Frederik Pferdt was Google's Chief Innovation Evangelist, building a world-class organization that trained tens of thousands to face the world in a future-ready way. He is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, where he teaches courses called things like "Hacking Your Innovation Mindset." His brand-new book, "Next is Now: How to Live Future Ready" was just published to tremendous acclaim in June. It made the Next Big Idea Club's must-read list for September. I'm delighted that on October 25, Frederik will be joining me to talk about the book, his philosophy of being future-ready and why Optimism, Openness, Curiosity, Experimentation, Empathy and the mysterious "Dimension X" can let you take control of your future. In a world that seems at times to be bleak, his optimistic perspective that we can all shape our futures is most welcome!

There was a time when there was a standard template for what kinds of people became leaders. They were confident. They had the answers. They led by example. They told people exactly what needed to be done. Oh, and they were usually tall, and nearly always, men. We've learned, though, that while that kind of leadership certainly has its place, in rapidly changing, uncertain situations, a different leadership model leads to higher performance. Senior media and technology reporter at CNBC, Julia Boorstin, set out to find what this different lens for leadership was by studying the very different ways in which groundbreaking women forged a path to transforming businesses and even entire industries. Women, she learned, have figured out how to create advantages that are simply not apparent to their male counterparts, using adaptive, empathetic, learning oriented qualities to win. Julia joined me by the virtual fireside to discuss her 2022 book "When Women Lead" and to chat about what she's learned since then and where we stand now.

This week's guest is Paul LeBlanc, who has just stepped down as President of Southern New Hampshire University. In his tenure, he took back online education from predatory for-profit institutions to give thousands of students access to higher education. He's also the author of a fascinating book called "Broken: How Our Social Systems are Failing Us and How We Can Fix Them". We'll be chatting live at 11 am -- register here to tune in!

Today we are hosting Barron Witherspoon on my Friday Fireside Chat. He's the author of "The Black Exec: And the Seven Myths", which draws from his 38-year career at Procter & Gamble, where he retired as Senior Vice President for Global Industry Affairs & The Corporate Race Initiative. He now enjoys a second career as an ordained minister, out of Cincinnati.

The phrase "innovate or die" has never been more relevant, yet the track record of most companies for organic innovation is dismal. But, there are leaders who demonstrate that making innovation an actual proficiency can be accomplished. Steve Wunker, together with his co-authors Jennifer Luo Law and Hari Nair, de-mystify the process. Examples include Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Panera's Ron Shaich and Levi's Chip Bergh. We'll chat about their practical and useful new book "The Innovative Leader" that takes readers on a step by step approach to building innovation capability.

Here's my conversation with Anupam B. Jena! He's the Joseph P. Newhouse Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School and a physician in the Department of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and if that weren't enough, he hosts the Freakonomics MD podcast, and has just written a fascinating book called "Random Acts of Medicine". We'll be talking about how unseen forces shape our health outcomes: everything from EZ Pass tollbooths to marathons is on the table! Rita McGrath is a best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and longtime professor at Columbia Business School. As one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth, Rita’s work is regularly published in the Harvard Business Review. She is consistently ranked among the Top 10 management thinkers in the world and was ranked #1 for strategy by Thinkers50. Get in Touch, Keep in Touch! https://www.ritamcgrath.com/ You can follow me on Twitter (@rgmcgrath), on Instagram (@ritamcgrathofficial), on LinkedIn and here on YouTube. For access to the archives, ability to make comments and to be part of the community, subscribe. We’re also ramping up some interesting offers at Valize. For instance, we’ve revived the BareBones net present value calculator featured in my book, Discovery Driven Growth. You can download it for free from the Valize web site @ https://www.valize.com/

Chip Conley is on a mission to make mid-life a welcome and joyous part of life's journey! His new book "Learning to Love Mid-Life" is an invitation to explore the wisdom that comes with experience, to let go of baggage that doesn't serve you well and to transform toward a fulfilling future. He'll be joining me by the fireside on February 23 at noon EST to talk about lessons he's learned about making the most of this part of your life. Rita McGrath is a best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and longtime professor at Columbia Business School. As one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth, Rita’s work is regularly published in the Harvard Business Review. She is consistently ranked among the Top 10 management thinkers in the world and was ranked #1 for strategy by Thinkers50. Get in Touch, Keep in Touch! https://www.ritamcgrath.com/ You can follow me on Twitter (@rgmcgrath), on Instagram (@ritamcgrathofficial), on LinkedIn and here on YouTube. For access to the archives, ability to make comments and to be part of the community, subscribe. We’re also ramping up some interesting offers at Valize. For instance, we’ve revived the BareBones net present value calculator featured in my book, Discovery Driven Growth. You can download it for free from the Valize web site @ https://www.valize.com/

Stanford's Bob Sutton is one of the smartest people on the planet with respect to what goes on in organizations and why (hint - he's the guy that helps you deal with organizational A**holes). He has a brand-new book coming out, "The Friction Project" with Huggy Rao on the subtle ways in which leaders can make the right things easier and the wrong things harder. Boy do we need those insights now! Rita McGrath is a best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and longtime professor at Columbia Business School. As one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth, Rita’s work is regularly published in the Harvard Business Review. She is consistently ranked among the Top 10 management thinkers in the world and was ranked #1 for strategy by Thinkers50. Get in Touch, Keep in Touch! https://www.ritamcgrath.com/ You can follow me on Twitter (@rgmcgrath), on Instagram (@ritamcgrathofficial), on LinkedIn and here on YouTube. For access to the archives, ability to make comments and to be part of the community, subscribe. We’re also ramping up some interesting offers at Valize. For instance, we’ve revived the BareBones net present value calculator featured in my book, Discovery Driven Growth. You can download it for free from the Valize web site @ https://www.valize.com/