The Revenge of Power: How Power is Shifting in the 21st Century with Moises Naim
Business, Society, Politics & Government Lynn Thoman Business, Society, Politics & Government Lynn Thoman

The Revenge of Power: How Power is Shifting in the 21st Century with Moises Naim

Power is easier to get, harder to use and easier to lose. Moises Naim explores how power is changing across all sectors of society. Power has shifted from country leaders to public squares, large companies to start-ups, and large armies to insurgents. Being in charge isn’t what it used to be! But at the same time, power is also concentrating in some sectors. Autocrats are reinventing politics and gaining power using 21st century tools - populism, polarization and post-truths - and undermining democracies around the world.

Moises Naim is a Venezuelan journalist and former editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine. He was Minister of Trade and Industry for Venezuela, director of Venezuela’s Central Bank, and executive director of the World Bank. He is the author of The End of Power and The Revenge of Power.

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Business Revolution: Tech, Talent, Purpose with Fortune Media CEO Alan Murray
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

Business Revolution: Tech, Talent, Purpose with Fortune Media CEO Alan Murray

Fortune Media CEO Alan Murray shares the dramatic changes in business today due to the tech revolution, which is disrupting so many businesses, and the purpose revolution which is causing companies to re-think what they should be doing.

He believes that fundamental changes in the ways businesses operate today are forcing them to pay more attention to people and the planet.

It used to be that 80% of the value of the Fortune 500 came from physical assets but now over 85% of the value is intangible assets including intellectual property, software, brand value and the human emotional connection that comes from brand value. Since intangibles, which is where the value lies today, are things that are much more closely tied to people - it's human ingenuity that creates the intellectual property, it's human emotion that creates the brand value and the brand connection - business leaders are paying much more attention to people. Alan shares how that is changing the purpose of corporations and the role of the CEO today.

He also talks about how business has changed due to the pandemic, remote work, Black Lives Matter, rising inequality, global warming and the Ukraine Russia war.

Unless businesses are responsive to their employees, their customers and their communities, Alan believes they will lose. The biggest changes, he says, are yet to come.

His new book is Tomorrow’s Capitalist.

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An Urgent Warning on the Times Ahead with the Founder of the World's Largest Hedge Fund: Ray Dalio
Business, Investments Lynn Thoman Business, Investments Lynn Thoman

An Urgent Warning on the Times Ahead with the Founder of the World's Largest Hedge Fund: Ray Dalio

Legendary investor Ray Dalio, who predicted the 2008 financial crisis, shares a similar urgent warning about what he sees ahead. He believes the times ahead will be radically different from what everyone today has experienced in their lifetimes, and he wants people to be prepared. Bill Gates said, “…super-provocative, super-important… A lot of facts line-up to create a scary picture that’s hard to refute.”

Based on his study of the rise and fall of superpowers and history’s most turbulent periods, Ray is issuing a warning about the confluence of three major events that last happened between 1930 and 1945.

He talks about debt creation, printing money, inflation, wealth disparity, populism and the rise of a great power to challenge the existing world order.

Ray Dalio founded and built Bridgewater Associates into the largest hedge fund in the world and shares how to protect assets during the tempestuous and inflationary period ahead.

His new book is Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail.

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David Novak, Former CEO OF Yum! Brands on Motivating a Work Force, Staying Humble and Taking Charge of Your Career
Business, Self Lynn Thoman Business, Self Lynn Thoman

David Novak, Former CEO OF Yum! Brands on Motivating a Work Force, Staying Humble and Taking Charge of Your Career

From humble beginnings growing up as a trailer park nomad, David rose to be the CEO of Yum! Brands (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC) where his successful techniques as a leader helped double the number of restaurants and increased market capitalization over 8 times.  He has been recognized as one of the best performing CEO’s by Barron’s, Fortune and Harvard Business Review. 

This week we talked about his people first approach, the essential traits leaders need, the importance of mindset and why purposeful recognition is the strongest motivational tool for leaders in any field.  He explains how sometimes we have to say no in order to get what we want, as well as describes why people cried when he gifted them a rubber chicken!

David continues to campaign to create more leaders by creating the student leadership program Lead4Change.  

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Growing Alibaba into the World's Largest Online Commerce Company with 1 BN Customers: Alibaba Group President Michael Evans
Business, International Lynn Thoman Business, International Lynn Thoman

Growing Alibaba into the World's Largest Online Commerce Company with 1 BN Customers: Alibaba Group President Michael Evans

Sometimes, and mostly outside of China, Alibaba is referred to as the Chinese Amazon, but in reality, it’s very different and much larger.

Alibaba Group president Michael Evans shares how Alibaba grew to become the world’s largest online commerce company serving nearly 1 billion customers each month, how it’s different than its Western counterparts, and what international companies need to know in order to succeed in the China consumer market.

Michael also shares how he sees the future of retail and how Alibaba creates new businesses that are innovative and different from what you see elsewhere. He also explains how Alibaba is using its platform to help its merchants understand consumer trends, manufacture more efficiently and make the future greener.

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Former CEO of New York Federal Reserve Bank Bill Dudley on Inflation and Fiscal Recovery in the US, Regulating Cryptocurrencies and Why Current Fed Policies Benefit the Rich and Not the Poor
Business, Politics & Government Lynn Thoman Business, Politics & Government Lynn Thoman

Former CEO of New York Federal Reserve Bank Bill Dudley on Inflation and Fiscal Recovery in the US, Regulating Cryptocurrencies and Why Current Fed Policies Benefit the Rich and Not the Poor

We talk with Bill Dudley, the former President and CEO of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, about the US economy - where it is headed and what could happen, how the pandemic affected it, why Fed policies benefit the wealthy and what $5 trillion in government spending means for GDP. He also shares his thoughts about cryptocurrencies and how stricter regulation could bring wider adoption. Does he think the Fed is Too Hawkish, too Dovish or in “Alice In Wonderland”?

Bill Dudley is an American economist - who joined the Federal Reserve on the eve of the 2008 financial crisis after a 20 year career at Goldman Sachs. 

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Founder Payal Kadakia on Building ClassPass into a Billion Dollar Company, Living a Plan A Life and Achieving Your Potential
Business, Self Lynn Thoman Business, Self Lynn Thoman

Founder Payal Kadakia on Building ClassPass into a Billion Dollar Company, Living a Plan A Life and Achieving Your Potential

Learn how Payal Kadakia built a start up into a billion dollar unicorn in her 20’s, despite many setbacks, and what her most important decisions were. Payal shares what living a Plan A life means, how the moment that enabled her to launch her life was one of the lowest moments of her career, and what leadership characteristics enabled her to succeed.

Payal is the founder of ClassPass, the world’s largest health club aggregator with over 30,000 health clubs in 28 countries. ClassPass offers a revolutionary membership that lets members use health clubs and book unlimited fitness classes for a subscription fee.

Payal is also the author of LifePass: Drop Your Limits, Rise to Your Potential: A Groundbreaking Approach to Goal Setting.

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Why Platform Companies (Facebook, Amazon, Airbnb and Uber) Are the Opposite of Traditional Companies, Why They Become So Enormous, and How They Can Be Effectively Regulated: Marshall Van Alstyne
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

Why Platform Companies (Facebook, Amazon, Airbnb and Uber) Are the Opposite of Traditional Companies, Why They Become So Enormous, and How They Can Be Effectively Regulated: Marshall Van Alstyne

Marshall Van Alstyne shares why platform companies dominate traditional businesses and why 7 of the 10 largest companies in the world are platform companies. Learn how they outcompete traditional companies while employing just a tiny fraction of the number of people, how they are completely different from companies of the past, and why platforms beat products all the time.

Boston University professor Marshall Van Alstyne is the co-author of the international bestseller Platform Revolution and he is one of the world's experts on network business models.

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The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business: Setting the Table with Union Square Hospitality Group Founder & CEO Danny Meyer
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business: Setting the Table with Union Square Hospitality Group Founder & CEO Danny Meyer

Danny Meyer shares how to deliver outstanding hospitality, how he thinks restaurants will be different post pandemic and what continues to get him excited each day.

Danny is the founder and CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which comprises some of New York’s most beloved and acclaimed restaurants, including Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack, The Modern, Maialino, and many more.

Danny and USHG’s restaurants have won an unprecedented 28 James Beard Awards, including Outstanding Restaurateur, several three Michelin stars, and a Julia Child Award. He has also been recognized by Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America and TIME 100 “Most Influential People”.

”You may think, as I once did, that I’m primarily in the business of serving good food. Actually, though, food is secondary to something that matters even more. In the end, what’s most meaningful is creating positive, uplifting outcomes for human experiences and human relationships. Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple, and it’s that hard.”

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Always Be Learning: The Top 10 Takeaways of 2021 From Our Guests

Always Be Learning: The Top 10 Takeaways of 2021 From Our Guests

This week on the podcast we are highlighting the Top 10 Takeaways of 2021. With guests ranging from CEOs and founders, to best-selling authors and even the Director of the U.S. Secret Service. These individuals left us feeling motivated and inspired!

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Harvard Business Review Editor in Chief Adi Ignatius: The New World of Work and the Biggest Trends in Business
Business, Leadership Lynn Thoman Business, Leadership Lynn Thoman

Harvard Business Review Editor in Chief Adi Ignatius: The New World of Work and the Biggest Trends in Business

Adi Ignatius, Editor in Chief of Harvard Business Review, shares the biggest trends in the business world right now and how he sees the new world of work – including the future of the workplace, innovation and leadership.

As Editor in Chief he oversees editorial activities at HBR, HBR.org, and HBR's book-publishing unit. He was previously deputy managing editor of Time and bureau chief of the Wall Street Journal in Beijing and Moscow.

Adi is the editor of two books: "President Obama: The Path to the White House" and "Prisoner of the State: The Secret Diaries of Premier Zhao Ziyang." Both made the New York Times' bestseller list. He is the host of the Harvard Business Review video series “The New World of Work” - candid conversations on talent, tech, and the future of business.

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NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum: On the Future of Sports, Sports as Entertainment, Enhancing the Audience Experience and How the NBA Engages over 2 Billion People
Business, Sports Lynn Thoman Business, Sports Lynn Thoman

NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum: On the Future of Sports, Sports as Entertainment, Enhancing the Audience Experience and How the NBA Engages over 2 Billion People

NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum shares on the future of sports, enhancing the audience experience, virtual reality, gaming and e-sports.

People are interested in what their favorite athletes and teams are doing off the court as well as on. Mark shares how entertainment driven strategies enhance the overall experience while growing the audience.

Under Mark’s leadership, the NBA has formed NBA Africa, launched NBA Academies around the world, and created the Jr. NBA Global Championship.

In 2016, Mark was named to Forbes’ list of the Top 25 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.

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How to Build an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time: Square Co-Founder Jim McKelvey
Business Lynn Thoman Business Lynn Thoman

How to Build an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time: Square Co-Founder Jim McKelvey

Learn how Square Co-Founder Jim McKelvey successfully created and built Square, how (as a start-up) Square beat Amazon, and other tips he has for the 3 Takeaways audience. Jim shares why sometimes doing nothing is the best response.

Jim McKelvey co-founded Square, a financial payments company, in 2009 with Jack Dorsey. He is a serial entrepreneur, inventor, philanthropist, artist, and author of The Innovation Stack: Building an Unbeatable Business One Crazy Idea at a Time.

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Building the Largest Asset Management Firm in the World: Co-Founder & Former Vice Chairman of BlackRock Barbara Novick
Business, Investments Lynn Thoman Business, Investments Lynn Thoman

Building the Largest Asset Management Firm in the World: Co-Founder & Former Vice Chairman of BlackRock Barbara Novick

Co-founder of BlackRock Barbara Novick shares how she and her co-founders built the largest investment management firm in the world with $9 trillion under management and clients in over 100 countries. Learn the keys to BlackRock’s success. Barbara transitioned from Vice Chairman of BlackRock to Senior Advisor in 2021.

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An Insider’s Perspective on Venture Capital: Sierra Ventures Founder and Advisor Peter Wendell
Business, Investments Lynn Thoman Business, Investments Lynn Thoman

An Insider’s Perspective on Venture Capital: Sierra Ventures Founder and Advisor Peter Wendell

Peter Wendell founded Sierra Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has invested more than $2 billion in a wide variety of successful technology companies. Peter co-teaches Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, “Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital” course with former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt. He is a trustee of Merck and was chairman of the board of Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO), which manages Princeton University’s endowment.

Peter provides an insider’s perspective on venture capital. Find out how start-ups can secure funding and grow to become unicorns – start-ups valued at over $1 billion. There are currently more than 800 unicorn start-ups worldwide.

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How Courageous Companies Thrive by Improving the Lives of Everyone They Touch with Former Unilever CEO Paul Polman
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

How Courageous Companies Thrive by Improving the Lives of Everyone They Touch with Former Unilever CEO Paul Polman

Paul Polman is the former CEO of Unilever, one of the largest companies in the world with over 300 brands. Paul helped redefine what being a good company means long before it was acceptable to think about anything besides profits. Paul shares how Imagine, a movement that he co-founded, brings together a critical mass of CEOs across the value chain to move industries toward sustainable impact goals such as climate change and inequality. Learn more about what a good company is and how your business can thrive by giving more than it takes.

Paul is the author of the highly anticipated book Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take.

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Cryptocurrencies, Digital Assets, NFTs and the Future of Blockchain, Including Even for Social Good with Galaxy Digital Founder and CEO Mike Novogratz

Cryptocurrencies, Digital Assets, NFTs and the Future of Blockchain, Including Even for Social Good with Galaxy Digital Founder and CEO Mike Novogratz

Mike Novogratz, Founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital, shares on cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, digital assets, and the possibilities of blockchain. Learn how the first Tweet, a single sentence by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, sold as an NFT for millions of dollars and why it was worth so much. He also shares how blockchain can even be used for social good. In prisons, for example, it could be used to record solitary confinements and make criminal justice more transparent.

Mike Novogratz has made criminal justice reform a focus of his family’s foundation.

This discussion should not be relied on for investment advice.

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“The last thing a fish would ever notice would be water.” Seeing the “Water” - A Different View of The World: Gillian Tett
Business, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Society Lynn Thoman

“The last thing a fish would ever notice would be water.” Seeing the “Water” - A Different View of The World: Gillian Tett

Gillian Tett, Chair of the Editorial Board and Editor at Large, U.S. of the Financial Times uses her perspective as an anthropologist to explain a wide variety of business and cultural phenomena. She predicted the 2008 financial crisis. Discover how she sees the world today including new phenomena such as crypto currencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), artificial intelligence and gaming.

Her new book is Anthro Vision: A New Way to See in Life and Business. Anthropologist Ralph Linton said, “The last thing a fish would ever notice would be water.”

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Solving the World's Biggest Problem and Creating the Impossible Burger with Impossible Foods Founder Patrick Brown
Business, Environment, Health, Self, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Environment, Health, Self, Society Lynn Thoman

Solving the World's Biggest Problem and Creating the Impossible Burger with Impossible Foods Founder Patrick Brown

Meat production is one of the world’s greatest contributors to climate change. Patrick Brown, the creator of the Impossible Burger and the Founder of Impossible Foods, wanted to figure out how to make delicious, affordable meat from plants that is better for the environment and consumers. Learn about his journey from Stanford University professor to creating the Impossible Burger and how he built Impossible Foods into the multibillion-dollar company it is today.

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General Catalyst Chairman and Former American Express Chairman & CEO Ken Chenault: Leadership, Race & Creating Diverse Workforces
Business, Leadership, Society Lynn Thoman Business, Leadership, Society Lynn Thoman

General Catalyst Chairman and Former American Express Chairman & CEO Ken Chenault: Leadership, Race & Creating Diverse Workforces

Former American Express Chairman and CEO and current General Catalyst Chairman and Managing Director Ken Chenault, shares his thoughts on leadership, race, creating diverse workforces, responsible innovation, and his hope for the future. Ken covers his early life, growing up, his experience leading American Express for nearly two decades through crises and digital transformation, and the advice he gives founders and CEOs building innovative, enduring companies backed by General Catalyst.

Upon Ken’s retirement from American Express, Warren Buffett, the company’s largest shareholder stated, “Ken's been the gold standard for corporate leadership and the benchmark that I measure others against.” Ken is recognized as one of the business world’s experts on brands and brand management. He has been honored by multiple publications including Fortune Magazine, which named him as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders in its inaugural list in 2014 and, most recently, in 2021.

Ken serves on the boards of Airbnb, Berkshire Hathaway, Chief, Guild Education, and the Harvard Corporation. He is a co-founder of OneTen, a coalition of leading executives coming together to upskill, hire and advance one million Black Americans over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement. He also serves on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution’s Advisory Council for the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

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