ManagementCast by IMD: Recent Episodes
IMD
How will AI change management? What is customer-centricity? When should you climb down from the top of the business mountain?
In ManagementCast, IMD Podcast Producer JohnJo Devlin, finds the answers to these questions, and more, through interviews with the brightest minds in the business universe.
For 75 years IMD professors have transformed the worlds leading brands. In each episode, the faculty pass on the attitudes, ideas, and strategies that underpin successful companies; as well as some predictions about the future of management.
During the last three episodes of ManagementCast, Alyson Meister has outlined some of the most pertinent topics in mental well-being today, including how to develop a positive stress mindset, what to do when designing a workplace, and why solving the recovery paradox is so important.
This week, Meister is looking forward. Her research in the coming months will provide fresh new insights into the emerging trends in management, from the potential for psychedelics in the workplace to the effect of "overwhelm" on individuals and the mental construct of “should”. Through several research avenues, she is exploring how people put pressure on themselves throughout their careers, and what they can do to alleviate that.
In her fourth appearance on ManagementCast, Meister gives a preliminary look at her findings, and muses on what comes next in the world of workplace well-being.
Alyson Meister is IMD’s Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior. She helps organizations to develop inclusive and resilient leaders, teams, and workplaces. Her research specialties include topics surrounding identity and diversity as well as workplace stress, mental health, and well-being. She was named on the Thinkers50 Radar list in 2021 and subsequently nominated for a Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award.
Find out more about IMD at imd.org
Full-time employees will spend an estimated 90,000 hours working, or around one-third of their adult life. It is no surprise, then, that workplace stress shapes our mental well-being, but just how much of a toll is it taking?
The answer, it seems, is a lot. The latest Gallup polls show that nearly half of employees feel high levels of stress at work. In fact, workplace stress is at an all-time high. The personal cost of all this is huge, says Alyson Meister, but it's also just bad business. Meister warns that keeping employees on the edge of burnout stifles innovation and reduces efficiency. Creative thinking is impossible when you're just in survival mode.
In her third appearance on ManagementCast, Meister discusses how to promote a culture of well-being and why companies need to promote change and engagement with staff to get the most out of their workforce.
Alyson Meister is IMD’s Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior. She helps organizations to develop inclusive and resilient leaders, teams, and workplaces. Her research specialties include topics surrounding identity and diversity as well as workplace stress, mental health, and well-being. She was named on the Thinkers50 Radar list in 2021 and subsequently nominated for a Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award.
Find out more about IMD at imd.org
You would never want your pilot, your surgeon, or your favorite athlete to go to work depleted and exhausted, so why do we expect this in the office?
Somehow the business world has been won over by the assumption that you can just keep pushing; that you can drink a Red Bull and push harder or pull an all-nighter and stay at the office 24/7. For decades that has been the stamp of commitment and engagement while avoiding recovery was something to be celebrated.
But this way of operating, says Alyson Meister, is deeply inefficient. She says we need to challenge wide-held assumptions about how much we can, and should, be doing in the workplace and that the lack of adequate recovery is quite literally killing people.
Meister argues that recovery is more of a skill than a passive process and, in her second appearance on ManagementCast, she explains how executives of all levels can learn how to unwind more effectively.
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Alyson Meister is IMD’s Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior. She helps organizations to develop inclusive and resilient leaders, teams, and workplaces. Her research specialties include topics surrounding identity and diversity as well as workplace stress, mental health, and well-being. She was named on the Thinkers50 Radar list in 2021 and subsequently nominated for a Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award.
Stress is something most of us dread. Even the word itself can conjure up negative emotions, and evoke memories of long sleepless nights.
But what if stress itself was something different? What if we could turn stress into a positive force? What if we could change our stress mindset?
That, says Professor Alyson Meister, is the key to unlocking a happier, healthier, and perhaps even longer, life. Meister says that a 'stress mindset' is a core belief we have about the way we handle pressure; and that our mental attitude dictates how our body responds. A positive stress mindset, she says, can influence everything from the levels of cortisol in our body, to how many sick days we take in a year.
Mental health and the effects of mental health have been important to Meister from a very young age, and she says workplace wellbeing has reached a critical turning point. In her first episode of ManagementCast, she discusses how to develop a positive attitude to stress, the ways we can use threats to our advantage, and how to turn pressure into constructive energy.
Alyson Meister is Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior. She helps organizations to develop inclusive and resilient leaders, teams, and workplaces. Her research specialty includes topics surrounding identity and diversity as well as workplace stress, mental health, and wellbeing. She was named on the Thinkers50 Radar list in 2021 and subsequently nominated for a Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award.
As long as the locus of power in an organization lies outside of the LGBTQ+ community, allyship will play a central part in creating inclusive workplaces. But in 2023, says IMD professor Misiek Piskorski, it's no longer enough to be a positive role model. True leadership, is about creating allies around you.
He argues that the privileged few need to advocate on behalf of others for equal recognition and the ability to advance in the organization regardless of who they are. This process can be fraught with problems, so for those in power, allyship today will require energy, thought, and commitment.
In episode three of IMD's Pride Month specials, Piskorski discusses ways to encourage allyship without constraints, how to overcome fear, and what it takes for leaders to reach their full potential.
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Mikołaj Jan Piskorski, also known as Misiek Piskorski, is IMD’s Professor of Digital Strategy, Analytics and Innovation and Dean of Asia and Oceania. He is an expert on digital strategy, platform strategy, and the process of digital business transformation.
Working with businesses across the globe, Piskorski aims to demystify digital transformation by taking this complex and complicated topic and distilling it down to its core principles, and to the five or six key decisions that companies need to take. The multilayered framework that he developed to help companies devise a digital transformation strategy consists of a series of easy-to-understand steps. This exercise is made more accessible by the use of cases to show how other companies have tackled the process. Companies come out at the end with a detailed strategy they can implement in full or in part.
In 1992, Professor Robert Hooijberg caught a glimpse of what it means to be anything other than a white heterosexual male in the workplace. Since then, he has taught diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) programs across the globe.
Hooijberg, too, has a special insight into the importance of allyship. He does not identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but his son does. As a transgender man, he has encountered incredible biases and even violence in the workplace.
Professor Hooijberg says it’s our collective responsibility to combat such hatred. He passionately believes that the workplace needs to be a safe space regardless of your sexual orientation or gender identity. He is interested in creating an environment where everybody can flourish and thinks commercial enterprises need to be invested in that goal.
In this in-depth interview, Professor Hooijberg talks about the importance of allyship, how to support family, friends, and colleagues in the face of adversity, and the pride he feels for his son.
Robert Hooijberg is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at IMD. His areas of interest include leadership, negotiations, team building, digital transformation, and organizational culture, with a specific focus on the alignment of culture and strategy. He helps organizations create powerful performance-oriented cultures aligned with strategy and has developed an innovative approach to the study of cases on the topic.
In his first appearance on ManagementCast, IMD Professor Cyril Bouquet described his mega dive approach; and the reasons why this is one the best ways to open up an inter-departmental collaboration within large organizations.
But what do businesses actually need to launch a "mega dive" themselves?
Bouquet says that "there are a few key factors that need to be in place," but advises that "the first one is the commitment of the top management team". Without executive buy-in, the process won't work. With it, he says, ownership and belief in the system will follow.
Cyril Bouquet is a Professor of Strategy and Innovation at IMD. An award-winning researcher and teacher, he supports organizations on significant transition journeys as they seek to create change and deliver progress for society.
Most recently, he has deployed his mega dive method in his work with 700 top executives at the shipping firm Maersk, helping the company to adapt quickly to changing environments and shifting customer demands.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Cyril Bouquet
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
At IMD, Professor Cyril Bouquet has pioneered the 'mega dive,' a management approach that brings together large groups of people as one united force. A force capable of embracing the future together.
But what does that mean in practice?
Bouquet says that 'mega dive' isn't just an event, it's a six-month journey that spans digital and in-person conversations. It can involve hundreds of people, in dozens of teams, and it always generates conversation between those who normally wouldn't have the opportunity to debate their views. In Episode 17 of ManagementCast, Bouquet discusses this method, and how he's helped clients from across the globe prepare for success.
Cyril Bouquet is a Professor of Strategy and Innovation at IMD. An award-winning researcher and teacher, he supports organizations on significant transition journeys as they seek to create change and deliver progress for society.
Most recently, he has deployed his mega dive method in his work with 700 top executives at the shipping firm Maersk, helping the company to adapt quickly to changing environments and shifting customer demands.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Cyril Bouquet
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
Fifteen years ago, the concept of a social media influencer was in its infancy, but today these communicators shape global conversations on everything from retail to politics. Is that what evolution looks like?
IMD professor Jennifer Jordan says "no". In her words, evolution implies a positive change, and power doesn't evolve, it transforms. To stay ahead of the curve, executives need to keep an eye on power trends and work on their own approach through feedback assessments and coaching.
In Episode 16 of ManagementCast, Jordan discusses the future of influence and what to expect from the next generation of power brokers.
Jennifer Jordan is a social psychologist and a digital transformation expert. Her work has appeared in numerous scientific journals, and in 2019 she was named by Poets&Quants as one of the world’s leading business school professors under 40. Jordan’s research focuses on ethics and influence, and she has delivered custom programs and consultancy services for a wide range of companies, including Barilla, KONE, and Shell.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Jennifer Jordan
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
The proverbial saying "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" suggests that as a person's influence increases, their moral sense diminishes. But how does that square with today's business world?
IMD Professor Jennifer Jordan says it's more complex. Power is the engine that drives decision-making in companies, but it also acts as a magnifying glass. It exacerbates positive or negative tendencies that are already there.
Power can also be transformative and that, says Jordan, is something to watch out for. In Episode 15 of ManagementCast, she describes the problems and pitfalls of power; and how the modern executive can avoid them.
Jennifer Jordan is a social psychologist and a digital transformation expert. Her work has appeared in numerous scientific journals and in 2019 she was named by Poets&Quants as one of the world’s leading business school professors under 40. Jordan's research focuses on ethics and influence, and she has delivered custom programs and consultancy services for a wide range of companies, including Barilla, KONE, and Shell.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Jennifer Jordan
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
Building your power base can be a tricky business. Do you pursue power alone, or look for allies to help you? And is there an approach that works in every business environment?
Unfortunately, there isn't, says IMD professor Jennifer Jordan. Power is all about context. In Episode 14 of ManagementCast, Jordan describes how listeners can approach power strategically and describes the way a "power audit" can improve outcomes in the boardroom.
Jennifer Jordan is a social psychologist and a digital transformation expert. Her work has appeared in numerous scientific journals and in 2019 she was named by Poets&Quants as one of the world’s leading business school professors under 40. Jordan's research focuses on ethics and influence, and she has delivered custom programs and consultancy services for a wide range of companies, including Barilla, KONE, and Shell.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Jennifer Jordan
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo Devlin
Editing: Max Bower
Some say power is what drives boardrooms. Or that it's what makes decisions, and shapes organizations.
But what is power really? Is it control over social and physical resources? Or is it simply the ability to do what you want when you want?
IMD professor, Jennifer Jordan, says it is all those things and more. In Episode 13 of ManagementCast, she calls it the "unspoken currency" in any group or organization. It's what makes things happen.
As a social psychologist and a digital transformation expert, Jordan should know. Her work has appeared in numerous scientific journals and in 2019 she was named by Poets&Quants as one of the world’s leading business school professors under 40. Jordan's research focuses on ethics and influence, and she has delivered custom programs and consultancy services for a wide range of companies, including Barilla, KONE, and Shell.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Jennifer Jordan
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
Phishing and ransomware are some of the biggest online threats of today; but what will businesses face tomorrow?
IMD professor, Oyku Isik, says that in the future, the global digital security landscape may look very different. That means out with passwords, and in with biometrics. A future in which low-tech spam is replaced with AI-generated emails, meticulously crafted to glean your personal data.
As an IMD professor, of Cybersecurity, Işık helps businesses tackle data privacy and digital ethics challenges. Based at the campus in Lausanne, she has been named on the Thinkers50 Radar 2022 list of up-and-coming global thought leaders.
In Episode 12 of ManagementCast, Isik discusses the future of Cybersecurity, and how to prepare for it.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Oyku Isik
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
What are the roadblocks to dealing with a ransomware attack? And how can you find a digital partner to help you deal with this?
IMD professor, Oyku Isik, says the key is trust. In Episode 11 of ManagementCast, she discusses how to build resilience into a digital business strategy, and the way CEOs should grow their cyber-security team.
As an IMD professor, Işık helps businesses tackle cybersecurity, data privacy, and digital ethics challenges. Based at the campus in Lausanne, she has been named on the Thinkers50 Radar 2022 list of up-and-coming global thought leaders.
Öykü Işık, Professor of Digital Strategy and Cybersecurity at IMD, says the modern CEO needs to know how to protect their businesses on-and-offline. But how?
In Episode 10 of Managementcast Isik discusses how to build digital resilience into business strategy, and why all executives should be concerned about data security.
As an IMD professor, Işık helps businesses to tackle cybersecurity, data privacy, and digital ethics challenges. Based at the campus in Lausanne, she has been named on the Thinkers50 Radar 2022 list of up-and-coming global thought leaders.
Digital attackers pose one of the greatest threats to modern businesses. Data breaches can ruin a reputation while ransomware can cost a company millions; so why do so many executives leave Cybersecurity to the IT department?
Öykü Işık, Professor of Digital Strategy and Cybersecurity, says the modern CEO needs to be invested in protecting their businesses on-and-offline. As an expert on digital resilience, she has been named on the Thinkers50 Radar 2022 list of up-and-coming global thought leaders.
Işık helps businesses to tackle cybersecurity, data privacy, and digital ethics challenges. In this episode of ManagementCast, she tells listeners what to look out for, and why.
Dealing with artificial intelligence can be tricky. It's a technology that's moving fast and throwing up practical, economic, and ethical questions for workforces across the globe.
Do executives need to know what's next for AI? Or, where it will take us in the next ten, twenty or one-hundred years? And does it really matter if AI eventually makes humans obsolete?
IMD professor Amit Joshi, says CEOs need to be thinking about these questions before AI changes their industries.
As a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy Joshi has helped the world's top brands successfully implement digital strategies, and figure out their long-term view on AI. In this episode of ManagementCast, the award-winning researcher discusses how firms can prepare for a future with Artificial Intelligence.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Amit Joshi
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
While Artificial Intelligence has already revolutionized many businesses, it also has the potential to bring companies to their knees.
When it comes to AI, you're only as good as your data. Or as IMD's Amit Joshi would say: "Garbage in equals garbage out."
As a Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy at IMD, Joshi has helped companies successfully implement digital strategies. In this episode of ManagementCast, the award-winning researcher discusses how firms can avoid the pitfalls of rolling out Artificial Intelligence.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Amit Joshi
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
Some think of Artificial Intelligence as a futuristic concept – used only by the firms of tomorrow and developed by tech giants like Google or Amazon.
But this technology isn’t the preserve of Silicon Valley. A range of industries are implementing AI to get ahead. From banks and fintech companies to pharma, automotive and telecoms firms, it has become an integral part of business in 2022.
So how can executives make AI work for them today?
As Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy at IMD, Amit Joshi has helped companies figure this out. In this episode of ManagementCast, the award-winning researcher discusses how firms can roll out Artificial Intelligence today, and what it will mean for their company tomorrow.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Amit Joshi
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, can be a divisive topic. For some, it simply represents the next stage of the digital age; the golden technological era of tomorrow. Others worry about a very different future and the potential destruction of the entire human race.
But which of these visions is likely to win out? And for that matter, what is AI really? How is it distinct from machine-learning, big data, and the other tech terms?
Amit Joshi, Professor of AI, Analytics, and Marketing Strategy at IMD, is asked these questions daily. As an award-winning professor and researcher, he has extensive experience of analytics-driven transformations in industries such as banking, fintech, retail, automotive, telecoms, and pharma.
In this episode of ManagementCast, Joshi discusses the origins of AI and why this is important for businesses outside the tech sector today."
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Amit Joshi
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
Many companies disrupting legacy industries today have put customers at the center of their business models. Firms like Uber, Deliveroo and Airbnb are all built on customer-centric insights.
But what does the future of customer-centricity look like? In this episode, Seán Meehan, Dean of Faculty and Professor of Marketing and Strategy at IMD, explores the degree to which customer data will become ever more important, and how a greater focus on analysis may be the key to success.
How will companies win out in the years to come?
As the author of two books on how to win and keep customers, in episode 4 of ManagementCast, Meehan helps listeners understand just what to expect when dealing with the consumers of tomorrow. The bottom line: businesses that prioritize client interests perform better than their peers. Join us to hear how.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Sean Meehan
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
It can take years to build a truly customer-centric approach in the boardroom; so how do brands maintain that focus over decades?
Seán Meehan, Dean of Faculty and Professor of Marketing and Strategy, says the temptation to go back to “business-as-usual” is strong. Top brands, however, know that chasing ever better consumer experiences is key to long-term success.
As the author of two books on how to win and keep customers, Meehan’s work explores how businesses that prioritize client interests perform better than their peers. In episode 3 of ManagementCast, he gives an insight into the pitfalls of pursuing customer-centricity, and how to avoid them.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Guest: Professor Sean Meehan
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
Many businesses believe they serve their customers; but very few do so as effectively as Amazon, Tide, or Virgin. What differentiates these market leaders from their commercial rivals?
Seán Meehan, Dean of Faculty and Professor of Marketing and Strategy, says that being customer-centric is a key part of their approach. As the author of two books on how to win and keep customers, Meehan’s work explores how businesses that prioritize client interests perform better than their peers.
In episode 2 of ManagementCast, he gives an insight into how to become truly customer-focused, and what that can mean for your business.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Guest: Professor Sean Meehan
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower
In this inaugural episode, JohnJo Devlin is joined by Sean Meehan, the Martin Hilti Professor of marketing and management and Dean of Faculty at IMD.
Professor Meehan is the author of multiple books on Customer Centricity; an often misunderstood concept that he explains in his first conversation with ManagementCast.
Read our new magazine, I by IMD, here.
Discover IMD's leadership programmes here.
Host: JohnJo Devlin
Guest: Professor Sean Meehan
Produced by: JohnJo DevlinEditing: Max Bower