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The Intelligence of Intuition with Gerd Gigerenzer
In The Intelligence of Intuition, Gerd Gigerenzer challenges a commonly held view of intuition—namely, that it is somehow inferior to logical rationality.
Gigerenzer is director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the University of Potsdam, director emeritus of the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, and an expert on human decision-making. He argues that intuition is a form of unconscious intelligence shaped experience and evolution in dealing with uncertain and dynamic situations—situations for which logic and algorithms are often ill-fitted. As leaders deal with uncertainty and complexity and embrace new AI technologies, they must not forget the power of intuition.
Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Gigerenzer explores the power of intuition, when to use it in business, and how to cultivate and employ it.
Key topics discussed:
01:23 | Difference between intuition and rationality
04:49 | Role of heuristics
06:29 | Why intuition is often looked down upon
08:06 | Power of intuition
15:21 | How to use intuition in business
18:45 | Distinguishing right intuition from wrong intuition
25:12 | Considering how AI use intuition
Additional inspirations from Gerd Gigerenzer:
How to Stay Smart in a Smart World: Why Human Intelligence Still Beats Algorithms (The MIT Press, 2022)Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious (Penguin Books, 2008)Calculated Risks: How to Know When Numbers Deceive You (Simon & Schuster, 2003)
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
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Climate Capitalism with Akshat Rathi
In Climate Capitalism: Winning the Global Race to Zero Emissions, Akshat Rathi tells the stories of people around the world who are building impactful solutions to tackle climate change.
Rathi is a senior reporter for Bloomberg News, focusing on climate and energy. He also hosts the weekly Zero podcast, in which he talks to the people leading the fight for a zero-emissions future. In his new book, Rathi argues that the best way to cut carbon pollution is by harnessing capitalism. Combating climate change requires a combination of smart policies, financing, technological innovations, and leadership—without killing markets or competition.
Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Rathi discusses the essence of climate capitalism, how to scale up individual success stories, and how to navigate the challenging political context.
Key topics discussed:
02:09 | Definition of climate capitalism
07:19 | Success stories: Chinese EVs, Orsted
11:31 | The need to combine tech, policies, and finance
12:52 | How to scale case studies to big solutions
16:24 | Navigating a polarized political context
18:45 | Making climate solutions profitable
24:06 | Where CEOs should start
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy -
Slow Down with Kohei Saito
In Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto, Kohei Saito explores the relationship between capitalism and the climate crisis. He argues, controversially, that to have any chance of achieving true sustainability, we must move to a system which deemphasizes growth, adopts different metrics of progress, expands the commons, and places value on goods and services which are not currently considered as part of the economy, like caregiving and nature.
Saito is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Tokyo and a recipient of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science prize, which is awarded to the top scholar in Japan under the age of 45. His book, published previously in Japan, became an unexpected bestseller, shipping more than half a million copies to date.
Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, Saito discusses the arguments for fundamental economic system change, explores the feasibility of less radical alternatives, and assesses implications for business leaders. The book’s propositions will likely seem very radical to many of our business listeners—but as Saito notes, sometimes utopian ideas can be a stimulus for generating new thinking for complex intractable topics like climate change.
Key topics discussed:
01:50 | Defining the problem and the need for system-level change
06:21 | The relation between capitalism and technological progress
08:41 | Exploring alternative, less radical solutions
13:32 | The need for a new measurement of economic and social progress
17:08 | The feasibility of a transition to a new system
21:41 | Implications for business leaders
25:35 | Reasons to remain hopeful
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy -
Higher Ground with Alison Taylor
In Higher Ground: How Businesses Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World, Alison Taylor explores how companies can navigate the complexity of modern business ethics.
Taylor, a clinical associate professor at NYU Stern, has spent decades advising large multinational companies on risk, corruption, sustainability, and organizational culture. In her new book, she combines her experience with vivid case studies to guide companies toward reaching what she describes as the “higher ground”—a space where companies can act ethically and achieve long-term strategic advantage.
Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, Taylor discusses why good governance is now more important than ever, how leaders can navigate a polarized political landscape, and how businesses can build trust.
Key topics discussed:
02:44 | The rising importance of internal governance
06:10 | Common traps of internal governance
07:55 | Best practices for deploying purpose
10:53 | Businesses taking political stances
14:58 | Importance of trust and traps in pursuing it
17:12 | Solutions for businesses to pursue
24:15 | How to apply these lessons in your own work
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
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The Friction Project with Bob Sutton
In The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder, Bob Sutton and Huggy Rao share insights on friction—the forces that make it harder, slower, more complicated, or even impossible to get things done in organizations.
Sutton is an expert on organizational psychology at Stanford University and a best-selling author. His latest book is a culmination of a seven-year research effort on how effective organizations function without driving employees and customers crazy.
Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, Sutton explores what friction is, where it comes from, and its effects - both positive and negative. They discuss the practical steps leaders and employees can take to remove and add friction in the right places. They also discuss broader implications, like whether the nature and consequences of friction will change in a world increasingly characterized by machine-machine and machine-human, rather than only human-human interactions.
Key topics discussed:
00:54 | What is organizational friction
04:30 | The negative consequences of friction
08:42 | What does good friction look like?
14:14 | How to remove friction
17:22 | What creates friction
19:11 | Removing friction and creating problems
22:04 | Is friction less problematic in a world of AI?
25:26 | How can ideas about friction be applied in academia?
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
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Permacrisis with Mohamed El-Erian and Michael Spence
In Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World, Mohamed El-Erian and Michael Spence, along with their coauthors, Gordon Brown and Reid Lidow, consider how we’ve arrived at this state of constant instability and insecurity—and suggest concrete ways to break the cycle.
Mohamed El-Erian, president of Queens’ College Cambridge University, was previously the chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council, a Deputy Director at the International Monetary Fund, and CEO and co-CIO of PIMCO.
Michael Spence, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Philip H. Knight Professor and dean, emeritus, at Stanford Graduate School of Business, was awarded the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Together with Martin Reeves, the Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, El-Erian and Spence discuss new approaches to thinking about growth, economic management, and managing a global order, as well as how leaders could unlock the full potential of technologies that could drive growth, and ensure that the benefits of technological advancements, like AI, are widely distributed to avoid exacerbating national tensions.
Key topics discussed:
01:59 | Defining permacrisis
08:58 | The essence of how we need to think differently about growth and value
10:32 | Unlocking the full potential of technologies that could drive growth
14:09 | How to ensure that the benefits of technological advancements, like AI, are widely distributed to avoid exacerbating national tensions
19:40 | Anticipating or managing similar crises (COVID-19) in the future
25:15 | Reforming multilateral institutions
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy