In Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known, Amar Bhidé revisits and modernizes the concept of Knightian uncertainty. Introduced more than 100 years ago, the concept offers great potential for better understanding corporate decision-making.A renowned expert on innovation, entrepreneurship, and finance, Bhidé is a professor of Health Policy at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, as well as a professor emeritus of Business at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.In his conversation with Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Bhidé discusses the important distinction between repeated and unique events, the relationship between uncertainty and imagination, how corporations can use persuasive narratives and social routes to navigate the future, and whether AI will help or hinder these practices.Key topics discussed:01:16 | The definition of uncertainty04:49 | The relation between uncertainty and imagination09:32 | The power of corporate routines15:57 | The changing nature of uncertainty17:25 | How AI impacts uncertainty21:02 | Corporate implications22:38 | Implications for business educationAdditional inspirations from Amar Bhidé:A Call for Judgment: Sensible Finance for a Dynamic Economy (Oxford University Press, 2010)The Venturesome Economy: How Innovation Sustains Prosperity in a More Connected World (Princeton University Press, 2008)The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses (Oxford University Press, 2000)Flourishing in an Uncertain World: How Entrepreneurs Overcome Doubts and Disagreements (The Kansas City Public Library Lecture, 2025)

In The M&A Failure Trap: Why Most Mergers and Acquisitions Fail and How the Few Succeed, Baruch Lev and Feng Gu provide a wealth of evidence on the success and failure factors of acquisitions.Lev, professor emeritus of Accounting and Finance at NYU’s Stern School of Business and Gu, professor of Accounting and Law at the State University of New York, have analyzed more than 40,000 acquisitions over the past four decades. This has not only allowed them to understand the reasons why 75% of deals fail but also to develop a scorecard that can help decision-makers assess the likelihood of acquisition success ex ante.In their conversation with Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Lev and Gu discuss how to measure acquisition success, how to curb overconfidence on the side of the acquirer, and key lessons for CEOs seeking inorganic growth.Key topics discussed:[02:45] How mergers and acquisitions have changed[05:00] Judging the success or failure of acquisitions[08:16] Drivers of acquisition failure[14:41] Patterns of successful acquisitions[17:27] Overconfidence and its causes[19:51] Managerial implications

In Mindmasters: The Data-Driven Science of Predicting and Changing Human Behavior, Sandra Matz explores what our digital footprints reveal about us and how these insights are used to influence our daily decisions.Matz is the David W. Zalaznick Associate Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, where she also serves as co-director of the Center for Advanced Technology and Human Performance. Using her background in psychology and computer science, Matz investigates the intricate connections between our digital and real lives and how these are shaped by technology.In her conversation with Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Matz discusses the power of psychological profiling, highlights the harms as well as benefits of the personalization it enables, and outlines implications for businesses and regulators, including the possibility of entirely new business models.Key topics discussed: [01:10] Power of psychological profiling[05:05] Scale and impact of big data–based psychological profiling[09:06] Benefits and harms of personalization[16:05] Challenges of regulating profiling and personalization[17:57] Ramifications of the AI-driven content revolution[23:20] Implications for businesses[28:37] How to manage your data footprintAdditional inspirations from Sandra Matz: Psychological Targeting: What Your Digital Footprints Reveal About You (TED Talk, 2019)

In The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions and How the World Lost Its Mind, Dan Davies examines why companies and governments systematically generate outcomes that everyone involved claims they do not want.Davies is an economist, writer, and former investment banker known for his insightful analysis of finance, corporate governance, and decision-making systems. He has written extensively on topics such as financial fraud, accountability in organizations, and the intersections of economics and management. His latest book combines cybernetics theory and real-world examples to explain how decisions are increasingly made not by accountable individuals, but by systems.In his conversation with Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Davies describes the pathologies of failing decision-making systems, explains why we tend not to learn from past mistakes, and outlines why he worries that AI might not improve our capability to make decisions unless we carefully redesign decision systems to tap its potential.Key topics discussed: 01:03 | Unintended outcomes generated by decision-making systems07:08 | What we can learn from the theory of cybernetics09:49 | Pathologies of failing information systems11:49 | Why we make the same mistakes again and again14:41 | How AI may impact decision-making16:39 | Steps toward improving our decision-making systemsAdditional inspirations from Dan Davies:The Brompton: Engineering for Change, co-authored by William Butler-Adams (The Experiment, 2022)Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of the World (Scribner, 2021)Back of Mind (Substack)

In AI Snake Oil: What AI Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference, Sayash Kapoor and his co-author Arvind Narayanan provide an essential understanding of how AI works and why some applications remain fundamentally beyond its capabilities.Kapoor was included in TIME’s inaugural list of the 100 most influential people in AI. As a researcher at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy, he examines the societal impacts of AI, with a focus on reproducibility, transparency, and accountability in AI systems. In his new book, he cuts through the hype to help readers discriminate between legitimate and bogus claims for AI technologies and applications.In his conversation with Martin Reeves, chair of the BCG Henderson Institute, Kapoor discusses historical patterns of technology hype, differentiates between the powers and limitations of predictive versus generative AI, and outlines how managers can balance healthy skepticism with embracing the potential of new technologies.Key topics discussed: 01:05 | Examples of AI “snake oil”04:42 | Historical patterns of technology hypeand how AI is different07:26 | Capabilities and exaggerations of predictive AI11:42 | Powers and limitations of generative AI17:11 | Drivers of inflated expectations20:18 | Implications for regulation23:26 | How managers can balance scepticism and embracing new tech24:58 | Future of AI researchAdditional inspirations from Sayash Kapoor:AI Snake Oil (Substack)A Checklist of Eighteen Pitfalls in AI Journalism (UNESCO article, 2022)

In The Age of Outrage: How to Lead in a Polarized World, Karthik Ramanna provides a framework for leaders to navigate outrage—the intense, polarized reactions to perceived social injustices, political stances, and misaligned corporate actions—by addressing root causes, engaging stakeholders, and building resilience.Ramanna, a professor of Business and Public Policy at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, specializes in business-government relations and corporate accountability.In conversation with Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Ramanna discusses the three causes of outrage (fear of the future, past injustices, and ideologies of othering), common instincts that mislead leaders, and his five-step framework for navigating the age of outrage.Key topics discussed: 01:08 | Managing in the age of outrage4:21 | Three causes of outrage: fear of the future, past injustices, and ideologies of othering5:48 | The five-step framework for navigating the age of outrage19:04 | Instincts which mislead companies into taking the wrong stance or making the wrong analysis20:45 | The impact of “temperate leadership” and leadership attributes25:22 | Key factors impacting the age of outrageAdditional inspirations from Karthik Ramanna:Political Standards: Corporate Interest, Ideology, and Leadership in the Shaping of Accounting Rules for the Market Economy (The University of Chicago Press, 2015)

In The Corporate Life Cycle: Business, Investment, and Management Implications, Aswath Damodaran presents the corporate life cycle as a universal key for demystifying business finance, strategy and company valuation.Damodaran is a professor of Finance at the Stern School of Business at New York University. Known as “the Dean of Valuation,” he has published extensively in academic journals, written many books for students and practitioners, and remains the world’s foremost expert on the subject of corporate valuation. In his latest book, he outlines how corporations age, describes the characteristics of each stage of their life cycle, and discusses implications for managers and investors.In his conversation with Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Damodaran outlines how to determine where in the life cycle your company is at, what leadership skills and behaviors are required at each stage, and how the distribution of life cycle stages has changed over recent decades.Key topics discussed: 00:56 | The stages of the corporate life cycle02:21 | How to determine your stage in the life cycle03:36 | The importance of acting your age10:06 | Balancing capital allocation across the portfolio11:27 | Leadership skills for different stages in the life cycle16:56 | Creating value at any stage of the life cycle20:21 | How the distribution of life cycle “shapes” is changing22:58 | The art of communicating complex ideas in simple waysAdditional inspirations from Aswath Damodaran:Applied Corporate Finance (Wiley, 2014)Investment Valuation: Tools and Techniques for Determining the Value of Any Asset (Wiley, 2012)Musings on Markets  (Blog)

In Big Bet Leadership: Your Transformation Playbook for Winning in the Hyper-Digital Era, John Rossman provides a playbook for becoming an innovation and transformation winner.Rossman was previously an executive at Amazon, responsible for launching their Marketplace business. Now, he is the managing partner of Rossman Partners, advising leading enterprises on large-scale change, and author of the best-selling books The Amazon Way and Think Like Amazon. In his latest book, he examines why high-stakes change efforts fail and how to frame and manage them more effectively. Companies need to think in terms of “big bets,” which will require executives to adopt the right mindset, tactical steps, and leadership habits.In his conversation with Martin Reeves, chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Rossman explains why we need to work in prose, not in PowerPoint; how to think big, while betting small; and how to make the critical decisions to “continue, pivot, or kill” a project.Key topics discussed: 01:19 | What makes a “big bet”04:10 | Thinking in outcomes06:49 | Prose over PowerPoint12:51 | Thinking big, but betting small16:21 | Thinking in systems19:21 | How to decide to “continue, pivot, or kill” – and avoid confusion22:45 | Where “big bet” thinking can be appliedAdditional inspirations from John Rossman:The Amazon Way: Amazon's 14 Leadership Principles (Clyde Hill Publishing, 2021)Think Like Amazon: 50 1/2 Ideas to Become a Digital Leader (McGraw Hill, 2019)

In Critical Systems Thinking: A Practitioner's Guide, Michael C. Jackson emphasizes the need for integrating diverse systems methodologies to navigate complexity and uncertainty.Jackson, an emeritus professor of management systems and former dean of the University of Hull Business School, has also served as president of several prominent systems thinking organizations, including the UK Systems Society, the International Federation for Systems Research, and the International Society for the Systems Sciences. His most significant contribution to the field is his development of Critical Systems Thinking (CST), which emphasizes the combined use of different systems approaches to deal with the complexity that leaders face.In a conversation with Martin Reeves, Chairman of the BCG Henderson Institute, Jackson introduces the EPIC process (Explore, Produce, Intervene, and Check), a four-stage, sequential framework to help leaders deploy systems methodologies. Their discussion includes how different systems perspectives can be combined, how theory informs interventions, how organizations are embracing system thinking, barriers to adoption, and the relevance of systems thinking to today’s business environment.Key topics discussed:2:40 | What systems thinking can offer the traditional MBA toolkit5:20 | Systems thinking in contemporary business scenarios6:37 | The EPIC process: Explore, Produce, Intervene, and Check16:52 | Characteristic tools of systems thinking17:34 | The five lenses of systems thinking21:54 | Advancing the agenda of systems thinkingAdditional inspirations from Michael C. Jackson:Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers (John Wiley & Sons, 2023)Systems Approaches to Management (Springer, 2000)Critical Systems Thinking and the Management of Complexity (Wiley, 2019)Creative Problem Solving: Total Systems Intervention (Wiley, 1991)

There is no shortage of technologists touting the promise of AI, but the frontier of AI fervor is a noted philosopher who thinks the economy could double every few months—and that space colonization by self-replicating machines may not be hundreds of years away.Enter Nick Bostrom, who previously authored the 2014 bestseller Superintelligence about the dangers of AI, and now considers what can go right with AI in his new book Deep Utopia. Bostrom was formerly a professor at Oxford University, and currently principal researcher of the Macrostrategy Research Initiative.In this episode, he joins Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Chief Economist of BCG, who is skeptical of AI narratives and thinks technology’s economic impact has long-lagged expectations. They discuss different takes on the likely size and speed of AI’s impact on the macroeconomy, and why they disagree about the prospect of tech-driven mass unemployment. Bostrom also explains key themes from Deep Utopia, including stages of utopia, “shallow and deep” redundancy, implications for policy, as well as the unique rhetorical style of the book.Key topics discussed: 01:45 | Is tech jumping ahead or behind schedule?03:24 | Is Deep Utopia really a book about AI or about philosophy?04:39 | Technological unemployment: Real or fallacious10:54 | Taxonomy of utopia13:59 | What about public policy, such as UBI?15:47 | Concept of shallow and deep redundancy18:50 | Concept of “interestingness”21:07 | Rhetorical style of book23:29 | AI regulation and policyAdditional inspirations from Nick Bostrom:Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies (Oxford University Press, 2014)