

HBR IdeaCast
Harvard Business Review
A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 19, 2017 • 18min
Stopping and Starting With Success
Jerry Seinfeld shares his insights into innovation, self-criticism, and how to know when to quit. The U.S. comedian conquered 1990s television with his sitcom and is now finding a new audience for his online talk show, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."

Jan 13, 2017 • 35min
Voices from the January-February 2017 Issue
Roger Martin of Rotman School of Management, Paul Zak of Claremont Graduate University, Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and HBR Editor-in-Chief Adi Ignatius respectively discuss customer loyalty, the neuroscience of trust, entrepreneurship in Africa, the source of innovation, and the new, hefty magazine. For more, see the January-February 2017 issue.

Jan 5, 2017 • 19min
Collaborating Better Across Silos
Harvard Law School lecturer Heidi K. Gardner discusses how firms gain a competitive edge when specialists collaborate across functional boundaries. But it’s often difficult, expensive, and messy. The former McKinsey consultant is the author of the new book, “Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos.”

Dec 29, 2016 • 32min
Restoring Sanity to the Office
Basecamp CEO Jason Fried says too many people find it difficult to get work done at the workplace. His company enforces quiet offices, fewer meetings, and different collaboration and communication practices. The goal is to give employees bigger blocks of time to be truly productive.

5 snips
Dec 22, 2016 • 21min
The Secret to Better Problem Solving
Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg discusses a nimbler approach to diagnosing problems than existing frameworks: reframing. He’s the author of “Are You Solving the Right Problems?” in the January/February 2017 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Dec 15, 2016 • 19min
What Superconsumers Can Teach You
Eddie Yoon, author of "Superconsumers" and growth strategy expert at The Cambridge Group, explains how companies can find their most passionate customers and use their invaluable insights to improve products and attract new customers.

11 snips
Dec 8, 2016 • 25min
The “Jobs to be Done” Theory of Innovation
Clayton Christensen, Harvard Business School professor, discusses the 'Jobs to be Done' theory of innovation. The podcast explores how successful companies grow by understanding customer needs and improving their products, using McDonald's and IKEA as examples. It also delves into the impact of failing to fulfill customer needs effectively, with insights from Kodak's downfall in the digital imaging industry.

Dec 1, 2016 • 22min
Handling Stress in the Moment
HBR contributing editor Amy Gallo discusses the best tactics to recognize, react to, and recover from stressful situations. She's a contributor to the "HBR Guide to Managing Stress at Work."

Nov 23, 2016 • 32min
How Focusing on Content Leads the Media Astray
Bharat Anand, author of The Content Trap and professor at Harvard Business School, talks about the strategic challenges facing digital businesses, and explains how he and his colleagues wrestled with them when designing HBX, the school's online learning platform.

Nov 18, 2016 • 20min
Why the White Working Class Voted for Trump
Joan C. Williams, distinguished professor and director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings, discusses the white working class voters who helped elect Republican Donald Trump as U.S. President, and why Democrat Hillary Clinton did not connect with them.


