Minds Worth Meeting

Successfully leading a business in the AI-heavy digital age requires a new mindset. In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, Justin Louis sits down with University of California Santa Barbara professor and Technology Management department chair, Paul Leonardi. We talk about how to cultivate a digital mindset and why it’s so important to do so, he shares strategies for helping employees succeed with generative AI and tells us how to keep digital exhaustion at bay.

In this episode:

• Paul explains how digital technologies like artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, are changing work roles, and what those new roles look like.
• He reassures us that we don’t need to become experts overnight to be digitally literate and explains “the 30% rule.”
• On a topic that many of us feel in our professional and personal lives alike, Paul discusses digital exhaustion and how to avoid it with practical tips that anyone can implement immediately.

 Where to find Paul Leonardi:

• Paul’s website
• Paul Leonardi at the University of California Santa Barbara
• Paul’s book, “The Digital Mindset: What It Really Takes to Thrive in the Age of Data, Algorithms, and AI“

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The conventional wisdom in business is that friction is a bad thing that must be removed for processes to move forward smoothly. In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, Whitney Jennings has a fascinating conversation with MIT researcher and head of the Human-First AI group at the school's Initiative on the Digital Economy, Renée Richardson Gosline. We discuss the benefits of the right kind of friction, particularly when creating with AI, leading with trust when building AI-enhanced customer experiences and more.

In this episode:

• Renée shares the results of a recent study investigating how friction can be applied in the human/AI content creation paradigm and what the most productive level is. 
• She outlines how AI tools can have a powerful role in enhancing customer experiences, but they must be built on a foundation of trust.
• Renée describes some of the vital do's and don'ts when implementing AI in an organization, both internally and externally.

Where to find Renée Richardson Gosline

• Renée's website
• Renée at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
• Renée's MIT Sloan School of Management faculty page

Click or tap here to learn more about how Renée Richardson Gosline gives leaders a better understanding of how customer experience can catalyze a company’s AI-enhanced digital transformation and create collaborative dynamics with customers.

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How can leaders engage people both rationally and emotionally? In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, Whitney Jennings and Justin Louis sit down with Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati. We talk about corporate purpose, artificial intelligence leadership and Ranjay shares the inspiring story of how his mother’s passion became a global success story.

In this episode:

• Ranjay, author of “Deep Purpose,” explains how to bring purpose beyond just a statement on a company’s website to truly transform organizations.
• We talk about AI and why it’s vital for leaders to do something and learn rather than doing nothing and falling behind the competition.
• Ranjay tells us about what he’s learned from talking with some of the sports world’s most iconic coaches and how they motivate their teams to perform to the highest standards.

Where to find Ranjay Gulati:

• Ranjay Gulati’s website
• Ranjay’s book, “Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies”
• Ranjay’s “Deep Purpose” podcast
• Ranjay’s Harvard Business School faculty page

Click or tap here to learn more about Ranjay Gulati and how he equips companies with strategies to forge a path of resilience, purpose and strong leadership that empowers organizations – and the people within – to live up to their fullest potential.

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What do the geek takeover, rethinking economies, unparalleled resilience, appreciating nostalgia while understanding our past and ensuring recognition and dignity for all have in common? 

They’re just a few of the memorable lessons we learned this past season on Minds Worth Meeting. Join us as our hosts Whitney Jennings and Justin Louis take a look back at our favorite moments of Season 3. 

In this episode:

• Renowned MIT researcher Andrew McAfee tells us about his new book, “The Geek Way” and why he’s an optimist about the technology of tomorrow.
• Acclaimed New Yorker writer and lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Nick Romeo discusses his latest book, “The Alternative”.
• Holocaust survivor and author Tova Friedman shares her lessons on how we can choose peace over hate and the message she gave to world leaders at the United Nations.
• NYU professor, social psychologist and author of “A More Just Future,” Dolly Chugh tells us what it means to be a “good-ish” person and why it’s important to appreciate the positives while acknowledging the negatives of our past.
• Harvard professor, sociologist and author of “Seeing Others,” Michèle Lamont tells us how taking the time to see others and give recognition and dignity to all can redefine the workplace.

Want to learn more about our guests? Click on a name below for their latest work and information on how your organization can work with them:

• Andrew McAfee
• Nick Romeo
• Tova Friedman
• Dolly Chugh 
• Michèle Lamont

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How can something seemingly as simple as recognition help to heal society's deep divides? In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, Whitney Jennings has a conversation with sociologist and Harvard University professor Michèle Lamont. She tells us how taking the time to see others and give recognition and dignity to all can redefine the workplace, and even society, to be a more sustainable environment in which people can be their authentic selves and thrive.

 In this episode: 

• Michèle explains the long-term importance of recognition in the workplace as an aspect of good leadership.
• We discuss how it's the responsibility of all managers to create a workplace that acknowledges the dignity of all workers.
• Michèle tells us that stigmatization often begins with moral blaming, but narrative change can help us understand the differences between groups, a process that organizations play a central role in.

 Where to find Michèle Lamont: 

• Michèle Lamont's Website
• Michèle's book, "Seeing Others: How Recognition Works―and How It Can Heal a Divided World"
• Michèle Lamont on X (Twitter)
• Michèle's Harvard University Faculty Profile

Click or tap here to learn more about Michèle Lamont and how she equips companies with a unique, non-partisan perspective on how to create conditions where recognition, dignity, equality, respect, inclusion and destigmatization are actively promoted in empowering workplace environments. 

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How can we become ‘good-ish’ people? For that matter, what is a ‘good-ish’ person? In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, Whitney Jennings and Justin Louis speak with NYU Stern School of Business professor and social psychologist Dolly Chugh. She explains how being a ‘good-ish’ person allow us to better relate to others, become great leaders and understand a  past that hasn't always been one of beauty and honor. 

In this episode:

• Dolly explains what a ‘good-ish’ person is and how to become one.
• We talk about how to be a great boss by becoming more self-aware of how the way we show up to work impacts others.
• We reminisce about View-Master and Pillow Pets and discuss the connections we create by invoking nostalgia.
• Dolly then tells us that it is possible to appreciate nostalgia while taking important lessons from a complicated past.

Where to find Dolly Chugh

• Dolly Chugh’s “Dear Good People” newsletter
• Dolly’s book, “A More Just Future: Psychological Tools for Reckoning with Our Past and Driving Social Change“
• Dolly’s book, “The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias“

Click or tap here to learn more about Dolly Chugh and how she equips companies with strategies and techniques to become truly inclusive, effective leaders in their industry.

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It is possible to spread a message of hope from the greatest adversity possible. In this inspirational episode of Minds Worth Meeting, Justin Louis and guest host Meg Virag speak with Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman about how to find hope in times of darkness.

In this episode:

• Tova tells us about the emotional process of writing her memoir, “The Daughter of Auschwitz“
• We talk about how her story became a sensation thanks to TikTok.
• We discuss the roots of hatred and how unchecked movements can lead to genocide.
• Tova shares the simple but powerful message she gave to world leaders at the United Nations.

Where to find Tova Friedman:

• Tova Friedman on TikTok
• The Daughter of Auschwitz: My Story of Resilience, Survival and Hope

Click or tap here to learn more about Tova Friedman and how her incredible story of survival inspires audiences around the world to recognize that natural resilience and the ability to overcome is within every one of us.

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Economics is inseparable from politics and philosophy, but we don’t have to be prisoners to what are assumed to be inevitable economic laws. As we kick off our third season of Minds Worth Meeting, Justin Louis speaks with journalist and UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism lecturer Nick Romeo about his new book, "The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy." 

In this episode: 

• Nick discusses how his background in ancient philosophy led him to become an investigative economic journalist.
• We talk about an Austrian village that is successfully experimenting with a jobs guarantee.
• We touch on a growing trend in business: perpetual purpose trusts - what they mean and how they can benefit employees. 
• Nick explains how the multi-billion dollar Mondragon Corporation has become one of the most successful worker cooperatives in the world. 

Where to find Nick Romeo:

• Nick Romeo's Personal Website
• Nick Romeo at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
• The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy

Click or tap here to learn more about Nick Romeo and how his deft command of international policy and economics makes him a sought-after expert on some of the most impactful issues of the day.
 
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Companies that are run by geeks are some of the most innovative, agile and scalable organizations today. In this episode of Minds Worth Meeting, Justin Louis speaks with renowned MIT researcher Andrew McAfee, author of “The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset that Drives Extraordinary Results.”

In this episode:

• Andy explains what “geeky leadership” is and how geeks have become the most consequential leaders in modern business.
• We talk about generative AI, how organizations can capitalize on it, and what leaders must understand first.
• We touch on the future of work and what people, currently employed or not, need to know to succeed in the workplaces of tomorrow. 
• We dip our toes into the future of tech and the potentially paradigm shifting systems that could come next.

Where to find Andrew McAfee:

• Andy’s personal website
• Andrew McAfee at MIT
• Andrew McAfee at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy

Click or tap here to learn more about Andy McAfee and how his keynotes, workshops and advisory sessions can help your organization weave emerging technologies like generative AI into your strategic vision, anchored by the transformative power of "geeky leadership."


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Exponential technology, modern communication and failing well – those were the themes we touched on in the second season of Minds Worth Meeting. Today, we’re taking a look back at the fascinating conversations we had with our expert guests to bring you the best of the season. 

In this episode:

• We revisit our conversation with technology analyst, investor and author of “The Exponential Age”, Azeem Azhar. We chatted about the exponential speed of technology advancement, how to use generative AI like ChatGPT to maximize efficiency at work and the future of energy prosperity.
• We listen back to the best bits of our talk with public relations expert and Rutgers University professor, Mark Beal, an authority on Gen-Z, and the modern methods of multi-channel communication.
• We share the best clips from our chat with Columbia University Creative Machines Lab Director, Hod Lipson, in which we touched on the (near) future of driverless cars, how AI can manipulate with love and if AI self-awareness is in the cards.
•  When Dean of the Ohio State University’s College of Engineering, Ayanna Howard, joined us she explained how AI has been around for a long time and touches just about everything, but regulation and unbiased development is of the utmost importance.
• The AI conversation this season turned to ethics when we welcomed AI ethicist and author of “Ethical Machines” Reid Blackman. He pointed out the difference between bad actors and accidental actors and emphasized the importance of organizations defining their worst-case scenarios when it comes to AI ethics. 
• We wrapped the season up with iconic Harvard Business School professor and author of the upcoming book, “Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well,” Amy Edmondson. She explains what failing well is and the three types of failures – two of which you want to avoid. 

Click or tap here for more on Minds Worth Meeting, Stern Speakers & Advisors and Stern PR & Executive Visibility. 

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