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Award-winning business advice from Silicon Valley and beyond. Iconic CEOs, from Nike to Netflix, Starbucks to Slack, share the strategies that helped them grow from startups into global brands — and to weather crisis when it strikes. Our two formats help tell the complete story of how a business grows, survives and thrives, and the mindsets of growth that keep leaders in the game. On each episode of our classic format, host Reid Hoffman — LinkedIn cofounder, Greylock partner and legendary Si ...
Welcome to "It Wasn't Me: A True Crime Podcast" where your hosts Cindy and Mercedes will dive head first into the gruesome and grizzly details of obscure and even well-known murders. Every other Friday a new podcast will drop, find us on FB, IG, and Twitter. So, put your kids away and join us for a murder. Oh, and don't forget to subscribe! See ya soon. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/itwasntme/support
Discussions around Data Engineering
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: Turning point for a climate-crisis solution, w/Climeworks' Christoph Gebald
27:18
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The carbon-capture industry notched a breakthrough in early 2023, when Climeworks became the first company to be third-party certified for taking carbon out of the air and mineralizing it underground. Climeworks co-founder and co-CEO Christoph Gebald is now racing to scale this new potential, from Iceland to Oman to the United States, by convincing…
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Masters of Scale
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126. When to seek advice and when to ignore it, w/LearnVest & Inspired Capital’s Alexa von Tobel
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Smart entrepreneurs know one of the secrets to scale is leveraging wisdom from others. (In fact, that’s the mission of this show!) But not all advice is right for you right now — and some can even be disastrous. As the founder of the proto-fintech platform LearnVest, Alexa von Tobel scaled her business by seeking advice from mentors and friends … a…
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Rapid Response: Stay versatile, w/Lululemon Athletica CEO Calvin McDonald
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24:26
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While many retail businesses have struggled to cope with a wave of disruptions — from pandemic to supply chains to inflation — Lululemon has continued to scale, even when retail sales elsewhere dipped. CEO Calvin McDonald shares how mid-term strategic planning, control over inventory, and a culture that climbs mountains together has fueled agility …
For entrepreneurs and business leaders, the path to success is littered with traps. In this special episode of Masters of Scale, we go into the trenches with leaders from Google, Uber, LinkedIn, and more for inside stories on how to identify, decode, and surmount unexpected pitfalls — from organizational jams to overcommunication, from bloated meet…
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: Finding untapped value in multicultural consumers, w/Blavity CEO and AfroTech founder Morgan DeBaun
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While media companies from CNN to Buzzfeed have faced layoffs, one digital network focused on Black millennials has continued to forge ahead. Morgan DeBaun, CEO of Blavity, which reaches some 100 million users through brands like Travel Noire and Afrotech, has defied the odds — repeatedly. Morgan’s experience offers lessons about financial discipli…
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8. Netflix’s Reed Hastings: Why culture matters
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As Reed Hastings steps down from his co-CEO role at Netflix, we return to the leadership lessons he shared in his original Masters of Scale episode. This episode is all about how you need a strong culture to build a company that will scale beyond the early start-up days. And strong company cultures only emerge when every employee feels they own the…
You can’t predict your next a-ha moment. but you can create favorable circumstances for serendipity to happen – for you, and for your team. No one knows this better than J.J. Abrams, director, producer, screenwriter, and co-founder and co-CEO of Bad Robot Productions, which has been behind some of the most successful TV series and films of the last…
Joseph Machado and Bob Haffner discuss the many aspects of developer ergonomics and how they relate to data engineering. #data #dataengineering Connect with Joseph Blog - https://www.startdataengineering.com/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephmachado1991/ Connect with Bob Twitter - @bobhaffner LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobha…
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Rapid Response: How to cultivate a new industry, w/Upside Foods CEO Uma Valeti, MD
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When the FDA blessed Upside Foods’ grown-from-cells chicken as safe to eat, it was a coming-of-age moment for cultivated meat. Upside founder and CEO Uma Valeti, MD, shares his journey of convincing skeptics, landing investors from Bill Gates to food giants Tyson and Cargill, and building a collaborative partnership with the FDA and USDA. Plus, his…
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125. Cisco's John Chambers: The essential playbooks — and when to use them
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All great teams need to improvise under pressure, but underpinning this should be a set of tried-and-tested playbooks that let you orchestrate and replicate winning strategies. Cisco's John Chambers created a library of living playbooks — covering culture, acquisitions, crises, and more — to astounding effect as he took Cisco from a small tech supp…
Want to improve any idea? Find someone who disagrees with it. This is something legendary investor Ray Dalio knows. But there’s a difference between constructive and destructive conflict — and Dalio is a master at spotting the difference. In constructive conflict, a team has a shared goal, whether or not they have differing opinions. And this is th…
Branding is at the heart of any organization’s identity, product, and mission. It's the narrative you weave throughout your scale journey. That’s why brand relevance isn't a nice-to-have — it's a need to have. This special episode of Masters of Scale shares key branding lessons from Nike, Disney, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and more.…
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Rapid Response: Loneliness at work, w/Noreena Hertz, author of The Lonely Century
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This is the loneliest century, says economist Noreena Hertz. Even before the pandemic forced us to stay home, loneliness was snaking its way through our lives, affecting everything from how we vote to how we work. Professor at University College London and author of the book, The Lonely Century, Noreena has some sage advice for businesses: about ho…
Masters of Scale presents 10 must-hear moments from 2022! This special episode gathers the most valuable, lesson-packed, insight-filled moments from the past year across Masters of Scale and Masters of Scale: Rapid Response. From Ukraine to Covid, fashion to crypto, Pepsico to Planned Parenthood, these highlights illuminate timeless takeaways that …
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: Danny Meyer on the wrenching decision to do layoffs
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Back in March of 2020, Danny Meyer laid off 2,000 people — that's 80 percent of staff at Union Square Hospitality Group, representing 20+ restaurants across the country. It was a heartbreaking decision made with full understanding of the impacts, short and long-term — or as much as can possibly be known in this volatile time. In this special episod…
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124. The co-founder effect, w/Rothy's Stephen Hawthornthwaite and Roth Martin
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Running a business can be a lonely job. The long hours, the existential threats — it can feel like the weight of the entire company is on your back. That’s where the transformative power of co-founders comes in. Co-founders provide more than added manpower; they bring fresh perspectives and talents that help businesses conquer problems at speed. An…
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: The rise of the “wisdom worker,” w/Modern Elder Academy’s Chip Conley
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As we live and work longer, leaders need to redefine how they think about attracting and developing intergenerational talent. Modern Elder Academy's Chip Conley is at the forefront of this mindset shift, explaining why “wisdom workers” will take the place of “knowledge workers.” A close mentor to Airbnb founder Brian Chesky, Chip stresses that thos…
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Masters of Scale
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Bonus: Stephen Colbert on DonorsChoose (The Complete Interview)
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In June of 2020, executive producers June Cohen and Jordan McLeod sat down with comedian Stephen Colbert to discuss how, as host of The Colbert Report, Stephen pivoted a satirical run for U.S. president into a massive fundraiser for the nonprofit Donors Choose. They dive into how that presidential run came to be, and how Donors Choose helped Stephe…
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: How Main Street retailers are out-pivoting big-box giants, w/Faire’s Max Rhodes
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Small, independent store owners have been perpetually hit by waves of disruption: from malls to big box stores to e-commerce giants. But Max Rhodes, co-founder and CEO of the $12 billion online wholesale marketplace Faire, argues that Main Street retailers are actually better positioned right now to navigate today’s stormy shopping landscape than t…
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The Engineering Side of Data
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2022 re:Invent Data Recap with Alex DeBrie
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Alex Debrie and Bob Haffner recap their favorite announcements from 2022 re:Invent #data #dataengineering #aws Connect with Alex Twitter: @alexbdebrie Blog: alexdebrie.com Book: dynamodbbook.com Connect with Bob Twitter - @bobhaffner LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/bobhaffner Top Announcements https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/top-announcements-of-aws-re…
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123. Build the right incentives, w/VIPKid’s Cindy Mi
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Businesses run on incentives — from attracting customers with great prices, to drawing in talent with great salaries. But incentives aren’t something you set once; you must constantly revisit them to adjust to changing times. Cindy Mi, founder and CEO of the learning platform VIPKid, has leveraged the power of incentives to build a thriving global …
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Rapid Response: Risking an iconic brand — and $40b — in a race to go all-electric, w/Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius
28:33
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28:33
How do you reinvent a world-renowned automaker for an all-electric future? At Mercedes-Benz, CEO Ola Källenius has set the jaw-dropping goal to put fossil-fuels in the rear-view mirror by 2030 — ahead of other competitors and well ahead of Paris Climate Accords recommendations. Pushing the company’s tech, customers, and workforce to operate in a ne…
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Need to Know: Elon Musk at Twitter, Bob Iger’s return to Disney, FTX’s bankruptcy, and more, w/Reid & Bob
33:28
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Reid Hoffman and Bob Safian sit down once more 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 travails of Twitter to the triumphant return of Bob Iger. Featuring PepsiCo's Mauro Porcini, CNBC’s Julia Boorstin, and Color of Change's Rasha…
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The Engineering Side of Data
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Data Lakes, Data Lakehouses and Data Warehouses with Eric Tolotti
34:34
34:34
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34:34
Join Eric Tolotti and Bob Haffner for a discussion about Data Lakes, Data Lakehouses and Data Warehouses #data #dataengineering #datalake #datalakehouse #datawarehouses Check out Eric's YT channel https://www.youtube.com/c/nullQueries Connect with Bob Twitter - @bobhaffner LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/bobhaffner Show notes nullQueries’ Intro to the D…
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79. Disney’s Bob Iger: How acquisitions become an ecosystem, part 2
28:00
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28:00
From Pixar to Marvel to Lucasfilm, Disney's Bob Iger defied expectations, acquiring world-renowned brands and meshing them seamlessly with the House of Mouse. In Part 2 of our epic conversation with Iger – Disney's executive chair and former CEO – we delve into the next phase of the process, how he helped build a diverse, sustainable ecosystem for …
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77. Disney’s Bob Iger: How acquisitions become an ecosystem, part 1
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40:00
For any distinctive brand or business, it can be a challenge to expand reach without diluting what makes you special. No one has a keener understanding of this issue than Bob Iger, executive chair and former CEO of the Walt Disney Company. In this special two-part episode, Iger takes us through how he supercharged the House of Mouse while acquiring…
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How to unite a team around a shared mission: A story from Yo-Yo Ma on Spark & Fire
27:20
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27:20
What can an entrepreneur learn from a world-class musician? How to create a world-class team, and unite around a clear mission. In this special crossover episode with our sister podcast, Spark & Fire, you’ll hear world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma tell the story of co-founding The Silk Road Project — a musical collective that brings together musicians…
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Rapid Response: Don’t be a unicorn, be a dragon, w/Techstars CEO Maëlle Gavet
30:08
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The tech industry and its investors have been captivated by the spell of the Unicorn for too long — and the ambitious goal of a billion-dollar valuation has done more harm than good. Instead, founders should aim to be resilient dragons. That's the view of Maëlle Gavet, who as CEO of early-stage investment business Techstars has unmatched insight in…
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70. Nike’s Phil Knight: How to sell without selling
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35:40
Great branding is about identity — and it’s about matchmaking too. No one knows this better than the legendary co-founder of Nike, Phil Knight. When he and his partner, Hall of Fame track coach Bill Bowerman, started the sneaker company, they never tried to force-feed customers a product just to drive up the bottom line. They focused on one thing: …
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Rapid Response: Expand your definition of leadership, w/CNBC's Julia Boorstin
24:27
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Despite only 8% of Fortune 500 companies with women CEOs, women leaders more often utilize leadership skills that are perfectly suited for the current business climate. Julia Boorstin, who created CNBC’s Disruptor 50 platform, argues in her new book When Women Lead that counterintuitive approaches used by women leaders can have a great impact on bu…
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122. Brand while you build, w/Warby Parker’s Neil Blumenthal & Dave Gilboa
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45:52
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45:52
Some aspects of your brand will be defined by what customers tell you; others, by what you tell them. In their stories of how they scaled Warby Parker from scrappy e-commerce site to comprehensive eyewear and eye care juggernaut, co-founder and co-CEOs Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa give a master class in how to articulate crystal-clear brand valu…
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: Why design matters more than ever, w/PepsiCo Chief Design Officer Mauro Porcini
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Design is more than aesthetics. It is an essential competitive tool for an age of perpetual disruption. PepsiCo Chief Design Officer Mauro Porcini shares his 5-point system for sparking creativity at scale. Author of the new book The Human Side of Innovation, Porcini explains how anyone can deploy a designer’s mindset to improve their business and …
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121. Let waypoints guide you, w/Aurora's Chris Urmson
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To complete an audacious journey, you need to set short, achievable goals — or waypoints — to avoid getting wildly lost. But waypoints also need to be flexible because when you're knocked off track, you need to be able to realign your waypoints to get back on course. Aurora's Chris Urmson shares how he keeps returning to short, flexible waypoints o…
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: Why we need to think again, w/Adam Grant
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As we grapple with pandemic-charged change in business and as a society, we’ve become more fractured, more divisive, and more vulnerable. Adam Grant, best-selling author and professor at the Wharton School, argues that recognizing what we don't know is the key step on the road to insight, competitive advantage, and community peace. In his new book,…
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45. LIVE! Patience or speed? Both. w/Tory Burch
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Tory Burch built a billion-dollar business from the ground up, by speeding forward when others might have hit pause, and showing watchful patience when others may have gone full tilt. In our live onstage interview, Tory shows how this approach plays out in her global business – and in her impactful foundation that supports women business owners. Li…
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Live! Angela Ahrendts, Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi & Eric Schmidt talk culture at the first Masters of Scale Summit
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Three legendary culture setters come together live on stage at the inaugural Masters of Scale Summit. In the first released recording from the sold-out event, Angela Ahrendts, Dara Khosrowshahi, and Eric Schmidt reveal how they’ve built and rebuilt great cultures at Apple, Uber, Google and more. Host Bob Safian delivers surprising stories, counteri…
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: The promise and peril of engineering biology, w/Ginkgo Bioworks Reshma Shetty
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Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine would not have scaled without Ginkgo Bioworks. Reshma Shetty, co-founder and COO of Ginkgo – slated to go public via SPAC acquisition at a reported $15 billion valuation – explains how biotech innovation can build a better future now. Ginkgo's platform already serves industries from food and agriculture, to materials, to …
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21. How to do good and do good business, w/Starbucks' Howard Schultz
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You can make your social impact and your bottom line work hand-in-hand. But you'll have to be as creative and innovative about your company's values as you are about the business itself. Howard Schultz, chair and former CEO of Starbucks, not only changed how America wakes up, but set new standards for employee benefits. From offering college tuitio…
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: Rally a team in turmoil, w/NFL Raiders president Sandra Douglass Morgan
24:04
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As a new leader, how do you honor an established brand while trying to shepherd it into the next era? Las Vegas Raiders’ president Sandra Douglass Morgan took the helm amid a front office scandal and a team new to the desert. Morgan talks about prioritizing customers over all else, taking risks at the beginning of a new venture, and why to bet on y…
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120. Think like an intrapreneur, w/Mach49's Linda Yates
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Innovation is the lifeblood of the startup — from product to processes and culture to creativity. But innovation is just as essential for scale companies. So how do you keep the innovation flywheel spinning at all levels of scale? The answer according to Linda Yates is to seed every level of your company with an intrapreneurial mindset. As CEO of M…
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Masters of Scale
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Rapid Response: Mastering the hybrid workplace, w/Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering
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Hybrid, remote, in-person, a little bit of everything? Work has transformed into a giant experiment. Priya Parker, expert facilitator and author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, shares her advice on how to manage the new hybrid workplace. Where to start? Focus first, she suggests, on making your meetings better. Read a trans…
Taking risks can be the catalyst for immense scale or dire straits. Avoiding taking any risks at all leads to stagnancy and empowered competitors. The key is to know which risks are worth taking, and when and how to take them. This episode highlights the best conversations we’ve had recently about taking advantage of risk and how fortune favors the…
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Rapid Response: How Covid lessons get tested by inflation, w/Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer
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After slashing his NYC restaurant team from 2,400 people to just 45 in the teeth of the pandemic, Danny Meyer has rebuilt Union Square Hospitality Group back to its former size. But in his fifth appearance on Rapid Response since Covid struck, Danny says he isn’t yet triumphant. With inflation creating fresh challenges even at Shake Shack, Danny sh…
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119. Why mission matters more than products, w/Noom’s Saeju Jeong
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For truly sustainable long-term growth, you must prioritize your mission over your product — even if that means letting your product go. Noom founder and CEO Saeju Jeong has repeatedly turned his back on successful products in the name of his mission to help as many people as possible live healthier lives. In this episode, Saeju brings to life many…
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Rapid Response: Flipping your strategy in a volatile market, w/Zillow's Susan Daimler
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When markets are in turmoil, you can’t rely on business as usual, but that doesn’t mean you should panic. As the housing climate has turned volatile, rest estate marketplace Zillow has been forced to rethink some priorities, while doubling down on others. Zillow president Susan Daimler talks about the importance of a strategy focused on the future,…
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Strategy Session: How to stay inspired while remote? Why do you celebrate wins? Is there a co-founder advantage?
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Can a small entrepreneur make an impact within a massive, complex system, like healthcare or education? What's the best framework to amplify the positive side of having co-founders and avoid the negatives? Reid Hoffman and Bob Safian answer these and more questions from small business owners in the Masters of Scale community. Plus: in our Need to K…
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Rapid Response: Charging toward a clean energy future, w/EVgo's Cathy Zoi
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Partnerships can be the secret weapon to rocketing your company to the next level. That’s what Cathy Zoi discovered when she became the CEO of charging station network, EVgo. Whether it be partnering with grocery and department stores, or aligning with the Tesla customer-base, targeting allies and collaborators are a crucial catalyst for how EVgo h…
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91. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella: Why we need re-founders
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To achieve massive scale, you don’t just need founders, you also need a re-founder – someone to come in at a later stage to keep the mission and culture on track. As Microsoft’s third CEO ever — after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer — Satya Nadella is doing just that. He’s fostered a culture at Microsoft that rewards new ideas and makes room for feedb…
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Rapid Response: How we served 150 million meals in Ukraine, w/José Andrés of World Central Kitchen
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Too many businesses and organizations spend time planning and not enough in action, especially in times of emergency. José Andrés, world-famous chef and founder of the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, proves the value of fast action through his work, including his recent time in Ukraine serving over 150 million meals. José thinks businesses should …
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118. The Wrongness Playbook, part 2, w/Patreon's Jack Conte
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When is it time to double down on your instincts, and when is it time to open yourself up to feedback? Sometimes it comes down to a hard call… that you might get totally wrong. In Part Two of our episode with Patreon’s Jack Conte, you’ll hear how he was able to raise capital by telling his authentic story after a series of pitches that went disastr…
