Thinkers & Ideas

BCG Henderson Institute
  • 0.0 (0)
  • MANAGEMENT
  • EVERY TWO WEEKS

Inspiring and thought-provoking conversations with leading thinkers about influential ideas on business, technology, economics, and science. Hosted by Nikolaus Lang and Adam Job. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

  1. 5 HR AGO

    Design Love In, with Marcus Buckingham

    In Design Love In: How to Unleash the Most Powerful Force in Business, Marcus Buckingham argues that love—not engagement, satisfaction, or motivation—is the only feeling that reliably changes the behavior of employees and customers, and that it can be deliberately designed into business. Buckingham is one of the world’s foremost researchers on human performance. He is a former senior vice president at Gallup turned New York Times–best-selling author, having written First, Break All the Rules. In his new book, he draws on decades of research to show that the relationship between experiences and outcomes is not linear—only experiences so positive that people describe them as “love” actually drive loyalty, productivity, and advocacy. In his conversation with Adam Job, senior director at the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses why love is categorically different from engagement, the five feelings that make up a loving experience, three disciplines leaders can use to design love into their organizations, and why common practices like outsourcing and large spans of control are fundamentally unloving. Key topics discussed: 01:16 | Why love is categorically different from engagement or satisfaction 04:43 | The nonlinear relationship between experiences and outcomes 08:24 | How experiences drive behaviors that drive outcomes 12:34 | Designing love in: the five feelings and three disciplines 16:00 | Can love be designed into products, not just experiences? 19:13 | The three disciplines: walk the stage, equip the people, sequence the scenes 27:39 | Spans of control and the one-to-12 rule 30:17 | The limits of artificial experience–making Additional inspirations from Marcus Buckingham: First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently (Gallup Press, 2016)

    36 min

  2. 31 MAR

    BHI Presents: Winning the Rest of the 20s

    In this special episode, Rich Lesser, BCG’s global chair, and Martin Reeves, former chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, reflect on the shocks and surprises that shaped the first half of the decade and what they reveal about the future. They explore the traits leaders need today: building trust, staying geopolitically aware, and adopting AI in a people-centered way.

    27 min

  3. 17 MAR

    The Transformation Economy with B. Joseph Pine II

    In The Transformation Economy: Guiding Customers to Achieve Their Aspirations, B. Joseph Pine II argues that an economic shift is underway, in which transformations—not commodities, goods, services, or experiences—will become the highest form of value creation. Pine is an internationally acclaimed author, known for having coined the term “experience economy” in the 1990s. He works as a speaker and advisor to Fortune 500 companies. In his new book, he suggests that most companies compete by improving what they sell, while missing what customers actually want: to become different people. In his conversation with Adam Job, senior director at the BCG Henderson Institute, Pine discusses the evolution of economic value creation, the North Star for transformation businesses, and how to scale from one to many transformation journeys. Key topics discussed: 01:01 | The evolution of economic value creation 03:35 | How to get into the transformation business 10:35 | The North Star for transformation businesses 15:07 | Scaling beyond individual transformation journeys 16:46 | Different types of transformation journeys 20:37 | Making transformations last 24:12 | Taking the first step toward the transformation economy Additional inspirations from B. Joseph Pine II: The Experience Economy, With a New Preface by the Authors: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money, co-authored by James H. Gilmore (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019)

    28 min

  4. 3 MAR

    The Doom Loop with Eswar Prasad

    In The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling into Disorder, Eswar Prasad argues that we are caught in a destructive feedback loop between economics, domestic politics, and geopolitics. Prasad is a professor of Trade Policy and Economics at Cornell University, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. In his new book, he explores how globalization, international institutions, the rise of “middle power” countries, and technological innovations had the potential to promote shared prosperity—but instead are driving global instability. In his conversation with Nikolaus Lang, global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses the breakdown of the rule-based system, implications for trade policy in Europe and elsewhere, and the role AI plays in driving global instability. Key topics discussed: 01:20 | The doom loop driving global instability 06:41 | The positive aspects of globalization and middle powers 12:02 | Implications for European trade policy 15:51 | The breakdown of the rule-based system 18:36 | The role of AI and other technologies in the doom loop 23:57 | Reasons for remaining optimistic Additional inspirations from Eswar Prasad: The Future of Money: How the Digital Revolution Is Transforming Currencies and Finance (Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press, 2023)

    29 min

  5. 17 FEB

    The New Geography of Innovation with Mehran Gul

    In The New Geography of Innovation: The Global Contest for Breakthrough Technologies, Mehran Gul examines how innovation works in different countries around the globe—diving deep into the ecosystems that produce great technology companies. Gul is a writer and leading technology thinker, having served as the Lead for the Digital Transformation of Industries at the World Economic Forum. His book, which was nominated as a Financial Times best business book of 2025, he discusses why the United States remains at the world’s technological frontier, with only China being a true challenger. In his conversation with Nikolaus Lang, Global Leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, he talks about how innovation ecosystems are converging, the role of statecraft in fostering innovation ecosystems, and the main forces that will shift the global innovation landscape in the coming decade. Key topics discussed: 01:22 | Attributes of successful innovation ecosystems 06:57 | US vs. China talent pool 10:26 | What China gets right about innovation 13:20 | Why Europe lags behind on innovation 18:54 | The role of intentional statecraft in fostering innovation 23:31 | The convergence of innovation ecosystems around the globe 26:34 | Implications for businesses 28:56 | How the global innovation landscape will evolve in the next decade

    34 min

  6. 3 FEB

    Flourish with Daniel Coyle

    In Flourish: The Transformative Power of Creating Community, Daniel Coyle investigates the ecosystems in which humans do their best work—from sports teams, to the boardroom, and our daily lives. Daniel Coyle is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, in which he explores how people and groups grow, perform, and flourish. He combines immersive field reporting with behavioral science to create practical frameworks for building skill, culture, and meaningful connection. In his conversation with Adam Job, senior director at the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses his definition of flourishing, how to find moments of stillness in our turbulent world, and how leaders can balance efficiency with the disorder that fosters creativity. Key topics discussed: 01:03 | The definition of flourishing 09:13 | Finding moments of reflection and stillness 16:41 | Crisis as a trigger for flourishing 19:52 | Messiness and creativity 26:39 | Balancing disorder and efficiency 29:40 | A starting point for leaders Additional inspirations from Daniel Coyle: The Culture Playbook: 60 Highly Effective Actions to Help Your Group Succeed (Random House Audio, 2022)The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups (Bantam, 2018)The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. (Bantam, 2009)

    32 min

  7. 20 JAN

    Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World with Dani Rodrik

    In Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World: A New Economics for the Middle Class, the Global Poor, and Our Climate, Dani Rodrik proposes new modes of cooperation and policy experimentation to address our greatest global challenges. Rodrik is the Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School. He codirects both the Reimagining the Economy Program at Harvard and the Economics for Inclusive Prosperity network. In his conversation with Nikolaus Lang, global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses the trilemma between democracy, prosperity, and sustainability, how hyper-globalization contributed to this struggle, and his proposed framework for resolving it. Key topics discussed: 01:06 | The trilemma of democracy, prosperity, and sustainability 03:50 | The shortcomings of hyper-globalization 10:33 | Why manufacturing is no longer an escape from poverty 14:47 | Services as drivers of development 18:33 | The new framework of productivism 23:25 | The power of unilateral climate actions 27:26 | Implications for business leaders Additional inspirations from Dani Rodrik: Straight Talk on Trade: Ideas for a Sane World Economy (Princeton University Press, 2017)Economics Rules: The Rights and Wrongs of the Dismal Science (W. W. Norton & Company, 2015)

    31 min

  8. 16/12/2025

    The Seven Rules of Trust with Jimmy Wales

    In The Seven Rules of Trust: A Blueprint for Building Things that Last, Jimmy Wales explains how he turned an impossible idea—creating an online encyclopedia that anyone can edit—into a global institution. Wales is the founder of Wikipedia. In his new book, he distills two decades of lessons from building one of the world’s most trusted collaborative projects. He argues that trust isn’t a soft virtue but a practical system—a set of design principles that allow people and organizations to cooperate effectively, solve problems honestly, and endure. In his conversation with Adam Job, senior director at the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses whether Wikipedia could still be created today, how it can retain its trusted status in an age of polarization, and what we can learn from Wikipedia to rebuild trust within society. Key topics discussed:  01:02 | How to scale interpersonal trust 04:02 | The importance of assuming good faith 07:13 | Could Wikipedia still be created today? 09:06 | How Wikipedia can retain its trusted status in an age of polarization 10:30 | The impact of AI on trust 15:40 | How institutions can reclaim lost trust 18:01 | Reasons to remain optimistic about rebuilding societal trust

    21 min
See All (145)

About

Inspiring and thought-provoking conversations with leading thinkers about influential ideas on business, technology, economics, and science. Hosted by Nikolaus Lang and Adam Job. For more ideas and inspiration, sign up to receive BHI INSIGHTS, our monthly newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn and X.

Information

  • Creator
    BCG Henderson Institute
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    145
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 BCG Henderson Institute
  • Show Website
    Thinkers & Ideas

You Might Also Like