When Arnold Donald took the helm at the Carnival Corporation, a public relations crisis of multiple layers threatened its future. Donald prioritized building a diverse and dynamic leadership team, appointing new heads for seven of the company's nine cruise lines, including more women and minorities. in this 2019 conversation, Donald shares his philosophy that "diversity of thinking is a business imperative and a powerful advantage," explaining how fresh perspectives lead to innovative ideas and drive growth. How his strategies helped him rebuild Carnival into one of the industry’s most valuable brands.

[A 'BEST OF' EPISODE] Combining business with social justice isn’t a path most companies choose, which is why Dan Schulman’s leadership as PayPal’s CEO captured so much attention. In 2016, he halted plans for an operations center in North Carolina in response to the state’s controversial “bathroom bill.” Schulman prioritizes an “employee-first” strategy, enhancing wages and benefits for PayPal employees. His leadership has demonstrated that activism doesn't takes anything away from the bottom line. In this 2020 conversation, Schulman reflects on the childhood that shaped his current values, and his journey from AT&T, Priceline, and eventually to CEO (now President) of PayPal.

[Encore release] General Stanley McChrystal was born into a military family: three generations of men in his family were officers in the armed forces. He followed the family tradition and eventually rose up the ranks to become a General in the Army. While serving as the commander of Allied Forces in Afghanistan in 2010, he was forced to resign after he was quoted making disparaging remarks about President Obama. It was in the wake of this moment that General McChrystal learned the full value of leadership. In this conversation from 2020, the General reflects on the very specific lessons of leadership he learned, and evolved, throughout his time of military service.

An encore episode, exploring the unconventional leadership journey of Carl Bass, a self-described renegade and reluctant executive who took the reins at Autodesk during turbulent times. Facing the global economic crisis of 2008, Bass led with conviction, balancing bold decision-making with the uncertainty of an evolving market. At one point, convinced the company might fail, he risked his own money to introduce a groundbreaking new business model. How Bass's steady hand and innovative thinking not only helped Autodesk survive but transformed it into a 21st-century success story. This conversation took place in 2019.

[Encore episode] In the 1980s, Stephen R. Covey revolutionized leadership thinking with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, introducing a leadership style centered on empathy, listening, and collaboration—far from the traditional table-pounding, charismatic approach. In this episode, Guy sits down with Stephen M.R. Covey, Covey’s son, who has not only been instrumental in spreading his father’s influential teachings globally but has also become a respected leadership expert in his own right. Stephen shares insights from his own bestselling leadership books and reflects on the lasting impact of his father’s groundbreaking work.

Author, and business executive Beth Comstock says to Guy Raz in this classic 2021 interview "I'm about change." In college, she wanted to be a doctor, but organic chemistry wasn’t her strong suit, so she shifted to journalism. When journalism didn’t work out, she started working in publicity. So, when GE bought NBC in 1986 right as Beth was starting her career in advertising, she was ready to adapt again. She worked her way to becoming CMO of GE, helping grow revenue, devise a successful green energy program, and more. Then, when NBC began to explore their approach to digital media, Beth couldn't resist returning to the storied network, where a new frontier in media was opening up (for reference: this was around the time Google bought YouTube). While there she helped seed what would become Hulu. Around the time of the 2008 financial crisis, Beth returned to GE as the company's first female Vice Chair of Business Innovations, which was also around the time she penned the inspiring and candid book Imagine it Forward: Courage, Creative, and the Power of Change .

General David Petraeus is one of those leaders who rose through the ranks to become one of the most well-known military figures of our time. Growing up in the shadow of West Point, General Petraeus defied the odds in a career where becoming a four-star general is nearly as unlikely as being struck by lightning.Petraeus’s rise to prominence began in 2003, but it was in 2007, as the commander of Multi-National Forces in Iraq, where he made his mark by leading the controversial but pivotal “surge.” He later commanded coalition forces in Afghanistan during one of the deadliest periods for U.S. troops, before transitioning to a new chapter as the Director of the CIA under President Obama.In this encore episode, General Petraeus shares his insights on leadership, revealing that the key to success lies in “getting the big ideas right,” refining them, and ensuring they’re communicated effectively across an entire organization.

Terry Lundgren, former CEO of Neiman Marcus and Macy’s, has been instrumental in shaping the American retail landscape. His believes leadership lies dormant in many until an event challenges you to grow. He also believes playing it safe is the biggest risk of all. Despite an entire career in retail, including taking on the role of president of a local department store when he was 35--succeeding a 67-year-old, the road he took to bringing two notoriously competitive retail giants together wasn’t easy. How he merged famous department rivals, double-downed on retail, and turned Macy’s into the first nationwide department store in the United States.

Jim Collins is one of the most influential business thinkers and writers of our time. Yet, Collins considers himself more of a researcher than an author.He has made a career of extracting the data embedded in the narrative arcs of companies and drawing lessons from them. With bestsellers like Good to Great, Built to Last, and BE 2.0, each of his books represents years of meticulous analysis, all before he even begins to write. What sets Collins apart aren't just his groundbreaking ideas but the unconventional choices that shaped his career. In this interview from 2021, Collins unpacks insights from his research, among them: the fact that ideas don't matter as much as people think they do. In fact, he found a negative correlation between starting a business with a great idea and creating a successful and enduring company. The key lies in "clock building" rather than "time telling," that is—creating a system and structure that transcend any one innovation or product. (He uses examples like Sony, which began with a failed rice cooker). Another side to this concept can be summed up with "preserve the core, stimulate progress." When leaders maintain what is core to the company, they can continually evolve their strategies and other aspects and build companies that last.

Can ancient philosophy be the key to modern success? Ryan Holiday, a leading thinker of his generation, believes so. From NFL quarterbacks to corporate CEOs, many credit Holiday's work with introducing them to the transformative power of Stoic philosophy. In this episode, Ryan talks to Guy about the teachings of the Stoics through the lens of Holiday's influential books, including The Obstacle Is The Way, Ego Is The Enemy, Stillness Is The Key, and, most recently Right Thing, Right Now. These aren't just bestsellers—they're respected works that have left a lasting impact on leaders and entrepreneurs around the world. But Ryan Holiday's journey wasn't always about philosophy. Before becoming a celebrated author and podcaster (The Daily Stoic) he started his career in marketing, a field that would shape his first book and inform parts of many others. This conversation was recorded in 2021.

In a world where scale is, for many, their north star, Graeter's Ice Cream stands out by doing things the old-fashioned way. Richard Graeter, the fourth-generation leader of this iconic family business, talks to Guy about the century-old process that makes their ice cream so special—and why they refuse to give it up. Unlike the huge companies that share their Cincinnati roots (i.e. Kroger and Proctor & Gamble), Graeter’s has chosen to stay small, valuing quality and sustainability over rapid expansion. In this conversation from 2020, Richard shares his journey from aspiring veterinarian to helming a company that prioritizes legacy and craftsmanship, strength and sustainability. Sometimes less really is more.

What does it take to create a winning culture in the workplace? For Ajay Banga, who transformed Mastercard, success is built on more than intelligence and emotional awareness. For him, it's the "Decency Quotient" that is an essential factor in fostering an environment where people feel supported, respected, and empowered to succeed. And, as he tells Guy in this 2019 conversation, it's not only about being kind. How Ajay Banga ran one of the worlds largest companies with an unusual leadership philosophy. And how he turned Mastercard from a credit card company into a company that's known for technology and innovation and data and analytics and A.I. 

In today's fast-paced corporate world, the pressure to specialize is immense. But what if focusing on one expertise isn't the key to success? Cliff Hudson, author of Master of None, challenges this very notion, arguing that versatility, not specialization, is the real path to leadership. Hudson's own life story is a testament to this belief. Growing up amidst the instability caused by his father's failed roofing business, Cliff was determined to find a secure career. He began his professional journey as a lawyer, but by 1995, he had risen to become the CEO of Sonic Drive-In, one of America's most iconic fast-food chains. In this conversation that took place between Guy and Cliff in 2020: How a young lawyer transitioned from the courtroom to the boardroom, redefining what it means to be a leader in today's world. Learn what embracing a broader skill set can lead to.

For George Scangos, the art of decisive leadership is part of his biology, you could say. Scangos is a former lab researcher who rose to the top of the biotech world. Transitioning from a biology researcher at Yale to a pharmaceutical executive, his journey is a testament to the power of interpersonal skills and strategic thinking. As the CEO of Biogen, he transformed the company's performance, leading it to become one of the top performers in the S&P 500 within his first year. In this 2019 conversation, Scangos unveils his approach to tough decision-making and the culture-shaping strategies that drive success. Chief among those strategies: creating space for people to feel comfortable to fail.

Margaret Heffernan, an entrepreneur, CEO, executive leadership coach, and author of six books, delves into her often counter-intuitive insights on consensus-building, and decision-making. She and Guy discuss her book, Uncharted: How to Map the Future, where she explains why attempts to predict the future, even with today's AI and Big Data technologies, are often doomed to fail. Instead, Margaret offers alternative strategies for organizations facing an uncertain future—strategies rooted in human creativity and resilience. Plus, the importance of recognizing your inner super chicken. Known for challenging conventional business wisdom, Margaret’s perspective is a refreshing take on how to navigate the complexities of the modern world.

The former CEO of KFC and Popeye's doesn't love talking about success, of which she's had plenty. No, in fact she's more interested in life's stumbles, in the complexity of failures, and what they have to teach her and her team. Her leadership style is highly relational ("I must know you to grow you," she says). Bachelder became President of KFC years later, but a job that started as a major opportunity wound up being a massive failure. In this conversation with Guy Raz from 2020: How Bachelder learned from her failures and went on to turn Popeyes into one of the biggest success stories of the past decade.

The legendary CEOs of the 1990s included Jack Welch of GE and John Chambers of Cisco, who was on our show last season. Another dominant figure was Lou Gerstner of IBM, the first IBM CEO recruited from outside the company. When he became CEO in 1993, IBM was struggling against competitors like Microsoft, Dell, and Compaq. Gerstner famously declared, "The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision," and instead focused on breaking through internal bureaucracy and making tough decisions. His approach transformed IBM, boosting its market cap from 29 billion to 168 billion over nine years. In this 2020 conversation, Lou shares his journey to the CEO role and the principles behind IBM's turnaround.

Brad Smith, the former CEO and now Chairman of the Board at Intuit, knows first hand why vulnerability and failure are intrinsic to good leadership. At one point in his career he lost $40 million for a company and then...got promoted. Smith, heavily influenced by his father's wisdom (i.e. "put a chink in your own armor") leaned into the power of authenticity, humility, and vulnerability to inspire others. At Intuit, Smith led the company through one of its most significant transformations, reinventing it into a high-powered cloud-based platform and reigniting a startup culture within a decades-old software firm. In this 2019 conversation, leadership principles meet real-world application. The watchwords? Authenticity and vision.

In this episode, Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, a Harvard professor of History of Art and Architecture and African and African American Studies, joins Guy to discuss the role of failure in achieving mastery. Dr. Lewis, author of "The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery," delves into the concept of the “ever onward almost” in art, athletics, and business leadership. Learn more from this 2022 conversation about how failure can be a powerful catalyst for success. More about Dr. Lewis: She served on President Obama's Arts Policy Committee, and is the creator of the Vision and Justice project, which explores the intersection of visual art, race, social justice, and democracy. Dr. Lewis's project has led to an exhibition, an award-winning Aperture magazine issue, a popular TED Talk, and a Harvard class that's now part of the core curriculum.Mentions:--Franklin Leonard, who co-hosts The Black List Podcast. More info here: http://luminary.link/blacklist

Greg Wasson jokes that he wanted to be a pharmacist because his two great uncles, both pharmacists, drove big Cadillacs. The Indiana native was, though, seriously inspired to enter the pharmacy school at Purdue. But before he even finished his degree, he started climbing the corporate ladder at Walgreens. New opportunities kept coming his way, and he eventually made it all the way to CEO during a tough time for the company. In this 2020 conversation, Guy explores with Greg the strategies Wasson used to evolve and grow the company into a set of community-focused health destinations.

Sanjiv Yajnik, is someone who embraces risk and adapts to change with remarkable resilience. Sanjiv's career began as a marine engineer, spending over a decade at sea, working for major shipping companies. His dedication and all-in approach to engineering propelled his maritime career. However, Sanjiv took a bold leap, leaving his promising career in India to move to Canada and pursue an MBA. Today, Sanjiv serves as the President of Financial Services at Capital One, renowned for his purpose-driven leadership and agile risk management. How a young man from Calcutta navigated from 13 years at sea to helping steer one of the most influential financial institutions.

Marvin Ellison is one of the few Black CEOs leading a Fortune 500 company. In this episode he shares his remarkable journey from retail security guard to CEO of two major corporations. Known for taking on the toughest jobs that others shied away from, Ellison became the go-to leader for companies like J.C. Penney and now Lowe’s during precarious times. He firmly believes that limiting failure also limits success. Discover the depth of his philosophy and leadership insights in this compelling 2019 conversation.

Leadership strategist, business speaker, podcaster, and author Greg McKeown (New York Times bestsellers Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and Effortless: Make It Easier To Do What Matters Most) writes about ideas and strategies that explain, at least in part, why some break through to the next level while others don’t. His philosophy, "Essentialism," is all about recognizing what's truly important--what matters most, then prioritizing it, and cutting out the rest. Greg's ideas apply not just in the workplace but also in personal life, offering a helpful framework for every important decision. If you've got decision fatigue, this 2021 conversation Guy had with Greg is the perfect motivator.

Initially reluctant to go to Medtronic, his time at that company ultimately became a life changing experience for Bill George. Not only did he usher the company into the Fortune 500 and grow the enterprise value of the company by 60x, he really started to lock in on his growing passion to influence leadership. Then, his career took a turn toward academia and the study and teaching of leadership at Harvard Business School. (In fact, Guy actually took Bill George's class at Harvard in 2008, This conversation took place in 2020). Of the many books Bill George has authored, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership has become a seminal book in leadership studies. "Instead of exerting power over people," he says "empowerment is the way to go."

Author, podcaster and speaker Jon Acuff, known for his humorous approach to leadership and goal-setting, is the author of seven best-selling books. The son of a Baptist minister, Jon worked as a copywriter throughout his twenties. His blog “Stuff Christians Like” caught the attention of personal finance guru Dave Ramsey (also a guest on Wisdom From the Top) who helped him launch a new career as an author and speaker. His self-help book, Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking, was released in April 2021, around the same time he joined Guy Raz for a conversation that may make you ask yourself if your goals are "fun enough," among other things.

David Novak has been a driving force behind brands like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, and he co-founded YUM! Brands Inc., one of the biggest players in the quick service restaurant industry. He's written bestsellers including Taking People With You, The Education of an Accidental CEO, and his latest, co-authored with Jason Goldsmith, titled Take Charge of You: How Self Coaching Can Transform Your Life and Career. In this conversation from 2022, Novak shares with Guy how he learned to lead by bringing everybody along with him.

One of the things Andrea Jung remembers Steve Jobs saying was "fail forward." If you don't fail you're not risking enough. For over a decade as CEO of direct-sales giant Avon, Andrea Jung was one of the most powerful women in the cosmetics industry. During her tenure, Jung saw striking success, but also faced daunting challenges with a failed product rollout and massive restructuring. Since 2014, Andrea has brought her passion for supporting female entrepreneurs to her job as CEO of Grameen America, a non-profit focused on micro-lending. In this classic conversation from 2020, Andrea and Guy mine the many lessons she has learned from more than twenty years of running organizations that empower women--by supporting them as entrepreneurs.

When he was a young management consultant at Boston Consulting Group, Morten Hansen put in long hours–up to 90 a week, regularly. The highest performer in his office, however, was a colleague who clocked significantly less hours and rarely came in on weekends. This experience helped inspire Hansen’s research on work and is a central topic in his latest book, Great at Work: How top performers do less, work better, and achieve more. Join Morten and Guy as they explore the ideas around how to make a greater impact by doing less.

When Maria Ross was trying to teach her son that empathy was a way to success, the world around them seemed to be sending the exact opposite message. So Ross took her years of experience as a management and brand consultant to make the case for empathy not as a moral imperative, but as a business strategy. It's an equation worth studying. Here, in her 2021 conversation with Guy Raz, she describes the way she turned her research into a book called The Empathy Edge: Harnessing the Value of Compassion as an Engine for Success.

Explorer, writer, and publisher Erling Kagge came from a childhood enriched by an artistic household (the likes of Chet Baker and Eubie Blake once visited his home) and by ready access to nature. He was the first person to complete the Three Poles Challenge -- reaching the South Pole, the North Pole, and the top of Mt. Everest -- on foot. He talks about what a life of extreme exploration has taught him about silence and the value of failure.

Jeff Jones has had a few front row seats to crisis. From the 2013 Target data breach to a tumultuous period at Uber, he’s helped navigate companies out of some tough situations. So, when Jeff became the President and CEO of H&R Block in 2017, he was prepared. How a young man from West Virginia went from being an ad guy to heading one of the biggest tax preparation companies in the US during a global economic downturn and public health crisis (this conversation took place in 2020; the lessons to any business leader are timeless).

There was a devastating data breach, a failing foray into Canada, and they were losing US customers fast. In 2014, Target seriously needed a win—Brian Cornell was that win. He’d turned around plenty of other retailers like Safeway, Michael’s, and Sam’s Club, but this time he was thinking bigger. In this 2019 conversation: Playing the long game to make Target a brand that lasts.

Sarah Robb O'Hagan is brutally honest about the many, many times she messed up on the way to transforming Gatorade. She was a rabble-rouser at Virgin, which ended with her getting fired. She took a job at Atari, even though she hated video games. How those disasters made her into the right executive to pull Gatorade out of double-digit declines. 

When the COO of Chase Bank told Jacqueline Novogratz that she had the potential for a high level career at Chase, she knew she had to quit her job. She continued to use the skills she learned from investment banking, and used them to change the way the world sees capitalism and philanthropy. Today Acumen has delivered more than 100 million dollars in loans, grants, and investments to projects and businesses that help low income people around the world. It's little wonder that as a child Jacqueline Novogratz was drawn to the stories of saints--or, rather, "narratives about women who directed their own lives," as she tells Guy Raz in this conversation from 2020 (reprised, fittingly, during a month that honors the power and history of women).

Black Entertainment Television launched in 1980--at a time when MTV didn't play Hip hop or "urban music. Not only did BET fill a vital programming void, it was the first Black-owned business traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and it helped make the first Black Billionaire in the US (Bob Johnson). Debra Lee, a young Harvard-educated lawyer drawn to the company’s mission, was recruited by Johnson early on, eventually taking his place as CEO. Lee was pivotal in turning the small, revolutionary cable station into an industry staple. In honor of the 55th NAACP Image Awards, which air on BET, listen to this excellent 2019 conversation with Lee about what she learned in her 30+-year tenure at BET Networks.

Growing up in a small town in India, Leena Nair overheard her mother say it was too bad Leena was born a girl, because it meant her smarts and talents would go to waste. But Nair went on to join Hindustan Unilever, becoming the first female manager to work on a factory floor, the first woman to serve on the management committee, and the youngest-ever executive director. She has since gone on to the role of CEO at Chanel. When Guy Raz had this conversation with Nair in 2020 she was Unilever’s Chief Human Resource Officer, overseeing the company’s 170,000-plus global workforce during the COVID-19 crisis - a crisis that she said has been one of the greatest challenge of her career.

Shellye Archambeau knew as a teenager she wanted to grow up and become a CEO. But when Shellye started as an undergraduate at the Wharton School of Business in 1980, there were just two female CEOs of large corporations, and none of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies were Black. Despite the lack of representation, Shellye became the first Black woman to lead a division of IBM overseas. She broke barriers and took risks leading to a successful career with leadership positions at Blockbuster, Zaplet and MetricStream. In this 2022 conversation with Guy Raz, Shellye discusses her book Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms, and details both her singular approach to leadership and her advice for taking ownership of one’s career.

When a mentor, and now friend, told Kenneth Chenault during a hiring process at American Express that he was "looking for catalytic agents of change," it struck a deep chord--because it's exactly what Chenault wanted to be. Kenneth Chenault learned early on to only worry about the things he could control; this helped him when life—and business at American Express—threw unpredictable events his way. In this 2020 interview, he tells Guy how he broke barriers as the company’s first African American CEO and helped turn AmEx from a traveler’s check company into a credit card powerhouse.

Jason Fried, the CEO and co-founder of 37signals (maker of Basecamp) doesn’t want you to come to meetings. He insists that you work no more than 40 hours a week; 36 in the summer. He doesn’t really want you coming to the office either…and this approach has helped make Basecamp hugely successful. In this episode, Fried describes how he’s built an institution by bucking a lot of conventional wisdom.

On taking what you learn shaking up one industry and applying it to an entirely different industry: Mark King has a reputation for turning businesses around by moving fast on innovative, and sometimes expensive, endeavors. Before his current tenure as CEO of Taco Bell, Mark served as president for Adidas’ long-stagnant North American division, reinvigorating the brand with major athletic sponsorships and a deal with Kanye West. From 2003 to 2014, King was CEO of TaylorMade, which under his leadership became the most profitable golf company in the world.

Ken Coleman calls himself “America’s Career Coach.” In his syndicated call-in show, and in books like The Proximity Principle and One Question, Coleman helps people think about what kind of work they would find meaningful, and how they can connect with people that will help get them into that work. Coleman came about the knowledge he imparts honestly: he spent about a decade working different jobs before he found his real calling in broadcasting. In this encore episode, he poses a simple question: what do you wonder about doing? Learn more about why that question is so powerful.

Joe Keohane is a longtime journalist and editor who believes that talking to strangers can not only help people feel happier and more empathetic, but can actually make the world a better place. In his first book, The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting In A Suspicious World, Joe talks to psychologists, anthropologists and plenty of strangers to prove it. In this encore episode, Guy and Joe explore why the lost art of connecting is now so important for our personal and professional well-being.

David Epstein is a science writer and investigative reporter. His articles have spanned a wide range of topics, from crime and violence, to athletes using steroids, to the intersection of science and the Olympics. And, he’s the author of the books The Sports Gene and Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. But, before all of that, David studied geology and ran on Columbia University’s track team as a walk-on. In this encore episode, follow the thread: David went from star athlete to discovering that having a wide range of interests leads to more successful outcomes -- in sports and in life. 

What does it take for a person to change? BJ Fogg, founder of Stanford’s Behavior Design Lab, says the key to behavior change isn’t what we’ve always been taught. In Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything Fogg draws upon true experiments--from his lab and his life--to outline a system anyone can use to create good habits or unravel the bad. In this episode, originally published in 2021: the invaluable lessons about making change through design and celebration.

Stacey Vanek Smith has reported on business and the economy for over 15 years now, first for public radio’s “Marketplace,” and as the host of Planet Money’s daily podcast “The Indicator.” Over that time, she’s seen the same barriers blocking advancement for women in the workplace again and again. Recently, she’s started to recognize that a lot of tools to move past those barriers can be found in the work of Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Vanek Smith lays out these solutions in her book, Machiavelli for Women: Defend Your Worth, Grow Your Ambition, and Win the Workplace. 

Throughout his life, Chad Sanders found himself having to navigate white culture; at school, in the tech industry, and eventually in his career in entertainment. He learned to cope with the frustration of having to do that by writing, and he wrote his first screenplay at a cafe just across the street from Spike Lee’s studio in Brooklyn—where he would run into Spike himself. Chad would come to realize that though his experiences related to racial inequity left him with real trauma, they also equipped him and other Black leaders with certain entrepreneurial skills. Chad writes about these skills in the book Black Magic: What Black Leaders Learned from Trauma and Triumph.

When Robin Ganzert joined American Humane as it’s new president and CEO, she thought she was helming one of the oldest and best known animal welfare organizations in the US. What she didn’t know was that American Humane was $12.2 million dollars in debt following the 2009 financial crisis. By running the non-profit more like a for-profit, Robin fixed American Humane’s finances while changing its work culture and branding.

When Ken Hicks became CEO of Foot Locker in 2009 the company didn’t have a leg to stand on: the economy was in a recession, sales were down almost a billion dollars, and the brand was widely expected to collapse along with indoor shopping malls themselves. How Hicks used a commitment to better storytelling to help Foot Locker get back on the right foot.