Skydeck | Harvard Business School: Recent Episodes
Harvard University
Skydeck offers listeners an intimate look at the lives of Harvard Business School alumni—not just their achievements and innovations, but how they live their lives.
Amy Jen Su (MBA 1997) is managing director at executive coaching firm Paravis Partners, and she’s been hearing some consistent themes in the trenches these days. Increasingly, her clients tell her, they are facing a serious time crunch while, at the same time, their organizations are becoming more global and complex. And these pressures, coupled with internal pressures to succeed, are leaving these executives feeling like they are getting in their own way.
This chorus of executive worries led Su to write her new book, The Leader You Want to Be: Five Essential Principles for Bringing Out Your Best Self. Those principles are what she calls her five Ps: Purpose, process, people, presence and peace. And in this episode of Skydeck, contributor April White talks to Su about how she developed those principles—and why real improvement requires a holistic approach, not just a lifestyle hack. Transcript available at: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7241
Monica Dodi on diversity as a competitive advantage for VCs. Transcript available at: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7201
CEO Kim Lopdrup on what it takes to turn around an iconic brand—and why sustainability is mission critical for the seafood giant. Transcript available at: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7167
How the CEO of a Chicago charter school network picked up the pieces after a leadership crisis
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7154
Space entrepreneur and investor Laetitia Garriott de Cayeux on how to search the skies for profits
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7144
Where and when alumni do their best thinking
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7132
How Seni Sulyman and Andela plan to turn the continent into a computing hub
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7115
Patrick McGinnis, who coined the term “fear of missing out,” on how it increasingly drives our personal and professional lives—and how we can manage it
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7072
How Cloudflare’s Michelle Zatlyn and Matthew Prince built a tech giant
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7060
Denise Murrell traded finance for fine arts—and cast a critical new eye on iconic paintings
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7047
How Warwick Fairfax lost his family’s 150-year-old media empire—and found his purpose in the process
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7006
Radical Candor author Kim Scott on what effective feedback really looks like—and why it will make you a better boss
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=6991
Noam Wasserman on what successful founders can teach us about life beyond business
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=6972
Entrepreneur DJ DiDonna says sabbaticals in Japan and Mauritius brought critical perspective to his personal and professional life. Now he’s working with researchers to show how extended time away from the daily grind can pay off for both workers and employers.
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=6951
Companies shouldn’t just react to the inevitable hack, says Red Seal CEO Ray Rothrock—they should prepare for it
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=6909
Rich Horgan is on an urgent mission to save his brother—and he might just revolutionize drug development along the way.
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=6897
Global Citizen Year founder Abby Falik on why kids need to find their purpose before freshman year
Transcript: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=6881
If tech pioneer and Numenta CEO Donna Dubinsky doesn’t fear the Terminator, neither should we
Code for America COO Minnie Ingersoll on how her organization is strengthening the social safety net
Alumni share stories of some of their greatest challenges—and what they learned in the process
Jim Langford, executive director of the Georgia Prevention Project, on his group’s anti-opioid advertising strategy
Alumni share stories, strategies, and lessons learned from their first experience with the world of work
Lindsay Ronga suffered from a severe eating disorder for seven years before eventually finding a path to successful recovery. Now, as a recovery coach, she wants to let people know that they are not alone—and there are other treatment options.
West Point Thoroughbred President and CEO Terry Finley describes what it’s like to win horse racing’s most coveted trophy—and how to get in on the action.
Author and explorer Francis Tapon on finding the “unseen Africa” and other reflections from his five-year journey through the continent.
Former Army helicopter pilot Matthew Brady, founder and CEO of Pershing Barracks Capital, discusses his battlefield experience—and how it shaped his approach to business.
Alumni share stories, strategies, and lessons learned from their first jobs—from golf club caddy to lobster shack waitress.
McDonald's executive Kristy Cunningham, who helped lead the company's wildly successful all-day breakfast initiative, talks about what the global icon learned from the experience — and what it taught her about herself.
Hunter Heaney, executive director of The Voice Project, on protecting artistic expression at home and abroad—and the power of music to change the world
Insights from Diane Hessan, who spent a year in conversation with 400 American voters from across the political spectrum
Scott O’Neil, CEO of the group that owns the Philadelphia 76ers, on why his office thrived in the face of historic losing
Author and radio host Roben Farzad talks about his new book, Hotel Scarface, and the lasting allure of 1980s Miami
Author and former Walmart executive Neil Pasricha offers lessons from his quest for happiness
Bruce Levy—the first-ever agent for women's professional basketball—chronicles the sport's rise.
Author and WildChina founder Zhang Mei takes us inside the kitchens of her native Dali.
Lego Movie and Lego Batman producer Dan Lin offers an inside look at the role of a modern Hollywood producer—and how he manages a burgeoning franchise.
How Wally Eamer (MBA 1979) helped end a bitter, decades-long conflict between loggers, environmentalists, government officials, and First Nations.
Former energy executive Jules Kortenhorst (MBA 1986) reflects on how global political shifts—and a long walk in the South African bush—ultimately led him to become CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a global think tank focused on sustainability.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (MBA 2006), a journalist, shares her stories behind her two New York Times best selling books, The Dressmaker Of Khair Khana and Ashley’s War.
Katherine Switz (MBA 2000) gives a candid interview about how her experience with bipolar disorder encouraged her to form the Stability Network, an advocacy and support group for working professionals.
This popular professor reveals how his business theory has affected his home life.
In this episode of Skydeck, Professor Clay Christensen talks about how the theory of his new book, Competing Against Luck, affects his business and family life.
Jennifer Raiser, a real estate developer and author, goes behind the scenes of the annual Burning Man gathering.
In this episode of Skydeck, Jennifer Raiser provides an in-depth look at everything that goes into The Burning Man Project, an event that celebrates radical self-expression and is hosted in a pop-up city of 70,000 every year. She has been involved in The Burning Man Project for a decade and is currently its Treasurer.
Bill Tai, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, discusses his accidental ascent to kiteboarding entrepreneur
In this episode of Skydeck, Bill Tai, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, discusses what motivated him to create MaiTai Global, a nonprofit company that brings together venture capitalists and entrepreneurs for networking and kiteboarding. MaiTai events have been held everywhere from Norway to North Carolina over the past ten years.