World Reimagined

Good leaders change their organizations. Great leaders change the world. But even the best leaders, committed to making the world a better place, can face an uphill battle with constant, expected tradeoffs between purpose and profit. How can leaders navigate purpose, profit, and impact? How can they drive change in the world while also unlocking long-term, sustainable value for stakeholders?

In this episode, host Gautam Mukunda speaks with purpose-driven leaders Nate Mook and Vincent Stanley on the importance of storytelling for inspiring change and accelerating impact within organizations and the world more broadly. Nate Mook is a tech entrepreneur, storyteller and documentary producer who now serves as the CEO of World Central Kitchen, a non-profit NGO dedicated to providing nutritious food to people in the wake of natural disasters. Vincent Stanley is the co-author of "The Responsible Company" and Patagonia's Director of Philosophy.

"The way you tell a story also becomes, in a way, the strategic discipline of the company." — Vincent Stanley

"If you really want to look at systems change and changing the world for the better, and addressing major, major challenges that we all face right now, you have to think bigger. And I think that's really about making people connect with those stories of why you are there." — Nate Mook

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Today's increasingly digital world brings with it possibilities to create a more inclusive and accessible global economy. But, unless action is taken to enhance digital inclusion, the world may become more divided than ever before.

In this episode, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks with two leaders dedicated to digital inclusion who explain how to earn people's trust and create a more inclusive world.

Ajay Banja is the Executive Chairman of Mastercard, after serving as President and CEO for almost 10 years. Under his tenure, Mastercard launched a program to bring 500 million people across 80 countries into the global financial system, and one billion by 2025. Bhaskar Chakravorti is the Dean of Global Business at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts, the author of The Slow Pace of Fast Change, and a former partner at McKinsey.

I think companies can set their examples and can lead by what they do...In totality, I think companies, corporations, need to start thinking about what role they play in the community they live in. And...to start putting real volume to the idea of doing well and doing good at the same time." — Ajay Banga

"A combination of our inherent desire for stories, narratives, and personalities and the media's need to continue to reinforce that, our notion of trust has been intimately tied, not just by the functions and companies but by the leaders themselves." — Bhaskar Chakravorti

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Literature Referenced:

The Slow Pace of Fast Change: Bringing Innovations to Market in a Connected World, by Bhaskar Chakravorti

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While the benefits of AI are undeniable, it's not yet clear exactly how it will define the role of tomorrow's leaders. In this episode, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks with two industry leaders with unique vantage points on how AI is transforming the world around us and redefining the future of leadership.

Shawn Bice is the president of Products and Technology at Splunk, the world's first Data-to-Everything platform designed to remove the barriers between data and action. And, Nick Beim, partner at Venrock, is one of the world's leading investors in AI, software, and fintech and is also on the Board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

"The AI revolution will force a philosophical reexamination of how we make our most important decisions in different spheres of society... It's almost as if by encountering a new form of intelligence, we learn more about ourselves and become more conscious and deliberate about how we make decisions." — Nick Beim

"I think leaders that have emotion where they understand mood, or relationships, and how they're interacting with others is great. To me, a machine is going to have an incredible IQ, but I don't know that it's going to have EQ. That's where I think that real limitation comes in." — Shawn Bice

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The healthcare industry is one of the largest and most consequential sectors in the United States—but it's also one of the most complicated. This unique complexity makes it challenging for the operational change and innovation the industry desperately needs in order to better serve citizens.

In contrast, the inherently innovative tech sector is not only a huge component of the U.S. economy, but it also plays a pivotal role in accelerating change across all other industries. In this episode, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks with Les Funtleyder and Dr. Raj Garg about what leaders can learn from combining the fast-paced innovations in tech with the cautious and deliberate rhythms of the healthcare industry.

Les is a portfolio manager at E Squared Capital Management, and the author of Healthcare Investing, and he sits on the boards of Applied Therapeutics and Acalis. Dr. Raj Garg was the former President and CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, he was also one of the most trusted advisors to CEOs of the world's largest healthcare companies during his time as senior partner in the healthcare practice at McKinsey. He is a doctor and attorney and serves on the boards of Health AI 360 and the National Spine and Pain Centers.

"What I would actually predict is that the next couple of decades are going to really be an age of biology, and an age of technology and healthcare that will cause pretty fundamental shifts." – Dr. Raj Garg

"The biggest [healthcare] challenge from my perspective is that people don't like change, especially in systems that have been in place for a really long time." – Les Funtleyder

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Literature Referenced:

Healthcare Investing: Profiting from the New World of Pharma, Biotech, and Health Care Services, by Les Funtleyder

For more information on this episode's guests please visit:

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Leaders can't surpass the achievements of the past by sticking to the ways of the past. They must continuously challenge the status quo to inspire teams to break new ground and achieve new possibilities. Few organizations embody this approach to leadership as well as NASA.

In this episode, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks with NASA's Chief Flight Director, Holly Ridings about how to build a diverse culture of collaboration, innovation, and disruption. She also discusses how to lead through insurmountable challenges and inspire teams to reach new heights. Holly was the lead flight director for Expedition 16 and SpaceX Dragon. In her current role, she is responsible for the safety and success of human spaceflight at NASA.

"I'm always pushing the envelope because in my opinion, as leaders of human spaceflight we have to disrupt ourselves in order to stay ahead and be relevant in terms of leadership. If we are not disrupting ourselves then how do we lead the industry through all of the transitions and changes?"

— Holly Ridings

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Literature Referenced:

The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe

Columbia Accident Investigation Report

For more information on this episode's guests please visit:

www.nasdaq.com/world-reimagined-podcast

We don't often think about common ground as a forum for disagreement. But the most productive discourse often requires first identifying a shared set of goals, facts, or ideas. How can today's leaders help build an environment of mutual understanding, respect, and productive disagreement in an increasingly divisive world? What role do technology and the internet play in helping people find and create common ground?

In this episode, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks with two digital strategists about the role of commonality in productive dialogue and debate and the impacts that technology has had on building common ground. Katie Harbath was Facebook's Public Policy Director before founding Anchor Change, a consulting firm dedicated to upholding democracy and stopping the spread of misinformation around elections. Michael Slaby, author of For ALL the People and Chief Strategist at Harmony Labs, was the Deputy Digital Director and Chief Technology Officer during Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

"I feel we do have that commonality of wanting to make sure that the internet is a space that can help to raise voices that wouldn't otherwise get to be heard, that can increase access to the democratic process, and can get more people involved."

— Katie Harbath

"The nature of how a company believes what its responsibility and relationship is to community, what their responsibilities are for leadership -- that's not just a soft positioning, values-based conversation -- that needs to be a more fulsome understanding and a more multi-dimensional, quantifiable understanding of what a successful company means." – Michael Slaby

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Books Referenced:

For ALL the People: Redeeming the Broken Promises of Modern Media and Reclaiming Our Civic Life by Michael Slaby

For more information on this episode's guests, please visit: https://www.nasdaq.com/world-reimagined-podcast

For most leaders, failure is not a matter of life or death. But for some, making life-or-death decisions is part of the job. What can high-risk decision-making teach us about the more ordinary and conventional risk leaders assume every day? What roles do preparation and instinct play in this process? How can leaders become better at conquering a fear of failure in order to make hard decisions?

In this episode, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks about risk and high-stake decision-making with two remarkable individuals who have spent their lives doing the impossible in the face of enormous danger. General Stan McChrystal is a retired four-star general, former Head of Joint Special Operations Command in Afghanistan, and the founder and CEO of the McCrystal Group. Alex Honnold is a professional adventure rock climber, who is known for his free solo ascents, most notably El Capitán as documented in the movie Free Solo.

"The more often you encounter the unexpected, the more comfortable you feel with the unexpected in general. You can prepare as much as you can, but you kind of know that some random thing is always going to go sideways, but then the more often that you encounter those kinds of sideways challenges and manage them… I think you build some confidence to just know that when a situation arises you'll figure it out quickly"

— Alex Honnold

"Nothing helps innovation like necessity."

— General Stan McChrystal

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Books Referenced:

Alone on the Wall, by Alex Honnold

Risk: A User's Guide by Stanley A. McChrystal and Anna Butrico

Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? by Philip E. Tetlock

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Guest Info:

Alex Honnold is a professional rock climber whose audacious free-solo ascents of America's biggest cliffs have made him one of the most recognized and followed climbers in the world. A gifted but hard-working athlete, Honnold is distinguished for his uncanny ability to control his fear while scaling cliffs of dizzying heights without a rope to protect him if he falls. His humble, self-effacing attitude toward such extreme risk has earned him the nickname Alex "No Big Deal" Honnold.

This Sacramento, California-native's most celebrated achievements include the first and only free-solos of the Moonlight Buttress (5.12d, 1,200 feet) in Zion National Park, Utah, and the Northwest Face (5.12a) of Half Dome (2,200 feet), Yosemite, California. In 2012 he achieved Yosemite's first "Triple Solo": climbing, in succession, the National Park's three largest faces — Mt. Watkins, Half Dome, and El Capitan — alone, and in under 24 hours. In 2017 Alex completed the first and only free-solo of El Capitan's "Freerider" route (5.13a, 3,000 feet), a historic accomplishment that has been hailed by many as one of the greatest sporting achievements of our time. The story of this feat was told in the Academy Award-winning documentary, FREE SOLO. Whether climbing with a rope or without, Honnold believes climbing is a fantastic vehicle for adventure, an opportunity to seek out those high-test moments with uncertain outcomes in which you're forced to push through to survive.

Though Honnold often downplays his achievements, his rope-less climbs have attracted the attention of a broad and stunned audience. He has been profiled by 60 Minutes and the New York Times, featured on the cover of National Geographic, appeared in international television commercials, and starred in numerous adventure films including the Emmy-nominated "Alone on the Wall." He is the founder of the Honnold Foundation, an environmental non-profit.

General Stanley A. McChrystal is A transformational leader with a remarkable

record of achievement, General Stanley A. McChrystal was called "one of America's greatest warriors" by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. He is widely praised for launching a revolution in warfare by leading a comprehensive counter-terrorism organization that fused intelligence and operations, redefining the way military and government agencies interact.

The son and grandson of Army officers, McChrystal graduated from West Point in 1976 as an infantry officer, completed Ranger Training, and later Special Forces Training. Over the course of his career, he held leadership and staff positions in the Army Special Forces, Army Rangers, 82 nd Airborne Division, the XVIII Army Airborne Corp, and the Joint Staff. He is a graduate of the US Naval War College, and he completed fellowships at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1997 and the Council on Foreign Relations in 2000.

From 2003 to 2008, McChrystal commanded JSOC - responsible for leading the nations deployed military counterterrorism efforts around the globe. His leadership of JSOC is credited with the 2003 capture of Saddam Hussein and the 2006 location and killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. In June 2009, McChrystal received his fourth star and assumed command of all international forces in Afghanistan.

Since retiring from the military, McChrystal has served on several corporate boards of directors that include Deutsche Bank America, JetBlue Airways, Navistar, Siemens Government Technologies, Fiscal Note, and Accent Technologies. A passionate advocate for national service, McChrystal is the Chair of the Board of Service Year Alliance, which envisions a future in which a service year is a cultural expectation and common opportunity for every young American. He is a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a course on leadership. Additionally, he is the author of the bestselling leadership books, My Share of the Task: A Memoir, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, and Leaders: Myth and Reality.

General McChrystal founded the McChrystal Group in January 2011. Recognizing that companies today are experiencing parallels to what he faced in the war theater, McChrystal established this advisory services firm to help businesses challenge the hierarchical, "command and control" approach to organizational management.

Today's shifting economic and political landscape is reshaping the American labor market. But amid all of the change is an opportunity to create a better workforce for the future. What are the forces at play in our current labor market? How will these changes impact employees in the long term? What role should leaders play in creating a workforce that puts its people first?

This week, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks with two experts about the new administration's economic policy agenda. Noah Smith has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan, taught finance at Stony Brook University, writes a column on economics for Bloomberg, and a substack newsletter, Noahpinion. Dr. Betsey Stevenson is a Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Michigan, was a member of President Obama's Economic Advisors, and hosts the think tank podcast Think Like an Economist.

"Necessity is the mother of invention, to say that, you know what, we've had so many bad shocks by this point that we're just going to have to be bold and go for broke... We're going to have to go into the foreign markets and compete on the international stage. We're going to have to train people as if there's a future. We're going to have to take big risks because our backs are to the wall after these two decades of disasters."

— Noah Smith

"We look for the good in everyone in our family when we pull together. We need to do the same thing in our country. We need to be loyal to everyone in our country. We need to look for the good in everyone in our country, and we need to pull together."

— Betsey Stevenson

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Books Referenced:

The Human Side of Enterprise, by Douglas McGregor

The Blueprint: 6 Practical Steps to Lift Your Leadership to New Heights, by Douglas Conant

Guest Info:

Noah Smith is a writer for Bloomberg Opinion and writes a Substack newsletter called Noahpinion. He did his economics Ph.D. at the University of Michigan and worked as a finance professor at SUNY Stony Brook. He has also lived in Japan for several years. He has two very chubby, fluffy rabbits.

Dr. Betsey Stevenson is a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan. She is also a faculty research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a visiting associate professor of economics at the University of Sydney, a research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, a fellow of the Ifo Institute for Economic Research in Munich, and serves on the executive committee of the American Economic Association.

She served as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2013 to 2015 where she advised President Obama on social policy, labor market, and trade issues. She served as the chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor from 2010 to 2011, advising the Secretary of Labor on labor policy and participating as the secretary's deputy to the White House economic team.

In a world of specialists, a generalist's broad range of knowledge and expertise can actually make his or her team much better. But, being a generalist requires grit and courage. The courage to raise your hand, to take chances, and to be confident in your ability to tackle any subject.

However, in a world that most often rewards specialists, where and how can generalists shine? What benefits and learnings can leaders draw from focusing on generalization, versus specialization?

This week, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks with two trailblazers who have reinvented their careers by way of passion, diversity, and failure. David Epstein, the New York Times bestselling author of Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, shares thoughts about how generalism is at the core of true innovation. And Reshma Saujani, who is the first Indian-American woman to run for U.S. Congress and the Founder of Girls Who Code, discusses how failure-bred resiliency inspires confidence.

"Being a generalist allows you to raise your hand when you don't know exactly what you are doing because you have built this base of skill set that gives you the confidence to know that you can get in it and try to figure it out."

— Reshma Saujani

"I think there is all this evidence that every conceivable kind of diversity adds to the potential problem-solving toolbox."

— David Epstein

"My read of the research is that sometimes what gives you the short-term advantage, or what appears to be a head-start, actually undermines your long-term development, whether that is developing a sport or music skill or deciding what to study, or deciding what to do in your career, or accumulating the skills you need for problem-solving. That there is a tension between short and long-term development and I wish it weren't that way."

— David Epstein

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Books Referenced:

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein

The Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation, by Frans Johansson

Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter, by Gautam Mukunda

Guest Info:

David Epstein is author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, and of the New York Times bestseller The Sports Gene. He was previously an investigative reporter at ProPublica and before that a senior writer at Sports Illustrated. His two TED Talks have been viewed more than 11 million times. David has master's degrees in environmental science and journalism and is currently the host of Slate's How To! podcast and author of the "Range Report" newsletter.

Reshma Saujani is a leading activist and the founder of Girls Who Code and the Marshall Plan for Moms. She has spent more than a decade building movements to fight for women and girls' economic empowerment, working to close the gender gap in the tech sector, and most recently advocating for policies to support moms impacted by the pandemic. Reshma is also the author of the international bestseller Brave, Not Perfect, and her influential TED talk, "Teach girls, bravery not perfection," has more than five million views globally. Reshma began her career as an attorney and Democratic organizer. In 2010, she surged onto the political scene as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress. Reshma lives in New York City with her husband, Nihal, their sons, Shaan and Sai, and their bulldog, Stanley.

Today, business leaders have the power to create positive change. Not just within their organizations, but in society and in the world more broadly.

In this episode, Host Gautam Mukunda speaks with Reverend Cornell William Brooks, former head of the NAACP and the Professor of Practice and Public Leadership and Social Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School, and Mohamad Ali, CEO of International Data Group, about the challenges and opportunities of corporations in the wake of COVID-19, profound social and economic upheaval, the death of George Floyd, and Black Lives Matter.

"So, in terms of this moment in which we find ourselves, in terms of ethical leadership, and responsibility of those in the business community, I would just simply say this, that on a regular and recurring basis, people in the business community are charged with the responsibility of delivering products, and services for this country are not merely disaggregated marketplaces, but a democracy and republic."

— Cornell William Brooks

"Business leaders have a responsibility to our planet, our people, our justice. And so, the answer is that emphatic yes, that I think many business leaders recognize that they have this privileged position from which to articulate the need for justice. Businesses are in an interesting position, because yes, they can stand up."

— Mohamad Ali

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Books Referenced:

Stakeholder Capitalism: A Global Economy that Works for Progress, People and Planet, by Klaus Schwab

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein

Guest Info:

Cornell William Brooks is Hauser Professor of the Practice of Nonprofit Organizations and Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is also Director of The William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice at the School's Center for Public Leadership, and Visiting Professor of the Practice of Prophetic Religion and Public Leadership at Harvard Divinity School.

Brooks served as the 18th president of the NAACP from 2014 to 2017. Prior to leading the NAACP, Brooks was president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. He also served as senior counsel and acting director of the Office of Communications Business Opportunities at the Federal Communications Commission, executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington, and a trial attorney at both the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the U.S. Department of Justice. Brooks served as judicial clerk for Chief Judge Sam J. Ervin, III, on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Brooks holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, a Master of Divinity from Boston University's School of Theology, and a B.A. from Jackson State University. Brooks is a fourth-generation ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mohamad Ali was appointed CEO at International Data Group, Inc. (IDG), the world's leading technology media, events and research company, in July 2019.

Prior to this role, Mohamad was CEO of Carbonite, a publicly traded data-protection and security firm, where he grew the company's revenue four-fold, to more than a half-billion dollars in four years. Before that, Mohamad served as Chief Strategy Officer at Hewlett-Packard where he played a pivotal role in the company's turnaround and led the decision process to split HP into two companies.

Mohamad holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering, a B.A. in History and a master's degree in Electrical Engineering, all from Stanford University. He currently serves on the board of iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) and Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC).