Masters of Scale

Latest Episodes:

Rapid Response: "You should be running toward AI," w/Eric Schmidt (frmr Google CEO) Aug 18, 2022

Show notes

Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, breaks down his deep insights around artificial intelligence on Rapid Response. Schmidt, co-author of the book "The Age of AI: And Our Human Future," alongside Dr. Henry Kissinger and MIT’s Daniel Huttenlocher, says that we’re entering an unknown era with technology – one that requires extra vigilance to ensure that we amplify the positives and de-amplify the negatives. His advice to businesses: You need to be running as fast as you can toward AI applications. If your competitor gets there first, you'll be in trouble. Schmidt argues that AI will change business, society, and potentially humanity itself. "It's important that our systems not enable the worst of us, but instead promote the best of us,” he says.

Read the book "The Age of AI: And Our Human Future" from Henry Kissinger, Eric Schmidt, and Daniel Huttenlocher: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-age-of-ai-henry-a-kissinger/1139558876?ean=9780316273800

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How to take creative leaps — and land them, w/Future Shape's Tony Fadell Aug 16, 2022

Show notes

Creative energy is the raw fuel of entrepreneurship, but if you fail to direct that energy effectively, you risk chasing multiple ideas and delivering none. Tony Fadell learned this lesson time and again through his journey to co-create the iPod, iPhone, and Nest. He shares how he struck the tricky balance of channeling his creative experimentation into world-changing products.

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Rapid Response: Playing offense in adversity, w/Target’s Brian Cornell Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

The fallout from the pandemic is proving to be as challenging for business leaders to navigate as the pandemic’s onset. Target’s CEO Brian Cornell had to make difficult decisions in the second quarter of this year to manage an unexpected surplus of goods and home technology. He shares his most recent learnings, as well as lessons for handling skepticism, the need for agility, and why mental wellness is key to a successful team.

Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com

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Bill Gates: How to accelerate history (Part 1) Aug 09, 2022

Show notes

How did Bill Gates scale BOTH a global business and a global philanthropy? He spotted an inflection point in history — and accelerated it. What does that take? A great idea, great timing, and also: Great partners. Because even Bill Gates doesn’t go it alone. In Part 1 of this special two-part episode, Bill reflects with Reid on the founding and growth of Microsoft — how he not only spotted an inflection point (hello, personal computers) but accelerated it to massive scale (forget computers, let's talk platforms). There’s timeless wisdom in Bill’s ability to identify inflection points, build strategic partnerships, and just work harder than everyone else. In Part 2, Bill reflects on scaling the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the different lessons learned between the two.

Read a transcript of this interview: https://mastersofscale.com

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Rapid Response: How to decarbonize your business, w/John Doerr, partner at Kleiner Perkins Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

“Go for the megatons.” That’s John Doerr’s recommendation for how we need to combat the existential threat of climate change. Doerr, a venture capitalist and author of the new book Speed and Scale, joins host Bob Safian to discuss our decarbonization efforts, what he calls “the greatest economic opportunity of the next century.” The book quantifies the specific societal needs, in six discrete areas, to achieve a carbon-neutral world. John isn’t arguing that we all need to be vegan ascetics, but rather, the need for collective action – and the critical role that business plays in advancing that movement.

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Bonus: Five ways to burnout-proof your organization Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

If you’re a leader right now navigating the global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and your own mental list of what’s keeping you up at night, the issue of burnout is probably on your mind. You can’t shield your team from all stress, but you can find effective ways of supporting your employees through it. This episode highlights the best conversations we’ve had recently about stopping burnout in your organization, before it takes hold.

Featuring BetterUp’s Alexi Robichaux, Upwork’s Hayden Brown, Merck’s Ken Frazier, Chobani’s Hamdi Ulukaya, director J.J. Abrams, Girls Who Code’s Reshma Saujani, BW4BL’s Tokunbo Koiki, and FuelFinance’s Alyona Mysko.

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Rapid Response: What the crypto crash teaches us all, w/Chainalysis’s Michael Gronager Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

Crypto winter isn’t a disaster, it's an opportunity. That’s how Michael Gronager, CEO of $8 billion crypto data company Chainalysis, describes the crashing prices and bankruptcies that have roiled the cryptocurrency sector. Gronager offers an insider’s perspective on operating in a volatile marketplace, providing lessons on dreaming too big in boom times and on leaning into building and creating when lulls emerge. Chainalysis helps track financial flows on blockchains, including crypto criminals from North Korea and Russia. Despite current risks, Gronager argues, the still-emerging crypto sector is maturing, and he’s as confident as ever about its future.

Read a transcript of this episode: www.mastersofscale.com

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Need to Know, w/Reid & Bob: Business withdrawals from Russia, strife at Netflix, Musk vs Twitter, the business world’s role in democracy, Crypto’s future, & more Jul 26, 2022

Show notes

Reid Hoffman and Bob Safian sit down to discuss how today’s hot-button stories are impacting business. The co-hosts address the key trends that all entrepreneurs should be up to speed on, from the looming recession and cryptocurrency’s possible demise to the hybrid workplace and moral leadership. Featuring Mercy Corps’ Tjada McKenna, PwC’s Tim Ryan, and Girls Who Code’s Reshma Saujani.

Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com

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Rapid Response: Turning tears to action, w/Planned Parenthood’s Alexis McGill Johnson Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

“Hope is a practice. It comes from doing.” As the head of Planned Parenthood, Alexis McGill Johnson is regrouping in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to remove the federal right to safe abortion. Johnson is now faced with the challenge to move her team from tears and shock to action. Any leader faced with a worst-case scenario can learn from her vision: “to fight and stay courageous, and maintain ourselves.”

Read a transcript of this episode: www.mastersofscale.com

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Drive full-speed at opportunity, w/AKQA’s Ajaz Ahmed Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

If you want to capitalize on an opportunity that you think could change the world, you need to drive full speed toward it. Back in 1994, when Ajaz Ahmed dropped out of college to start one of the first digital ad agencies, AKQA, he knew he was at the cusp of the next revolution in tech. And if he wanted to be part of it, he’d have to move fast. Ahmed shares stories about how a band of 21-year-old dropouts built the agency from ground up, winning over early clients by building prototypes ahead of the competition. He dives into how his inner voice demanding him to “get big or die trying” led him to transform AKQA into a global agency with thousands of employees and the biggest clients in the world, like Nike, Virgin, and Usher.

Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com

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