The So What from BCG

Latest Episodes:

Are You Bridging or Broadening the Racial Wealth Gap? Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

Organizations often view inclusion, along with its cousins diversity and equity, as a goal. But what if they start viewing it as a practice, an active commitment, and a way of doing business? Kedra Newsom Reeves, a BCG partner and co-lead of BCG’s North America Center for Inclusion and Equity who works for financial and social sector clients alike, argues that organizations must deeply embed inclusivity into their business practices. Otherwise banks and other financial institutions will not meaningfully play their part in closing the racial wealth gap. And other organizations will also fall short of whatever aspirations they set. Inclusion must be treated as an innovation—as a break from the past—because “for hundreds of years, we were not making decisions to be inclusive.”

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

Your Brain Is Being Strip-Mined Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

Cell phones, social media, messaging software, and multitasking are robbing our attention, as our monkey minds jump from one notification to another. Mickey McManus, a BCG senior advisor and leadership coach, explains how these distractions strip our cognitive capacity and even our ability to make ethical decisions. Is this the price of “progress,” or is there something to be done? McManus offers tips for everyone from the board and C-suite to the front line to enable companies and employees to regain control of our cognition.

Watch Your Language Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

Ashley Grice finds great joy, meaning, and sometimes peril in words. As the CEO of BCG BrightHouse, Grice helps organizations find their purpose. Words are her instruments of trade. They can help bring strategy to life and inspire imagination and wonder. But by choosing words that are impersonal, flat, and cold, CEOs and other leaders frequently miss the chance to connect with their people. Grice explains how leaders can use language more effectively and what to do when their words are misunderstood. She also reads two poems—her own.

Happy Holidays, and See You in 2022! Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

The So What from BCG is taking a short break over the holidays - if you’re celebrating, I hope you’re having a lovely time.

We’ve been hard at work arranging a host of exciting guests and topics for our upcoming episodes from the 5th of January. We’ll be talking about the beauty and power of language; wealth equity; the emotional value of work; how to protect your brain from distractions, and much much more.

Happy holidays - and we’ll see you next year.

Can We Fix Supply Chains in 2022 ? Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

As the pandemic rumbles on, many countries have been suffering shortages and panic buying as global supply chains wobble. Much of that will likely ease over the coming months, but systemic challenges remain.

In this episode, Dustin Burke, one of BCG’s leaders in manufacturing and supply chains, urges companies to use the experience of the last 18 months to build resilience and reliability into their operations without adding cost and redundancy. How do companies achieve better access to real-time data for greater visibility into potential shortages and risks? Could we see greater cooperation within—and even across—industries to protect supply chains of essential components? And looking to the long term, how can we expect automation and artificial intelligence to help ease labor shortages?

Why the Way We Work Is Broken Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

The pandemic has exposed fissures in the way we work, which is stuck in the industrial age. Deborah Lovich, who leads BCG’s people strategy topic, and Brian Elliott, executive leader and senior vice president of Future Forum, talk about why leaders want to return to the office and many workers don’t, why water coolers are not the source of inspiration, and how organizations can start to recalibrate their outdated approach to leadership, work, culture, and purpose.

A Culture of Experimentation Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

How can organizations become more experimental? Julia Dhar, the cofounder and leader of BeSmart, BCG’s behavioral economics and insights initiative, says identify a big problem, start small, and do not overly worry that academics may criticize your experiment. As a bonus, Dhar provides her three favorite nudges for everyday living.

Across the Luxury Metaverse Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

Lil Miquela, a 19-year-old TikTok influencer with more than 3 million followers, has promoted Calvin Klein, Prada, and other top fashion brands. She also happens to be an avatar, an online robot created by a startup with venture funding. Sarah Willersdorf, BCG’s global head of luxury, explores the somewhat wacky but very real intersection of fashion and the metaverse, explaining what the virtual world holds in store for consumers and brands.

Net Zero Will Pay for Itself Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

Most transitions are hard—the transition to net zero is especially so. But with political will, new business models, and major investments, saving the planet does not have to break the bank. In fact, Jens Burchardt, BCG’s global expert on climate impact and cofounder of its Center for Climate and Sustainability, argues that companies and countries that aggressively address climate issues will grow more swiftly than their slower counterparts. Many consumers, he says, would gladly pay 2% extra for net-zero products and services, a modest premium that would allow many companies today to go green.

Uncertainty Advantage Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

Uncertainty is not a dirty word. While it may be impossible to predict the future, preparing for it is possible. Alan Iny, BCG’s partner and director of creativity and scenarios, explains that scenario planning and other exercises leave us better able to harness the future, whatever shape it takes. Iny acknowledges that this is hard work. Albert Einstein once doubted that atomic energy could be harnessed. But doubt itself is key to breaking free of stale business models and unlocking creativity.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The So What from BCG

Related Podcasts

1

2

3

4

5

6