HBR IdeaCast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

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HBR IdeaCast

Harvard Business Review

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/6d. Total Eps: 250

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

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RSS

Spotify

Apple

Data updated on 30/09/2026

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

🇺🇸 USA - business
05/04/2026
#50
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🇺🇸 USA - business
04/04/2026
#49
↘
🇺🇸 USA - business
03/04/2026
#48
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https://play.megaphone.fm/zbmkcqmbqhymul1logpega
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RSS feed quality and score

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RSS feed quality

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Score global : 69%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

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Latest published episodes

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

Episode 1098

Tuesday, September 29, 2026 • Duration 32:32

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 the Apple Store and transform Target into a design-forward retailer. But when he brought his approach to JCPenney, his transformation failed. He explains why leaders shouldn't rely too heavily on data when they're trying to create something that hasn't been done before, how Steve Jobs used patience and diverse perspectives to drive innovation, and why great customer experiences depend on empowering employees to solve problems one customer at a time. Johnson also reflects on his experience at JCPenney, where he moved too quickly and underestimated how deeply employees and other stakeholders were invested in the company's existing way of doing business. He shares what he would do differently today—and why listening may be one of the most important skills a leader can develop. Johnson is the author of Shop Different: How Retail Revealed Apple's Genius.

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How AI Is Changing Communication: Weighing Efficiency with Efficacy

Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 33:39

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 leadership, we explore how executives can use AI to improve communication without outsourcing the thinking, judgment, and empathy that make it effective. Stanford professor Matt Abrahams and Zapier CEO Wade Foster discuss how leaders are using AI to synthesize information, structure ideas, prepare for difficult conversations, and rehearse for high-stakes moments. They also explain why leaders should be wary of letting AI write everything for them, how overreliance on AI can create a “comprehension gap,” and why preserving a distinctive human voice may become even more important as AI-generated communication becomes ubiquitous. Abrahams is the author of Think Faster, Talk Smarter and host of the podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart. Foster is the cofounder and CEO of Zapier, a software automation company.

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What New CEOs Get Wrong About the Job

Episode 1097

Tuesday, September 22, 2026 • Duration 30:18

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 they get there. Nitin Nohria, former dean of Harvard Business School, has spent three decades studying CEOs and working with new leaders as they adjust to the demands of the role. He says one of the biggest surprises for new CEOs is realizing that they can't—and shouldn't—run the company themselves. Instead, their job is to create the conditions for their leadership team to run it well. He also explains how CEOs can stay connected to their organizations, build the right leadership team, manage their boards, focus their time, and decide which emerging issues—including AI—actually deserve their attention. Nohria is author of The CEO: The Role, the Reality, the Responsibility.

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

Thursday, September 17, 2026 • Duration 31:33

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 special four-part series on how AI is changing leadership, we look at how the technology is changing how people interact at work, the new culture it is creating, and how leaders can get smart about talent management and strategy in this rapidly advancing world. Paula Goldman, Salesforce’s chief ethical and humane use officer, argues there's currently a big opportunity to redesign work around the complementary strengths of humans and AI. She explains how AI could reshape entry-level jobs and the development of future leaders, why companies need to rethink internal mobility and talent development, and how executives can prepare their organizations for an AI-powered workforce without sacrificing accountability, creativity, or trust. Goldman is the author of Manage the Machine: How to Harness Human-AI Collaboration at Work.

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

Episode 1096

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 25:02

When the future feels increasingly out of our control, how can leaders and organizations make progress? University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman, a pioneer in the study of optimism, resilience, and human flourishing, argues that the answer is agency: the belief that we can influence outcomes and create positive change. He defines agency as a combination of three capabilities: efficacy—the belief that you can achieve a goal now; optimism—the belief that you can achieve it in the future; and imagination—the ability to envision possibilities that don't yet exist. And he explains how leaders can cultivate these qualities in themselves and their organizations, how managers can help employees overcome catastrophizing, and what AI can—and can't—do when it comes to one of the most important human capabilities: imagination. Seligman is the author of Agency: The Psychological History of Human Progress.

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

Episode 1095

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 • Duration 31:53

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 efficiency can make it much harder to preserve what made the company special in the first place. Restaurateur Danny Meyer has spent decades figuring out how to do just that. He founded Union Square Cafe and built Union Square Hospitality Group, then helped scale Shake Shack from a single location in New York City into a global restaurant chain. Along the way, he’s learned that culture isn’t what happens when the CEO is in the room—it’s what happens when they’re not. He explains how he turned his philosophy of “enlightened hospitality” into a set of specific behaviors that employees can understand and practice. He discusses why companies should hire for both technical expertise and emotional skills, how to identify people with a high “hospitality quotient,” and why promotions are one of the most powerful tools leaders have for reinforcing culture. Meyer is the author of What Could Possibly Go Right? The Essential Journey to Scale an Enduring Culture.

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Are Great Leaders Truly Great—or Just Lucky?

Episode 1094

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • Duration 25:16

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, but historian Jared Diamond argues that we often underestimate the role of timing, circumstance, industry, and plain luck. Diamond explains his “Hamlet test,” which asks whether someone else could have achieved the same outcome or whether the leader was uniquely qualified to do it, and how it applies to many business leaders. He also explains why some leaders are able to seize a fleeting moment of opportunity, why founders can have an outsized influence on institutions, and why boards may overestimate the impact of replacing a struggling CEO. Diamond is author of Prophets, Profits, Coaches, and Kings: (When) Do Leaders Matter?

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How People Without Formal Power Gain Influence

Episode 1093

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 • Duration 20:50

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 influence colleagues, clients, vendors, and even senior executives without simply telling them what to do? Pamela Meyer, founder and CEO of Calibrate, says the answer is learning to read the room—and understanding the informal networks, emotional dynamics, and hidden sources of power that shape decisions. She explains five paths to indirect influence: becoming an influence spotter, a backchanneler, a precision mover, a connector, and a pulse reader. Meyer also explains why the best influencers focus less on how they’re performing and more on what the people around them need. Meyer is the author of How to Read the Room: The Art and Science of Social Observation and the HBR article “Five Ways to Wield Influence When You Lack Authority.”

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Living and Working in the Age of Longevity

Episode 1092

Tuesday, August 18, 2026 • Duration 28:57

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't caught up. London Business School professor Lynda Gratton says we need a new way of thinking about work and life, and argues that traditional career paths are giving way to more flexible, multi-stage journeys that require greater personal agency, continuous learning, and a long-term perspective. She explains why leaders should think of their lives less as a ladder and more as a fabric they actively weave over time, and offers up practical advice for balancing productivity and personal well-being, preparing for career pivots before they're necessary, and developing the skills that will matter most in an AI-powered future. Gratton is the author of the upcoming book Living the 100-Year Life: How to build a career that lasts and a life you love.

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The Innovation Strategy Most Companies Miss

Episode 1091

Tuesday, August 11, 2026 • Duration 31:13

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 Govindarajan and MIT professor Amos Winter, designing for the toughest constraints first—whether that's affordability, portability, or limited infrastructure—can lead to products that perform better everywhere. They explain how leaders can identify high-impact opportunities, uncover customer needs through deep field research, and design solutions that balance performance with cost. They also discuss why organizational mindset—not technology—is often the biggest obstacle to global innovation, and where AI can (and can't) accelerate the design process. Together they wrote the book Global by Design: How to Create Innovations That Scale, Travel, and Transform.

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HBR IdeaCast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

HBR IdeaCast – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other1

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other1

Apple Podcasts

Spotify