Leadership Next

What is design thinking, and why should you care about it?

" You know, so many leaders today are asking the question, what comes next? How do we prepare ourselves for what we can't even see? ... Well, that's where design thinking comes in," Sandy Speicher, CEO of IDEO, tells Leadership Next.

Design thinking is a different way of seeing the world, a different approach to problem solving and leading. It's also a bit of a buzz word that many people still don't fully understand.

But with so many changes happening in business right now - the technology revolution, the rethinking of how companies function in a hybrid world, the search for greater corporate purpose - now's the time to figure it what it is and how to implement it, according to Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt.

Bigger is no longer better for General Electric, according to CEO Larry Culp. When he took charge of the iconic company in 2018 it was clear change was needed - GE was in the midst of a years-long slump where much of its market value disappeared. His solution: break the corporate giant into three smaller, focused companies.

How did he come to this conclusion? Why is it the right move? And what leadership lessons can others gain from Larry's story? Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt answer those questions and more in this episode of Leadership Next.

Signet Jewelers - parent company to Zales, Kay and several other brands - has seen its digital sales quadruple since the start of the COVID pandemic. And an estimated 85 percent of customers interact with the company digitally at some point during their shopping process, according to company CEO Gina Drosos.

But pushing the company towards a digital future is just part of the transformation plan Drosos put in place after becoming CEO in 2017.

"Our transformation has been both strategic and cultural, with cultural being probably even the more important of the two," Drosos tells Leadership Next.

Also in today's conversation: tracing the diamond supply chain, the importance of having a diverse leadership team, and inflation's impact on the jewelry industry.

Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey, He purchased an old yogurt factory in upstate New York in 2005. Two years later, the company sold its first Greek yogurt. Today, the brand is reportedly worth billions and is preparing for an IPO.

But perhaps the most remarkable part of this story is HOW Ulukaya met his goal of making quality yogurt available to the mass market. As he tells Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt, it all came down to trusting his employees and treating them well. Chobani makes a practice of hiring refugees, and has enlisted other companies in these efforts. Ulukaya is dedicated to the idea that CEOs have the power to change lives, and the responsibility to do so. Hear more in this episode of Leadership Next.

As recently as 1993, 80 percent of Africans had never heard a phone ring according to Cassava Technologies CEO Hardy Pemhiwa. Today, the vast majority of people on the continent own mobile phones. But connecting those phones to the internet remains pricey.

This is where Cassava Technologies enters the picture. The company aims to become the first tech company to connect all of Africa. This massive ambition springs from the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to afford online access, and that providing this access opens the door to job growth and - ultimately - to a better economy.

Pemhiwa tells Leadership Next how he's approaching the challenge, the role of regulators in Africa's growing tech industry, the opportunity for investing in African entrepreneurs, and more.

In this episode of Leadership Next, Alan Murray and Ellen McGrit take listeners inside the annual CEO meeting that Fortune typically hosts at Davos. Davos itself was postponed due to Omicron, so Fortune moved its meeting online - and attendance was impressive. Leaders who joined oversee an estimated $2.6 trillion in annual revenues and directly employ just under seven million people.

On the agenda: looking ahead to the biggest challenges and opportunities of 2022. Today you'll hear from Andy Jassy of Amazon, Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Carol Tomé of UPS, Nicolas Hieronimus of L'Oréal, Vicki Hollub of Occidental Petroleum, and Dan Schulman of PayPay.

Also on the show, Joe Ucuzoglu of Deloitte US shares results from the Fortune-Deloitte CEO survey conducted in January.

For years Steve Case has been pushing venture capital investors to look beyond California, New York and Boston for startups to support. This has been the driving mission of his investment firm, Revolution, and his seed fund has backed nearly 180 companies in 80 cities. But now - finally - a growing number of investors are joining him.

"I do believe one of the silver linings of a terrible tragic pandemic may be this accelerant in terms of what's happening with these rising cities and more companies starting and scaling in cities," he tells Leadership Next's Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt.

Case says this is of course good news for company founders, but it's also good for workers and local economies. And, hopefully, it translates into more diverse entrepreneurs attracting funding.

Also in the conversation: the types of companies Case has his eye on now, his time as the founder of AOL, and why you may want to consider a trip to Chattanooga.

The transcript of this episode will be available on Fortune.com.

In this final Leadership Next of 2021, Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt are joined by Joe Ucuzoglu, CEO of Deloitte US and long-time sponsor of the podcast. The team reviews highlights from the season, identifying themes that emerged from the 40 episodes, and discusses what's ahead for business in 2022.

Voices from the season appear throughout the episode. Hear from the CEOs of UPS, Chipotle, Intel, S&P, United, Best Buy, Albertsons and many more.

Leadership Next will return with more interviews in January of 2022. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a thing!

After 24 years at Home Depot, Carol Tomé was ready to retire. But United Parcel Service - where she had served as a board member since 2003, had other plans. Why did she decide to accept the CEO job at UPS? That's just the first thing Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt want to know in this episode of Leadership Next.

UPS is the leading delivery business in the U.S. Tomé says the company delivers six percent of the country's GDP each day. That requires a lot of employees! Tomé sees making these workers happy and developing them into leaders as one of her top priorities. She explains the various ways she's tackling that part of the job.

Also in the conversation: growing the business, navigating COVID, smoothing supply chain snarls and innovating for the years ahead.

Before the COVID pandemic, roughly 10 to 15 percent of Chipotle's business came in through digital channels. Today, that number is closer to 40 percent.

"Sometimes, you know, your strategies end up finding an unknown accelerator. And the pandemic proved to be an accelerator on the strategy," CEO Brian Niccol explains.

The company was well positioned to excel during the pandemic in other ways too. Thanks to its previous food safety scares, Chipotle had stringent health and safety protocols in place. Raising wages and outlining opportunities for career growth have helped the company weather the current labor shortage. And now, Niccol is looking ahead to another big challenge: climate change.

Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt dig into all of the above, and more in this episode of Leadership Next.