155 episodes
- In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, hosts Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances, who talks through Haier’s acquisition of GE Appliances, and his advice for leaders facing massive transformations.
0:00 - Intro: Can you choose between growth and profitability?
0:27 - Meet Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances
1:40 - GE's long history of wanting to divest the appliances division
2:47 - The Haier acquisition — and the surprise of who bought them
5:55 - First meetings with Haier: "salad management" and philosophy over business
8:37 - "We don't plan to learn. We plan to win." — The GE mindset
10:14 - Culture shock: Haier kept asking, "What do YOU want to do?"
16:55 - The concept of "leading goals" — goals you don't know how to achieve
19:25 - Kevin becomes CEO: setting the bold goal of #1 in 5 years (from #5)
25:12 - Introducing FirstBuild: GE's open, consumer-driven innovation engine
34:06 - The nugget ice story — and why engineers don't understand customer needs
39:37 - FirstBuild's secret sauce: it must be self-funding (zero-cost innovation)
44:40 - From #5 to #1 in 5 years — with no acquisitions and no new people
48:51 - CEO humility: going to the factory floor unannounced
59:15 - Final advice: rely on the people closest to the work
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/
https://x.com/rgmcgrath
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram.
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/
Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com. - In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Bill Klepper, Academic Director in Executive Education at Columbia Business School, to celebrate Bill’s retirement and reflect on his expertise in executive learning, strategic leadership and corporate governance. Their conversation took place at Columbia Business School, following a session of Rita McGrath's Executive Education course Leading Strategic Growth and Change.
00:00 Introduction
01:03 Meet Bill Klepper
02:03 The Origin of The CEO's Boss
06:25 Why Board Governance Matters
06:58 The Lifeline Exercise
08:06 Bill's Lifeline: Early Values
12:29 Path to Public Office
15:06 The 9/11 Story
18:31 Learning Styles Framework
24:08 The Integrative Leadership Model
30:39 Legacy and Wisdom
32:38 Strategic Centering
33:15 Audience Q&A
38:18 Closing
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/
https://x.com/rgmcgrath
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram.
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/
Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com. - In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Charlene Li, author of author of Groundswell, Open Leadership, and The Disruption Mindset, and a new book, written with Katia Walsh: Winning with AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success.
0:00 - Introduction & Meet Charlene Li
1:35 - Charlene's Upbringing in Detroit
4:14 - Introducing Winning with AI
7:34 - Strategy First, Not "What Do We Do About AI"
8:56 - Three Ways AI Creates Value
12:43 - The AI Hesitancy Gap: FOMO vs. FOGI
13:40 - Why a 90-Day Blueprint
18:53 - The Grief and Rage Behind AI Disruption
24:52 - Why AI Pilots Fail
28:43 - Building an AI Investment Portfolio
31:46 - Trust, Honesty, and Fairness in Leadership
39:04 - How AI Gave Charlene Her Voice
41:24 - Speed as the New Competitive Moat
44:22 - Goldilocks Governance
49:01 - Lessons from Burning Man's Mudpocalypse
53:04 - Becoming Superhuman with AI
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/
https://x.com/rgmcgrath
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram.
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/
Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com. - In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Victor Grizzle, CEO and Executive Chairman of Armstrong Industries, to speak candidly about the massive transformation he led at Armstrong, inspired by McGrath’s work on growth outliers.
0:00 Introduction
0:46 Victor Grizzle's Career Journey to Armstrong
5:31 The Growth Outliers Research
7:23 Separating the Flooring and Ceilings Businesses
10:42 Finding a Burning Platform for Growth
14:37 Divesting the International Business
17:03 Driving a Growth Mindset Shift
25:46 Building an Innovation Engine
30:46 Embracing Intelligent Failure
35:07 Balancing Stability with Entrepreneurial Acquisitions
42:41 Advice for the Next Generation
48:39 Culture, Teamwork, and Consistency
50:42 Looking Ahead: AI and the Future of Armstrong
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/
https://x.com/rgmcgrath
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram.
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/
Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com. - In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Michael Clinton, former president and publishing director and current special advisor to the CEO of Hearst Magazines, author of “Longevity Nation”, “ROAR Into The Second Half of Your Life.”, and expert on the business and personal effects of the New Longevity.
0:00 — Intro
0:19 — Meet Michael Clinton & Longevity Nation
1:29 — Michael's backstory in publishing at Hearst
2:43 — How Roar into the Second Half was born
3:49 — Retirement is a false construct
5:40 — Reimagineers: rewriting the second half of our lives
11:20 — Do companies take longevity seriously?
13:20 — Innovative work models (Flex 58, Singapore)
15:12 — Reconciling ageism vs. the 50+ economy
20:07 — Medicine, tech, and AI convergence
24:55 — The 60-year career
32:38 — Self-efficacy and the confidence edge
48:21 — Entrepreneurship in midlife
50:05 — Women leading the longevity movement
57:04 — The five core longevity hacks
1:00:07 – Conclusion and where to learn more
Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719
https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU
Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q
Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/
https://x.com/rgmcgrath
https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social
Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram.
https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath
https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/
Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/
Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com.
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About Thought Sparks
Thought Sparks are the brainchild of Rita McGrath. They are insightful actions, strategic ideas, actionable suggestions and innovative approaches that help organizations and leaders master the future with less fear and more confidence.
New episodes of the Thought Sparks Podcast are released every other Tuesday at 11am Eastern.
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