Rotman Visiting Experts

Every search, like, and click leaves a trace — but what do these digital breadcrumbs really say about you? Author and professor Sandra Matz joined host Brett Hendrie to explore the psychology of data and how businesses use this information to build detailed profiles, predicting everything from your personality to your spending habits. How much do they really know, and what can you do about it? Three takeawaysWhat you do online says so much more about you than you realize. Even the words you use in social posts can be telling about your personality. If you use lots of self-centred language (I, me, myself), it can actually be a sign of emotional distress. And studies from nearly a decade ago show that by simply analyzing a person's Facebook likes and follows, AI can be better at predicting someone's personality than their closest friends and family.And businesses can use this information to influence their consumer behaviour. Matz worked on one study with a beauty retailer that proves the point. For outgoing extroverts, language on the ads highlighted the fun nights ahead, while for introverts the ads focused on self-care at home, and the campaign was hugely successful. But Matz warns, leaders need to be very cautious about using this type of information; after all trust is easily broken and it's a fine line between giving people exactly what they want and need from a company and manipulation.Finally, when it comes to privacy issues, Matz warns it's not your social posts people should be most concerned with. It's our phones. The apps on our phones often have complete access to our photo galleries, location data, and even message history. Managing your data privacy can be a full-time job, but for folks who want to take a first step, she recommends being way more mindful about the permissions you give to companies when downloading your next app or game.

Is inclusion the secret to high-performing teams? In this episode of Rotman Visiting Experts, Brett Hendrie sits down with Anne Chow, former CEO of AT&T Business and author of Lead Bigger, to explore why true inclusion goes beyond DEI—and why leaders who embrace it outperform those who don’t. From creating psychologically safe workplaces to rethinking flexibility and performance metrics, Chow shares practical insights on how leaders can cultivate cultures where employees — and businesses — thrive.Three takeawaysInclusion has been stuck on the end of the DEI acronym. To Chow, inclusion is more than just representation. It's broadening our perspectives and ensuring the voices of all our stakeholders — from employees to regulators to unions to media to customers — are heard and considered. The world is changing, and the better leader will be one with a diverse perspective.Inclusive leadership starts with caring about your employees. Chow reminds bosses that people don't have a work life and a personal life. They have one life, and it happens to consist of both work and personal obligations. "You as a leader, you have the relationship with the person based on the professional dimensions of their life, but it is incumbent upon you to respect the boundaries and the priorities of their personal life," she says. "And what that means for you as the inclusive leader is that you must put in place performance measures, accountability, clarity, as well as benefits and support structures that enable people to live a meaningful life that has professional and personal goals and contributions." And right now, the key for most leaders will be around flexibility.A good manager or leader will help employees thrive in their job. Team members will never lack understanding of where they are in their job, how they're doing in relation to their peers. They will know what skills they need to advance and feel their leader has provided them the resources they need to succeed. A great manager will help their people thrive in their careers, never forgetting that their current job is just one small part of the entirety of their work life. "They recognize and seek in you a potential that goes beyond your current job," she says. 

Karthik Ramanna, a Professor at the University of Oxford and author of "The Age of Outrage," dives deep into leading amidst societal division and anger. He discusses the unique characteristics of today's 'age of outrage,' highlighting the challenges of distrust and fear. Ramanna emphasizes the virtue of temperance in leadership, promoting dialogue and inclusivity. He shares insights from IKEA's moral struggles in Saudi Arabia, illustrating the complexities of maintaining integrity in global markets. Practical frameworks for navigating these turbulent times are also presented.

How do small, targeted actions create massive ripple effects in business and society? Malcolm Gladwell joined host Brett Hendrie to discuss his latest book, Revenge of the Tipping Point, unpacking the hidden forces behind epidemics, the power of overlooked metrics, and the stories that shape our world.Head over to our YouTube channel to watch this conversation as well!Three takeawaysEpidemics, be they health or societal, are often started by a very, very small number of individuals. Gladwell points to the opioid epidemic in the U.S. While it's had a massive impact on hundreds and thousands across the U.S. (and beyond), the root of the crisis owes its thanks to Purdue Pharma, which relentlessly targeted just a small handful of doctors. By micro-targeting a handful of physicians willing to over-prescribe painkillers, Purdue engineered a national crisis.We're often shaped by narratives in ways we aren't always aware of, and they tend to be more community and locally based than we realize. Gladwell uses the concept of "overstories," that is how the upper canopy of a forest shapes life below it, to explore how these stories — say Canada's pride in multicultralism and immigration — can shape entire nations. As we become increasingly digitized and decentralized in our community identities, it's worth considering which new "overstories" are shaping how we interact with the world.The law of a few — that epidemics are shaped by just a few individuals, often with unique gifts — was one of Gladwell's most enduring concepts introduced in The Tipping Point. This time around, he introduces us to the idea of "the rule of thirds." You don't need a majority or even an even split to achieve critical mass, particularly with positive societal change. Instead, looking at the niche example of women in male-dominated fields, critical mass might simply be "too many to ignore."

The world is a noisy place, and we often listen to the wrong information, leading to poor or conflicted choices. Can we learn to make more informed, wiser decisions? Nuala Walsh joined Visiting Experts host Brett Hendrie to explain how and talk about her new book Tune In: How to Make Smarter Decisions in a Noisy World...it's worth tuning into to the conversation!Three takeawaysPoor decision-making has a very real cost. Forbes estimates it costs Fortune 500 companies $250 million annually, and Walsh thinks that's underestimating the challenge. And that doesn't even begin to explore the human consequences of certain types of decisions. Leaders often look for the easy answer, and will blame bad choices on poor timing or other external factors. To Walsh, this is bad news. You can't learn to make better choices if you're never taking accountability for your bad ones. Considering the high price tag of bad decisions, it's time leaders take an inward look.We often trust what we can see. But Walsh worries about "deaf" and "dumb" spots - the information we're not hearing or saying (either because we're chosing not to hear or say it). In particular, leaders might need to get out of their comfort zone and be ready to hear truths that make them uncomfortable (so ditch those syncophatic fans on your management team!). But importantly, they need to make sure they're creating not only a psychologically safe culture where people feel they have permission to speak up, but that there are other safeguards in place to give employees protections to speak up as well. This means whistleblower hotlines, anonymous feedback forms, and more.Embrace the decision friction. When making a tough choice, Walsh says it's crucial that you pause before committing. That might mean having a rule that decisions aren't made until you've asked three people outside of your work their opinion. Or perhaps it's a rule that no decisions will be made without sleeping on it first. It's easy to feel like everything is an emergency and that a decision needs to be made Right.Now.Immediately! But Walsh reminds listeners that's not actually usually the case. Yes, there are times when you have to make a decision quickly, but most situations aren't an emergency, so take a breath and put the choice on pause.

On the latest season of Visiting Experts, author Richard Davis joins host Brett Hendrie to talk about his new book Good Judgement. Richard offers leaders a framework for how to judge people more effectively and breaks down why we should discount emotional intelligence in favour of personality. Give it a listen now!Three takeawaysWhen faced with a decision about a person - say you're selecting someone to take lead of a new project, trying to hire for a crucial role, or even just deciding if you want to have an on-going relationship - don't look for emotional intelligence. Instead, you should look at whether their personality makes them a good fit for the role. As Davis says, emotions are fleeting, but personality is static. "While it's helpful for me to understand, for example, if you are angry, it's much more powerful for me to understand that you're an angry person," he says.Perceptivity is a talent you can develop. And judging others' personalities is something you can hone. So how do you do it? Richard has a five-box framework that asks you to evaluate others on their intelligence, sociability, emotionality, drive and diligence.And to really understand people's personalities, you need to let them do the talking. He has some fantastic questions you can ask in almost any situation to really get a better read on people. (How are you, dispositionally, like your parents? Why do you have certain friends, and what's a turnoff in others?)

There's nothing wrong with having high standards. But when does chasing perfection start to damage your mental health and career? Thomas Curran joined host Brett Hendrie to talk about his new book The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough. They explore how to identify perfectionist tendencies, the danger in increased social pressure to be perfect, and how to break the habit.  

What can we learn from Elon Musk, his takeover of Twitter and its downward spiral? Author Ben Mezrich joined host Brett Hendrie to talk about the new book Breaking Twitter: Elon Musk and the Most Controversial Corporate Takeover in History; exploring what businesses - and CEOs - can take away from the ordeal to avoid the same fate. It's a must-listen for anyone looking to better understand how the whims of a single individual can derail even the most powerful of organizations. 

Can you get better at failure? Amy Edmondson joined Rotman Visiting Experts to explore the good kind of failures, the kind we need to avoid, and what we can learn from it all.

Vanessa Patrick joined host Brett Hendrie to talk about how we can hone our skills when it comes to saying "no," how we can reject requests more scientifically, and why we all benefit when we learn the art of refusal.