Faculty thought leaders from INSEAD, The Business School for the World speak frankly about the most pressing challenges facing today's firms and managers.
Épisodes
Why We Underestimate Boring Conversations
Why do we often misjudge whether a conversation will be enjoyable? In this episode of the INSEAD Knowledge podcast, Nadav Klein, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, explains why even apparently boring topics can lead to engaging conversations. Drawing on his research, Klein explores how curiosity, attentiveness, humour and genuine interaction matter more than the subject its
Decoding the Language of Conspiracy
Conspiracy theories aren't a sign of poor judgement or personality flaws. Constructed from a shared language, they actually offer a means for someone to try and make sense of an uncertain or stressful event. That's according to Henrich Greve, Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD, speaking on this episode about his new book, co-authored with Stanford University's Huggy Rao: Ctrl+Alt+Doubt: Decod
A Healthier, More Personalised Future for Asia?
In this edition of the INSEAD Perspective: Spotlight on Asia” podcast series, Sameer Hasija, Dean of Asia at INSEAD, speaks with Suhina Singh, co-founder of Singapore-based Jonda Health, about how AI is reshaping healthcare and why Asia has proved an early adopter when it comes to embracing its potential. They discuss why global AI healthcare spend hit US$37 billion in 2025 and is set to nearly
Airbus and the Hydrogen Horizon
The world’s leading aerospace company shows that successful innovation is not just about technical breakthroughs. Consumer demand, financial viability and a functioning ecosystem are crucial for an innovation to move from the drawing board to a commercially viable reality.That’s according to INSEAD professors Manuel Sosa and Adrian Johnson, in their conversation with Harsh Shah, a leading expert o
What "Creative Differences" Really Means With Spencer Harrison
Two words appear in entertainment headlines more than almost any other excuse, but are they doing more harm than good?When a director exits a film "due to creative differences", everyone reads it the same way: something happened, and we're not meant to know what. Spencer Harrison, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, calls it the "aloha" of Hollywood, a phrase flexible enough to mean h
Recipe for Success
Passion and drive helped Rishi Naleendra achieve initial culinary success, but it was only when he learnt to trust his team and change himself that his restaurant climbed to the next level –Michelin recognition. In this episode of the INSEAD Knowledge Podcast, Professors Michael Jarrett and Andy Yap chat with Sri Lankan restaurateur Naleendra.Growing up in war-torn Sri Lanka, he went from a childh
Asia, AI and Career Reinvention
In the new edition of “The INSEAD Perspective: Spotlight on Asia” podcast series, Sameer Hasija, Dean of Asia at INSEAD, speaks with Winnie Jiang, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, about how organisations and individuals in Asia are changing the way they think about work, training and careers.In particular, Jiang identifies a fundamental shift from "institutionalised" to "uninstitut
Tariffs and Turmoil: Negotiating the New World Order
In the latest episode of “The INSEAD Perspective: Spotlight on Asia” podcast series, Sameer Hasija, Dean of Asia at INSEAD, sat down with Pushan Dutt, Professor of Economics and Political Science, to discuss how the new world order is creating a complex economic environment, where traditional business strategies are being upended by unpredictable political and technological shocks. As an expert i
How Talent Can Thrive in an AI-Driven World
In this era of "permacrisis" and constant disruption, adaptability and resilience are vital traits that require collaboration and an increasing focus on human-centric skills. That’s the messaging to come out of the 2025 Global Talent Competitive Index (GTCI), an annual report that highlights the latest talent trends and offers insights into the current global talent landscape.For this episode of “
How Family Businesses in Asia Are Adapting to a Changing World
Family-owned enterprises are the cornerstone of Asia’s economy, contributing roughly 70 percent of GDP and employing over 60 percent of the workforce in some markets. Much more than just commercial entities, these firms are deeply embedded into the social fabric and are typically driven by long-term vision and entrepreneurial stewardship.In this edition of “The INSEAD Perspective: Spotlight on Asi
Learning to Lead as a New Manager
You’ve just been promoted to a manager. Now what? The truth is that new managers hardly receive formal training before taking on their roles. Instead of hitting the ground running, most of them try to figure out how to lead as they go along, says Vibha Gaba, The Berghmans Lhoist Chaired Professor of Entrepreneurial Leadership and Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD.In this podcast, Gaba takes
The Rise of the “Pod Shop”
In this episode, Ben Charoenwong, Associate Professor of Finance at INSEAD and former pod shop veteran, discusses his case on Millennium Partners, and looks at how their adoption of the “pod shop” model has allowed the firm to become one of the most successful hedge funds in the world.As well as exploring the strengths of this plug-and-play approach, Charoenwong highlights the fact that this model
Can Asia Benefit From the AI Boom?
Does artificial intelligence enable organisations to do things differently, or to do different things?In the first episode of the new podcast series “The INSEAD Perspective: Spotlight on Asia”, Sameer Hasija, Dean of Asia at INSEAD, speaks to Hyunjin Kim, INSEAD's Assistant Professor of Strategy, about arguably the most pressing topic affecting business and society today: The impact of AI on busi
Can AI Help Build Smarter Humans?
In a special episode of the INSEAD Knowledge podcast, we shine a spotlight on a sister podcast series, The Age of Intelligence. Hosted by Theodoros Evgeniou, Professor of Technology and Business at INSEAD, and Tim Gordon, co-founder of Best Practice AI, the series features insightful conversations with notable guests from a range of different fields. Its aim is to look at how AI is rebalancing our
The Start-Up That Survived the "Kill Zone"
The "kill zone" refers to the space near a tech giant’s core business where start-ups risk being copied or crushed simply for getting too close. But what if survival were possible?In this episode, Associate Professor of Strategy Michaël Bikard walks us through a case that begins with a promising partnership between Airbnb and Sofar Sounds, but ends with the two companies going head to head.London-
Impactful Communication for Leaders
In this podcast, Andy Yap, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, discusses how leaders can inspire and empower others through communicatiion that appeals to both the head and the heart. It starts with listening. In today’s globalised workplace, leaders must communicate effectively with diverse groups. Doing this well starts with understanding the context and culture of your au
How Nature Nudges Us to Eat Better
“People who eat healthily don’t have that much more willpower. They have just engineered their environment to avoid having to resist temptation.”Pierre Chandon, Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, challenges the idea that healthy eating is a matter of self-control. On the INSEAD Knowledge podcast, he explains how our surroundings – what we see, where we are and how food is framed – play a far greate
Tailoring Strategy to Local Needs
Companies looking to succeed in emerging markets must listen to local needs and tailor their proposition accordingly.That’s the message from Affiliate Professor of Strategy Lite Nartey and digital financial services expert Bruno Akpaka in this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, which examines how mobile payments system Mobile Money was successfully introduced in Ghana.Akpaka, who oversaw the launch of Mobi
Why Business Scandals Keep Happening
What’s common across the Boeing 737 MAX debacle, the 1MDB financial scandal and America’s opioid crisis? They are all illustrations of how business leaders, in pursuit of performance, neglected and undermined progress – specifically fairness, well-being and sustainability.With each such scandal, trust in business frays. While one may blame specific firms and leaders, too much is amiss in modern bu
The Value Of Shared Dreams
Can dreaming really help solve waking problems? And could a specific form of dream analysis help an organisation better achieve shared goals and objectives? In this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, Susan Long, Emeritus Professor at the National Institute of Organization Dynamics Australia and Michael Jarrett, Professor of Management at INSEAD offer their perspective on the value of social dreaming for fi
Putting Customers at the Heart of Your Business
For the longest time, businesses have embraced a “product selling” playbook. Typically, this means having a supplier with a product to sell and a customer to persuade to purchase that product based on the price and perceived value.However, in an increasingly challenging business environment where disruption is the norm, such a transactional approach is no longer fit for purpose. In this INSEAD Kno
Change Management: How Leaders Can Tip the Scales
In a dynamic business environment, leaders often need to implement new strategic initiatives – from new business models to new technologies or workflows. But change is never easy. The success of new initiatives depends on whether leaders win the support of actors within the organisation.In other words, it is a matter of influence. In this podcast with Vibha Gaba, the Berghmans Lhoist Chaired Profe
Making a Good Exit
Despite millions retiring annually, the topic remains taboo for many employers and employees. Every year, millions leave the workforce, yet discussions about this common rite of passage are often avoided.This INSEAD Knowledge podcast features Graham Ward, Adjunct Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Isabel Lebbe, Partner in the Investment Management practice of Arendt & Medernach, discuss
How to Dismantle Hierarchies in Teams
Rigid hierarchical team designs seem to have fallen out of favour with many contemporary organisations. But making the switch to a decentralised approach, where authority is more evenly distributed between team members instead of concentrated among a few senior leaders, is by no means easy.In this podcast, Michael Y. Lee, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, explains the diff
Storytelling for Leaders
Everyone loves a good story. But storytelling is way more powerful when leaders employ it effectively, according to Manfred Kets de Vries, Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organisational Change at INSEAD and the Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt Chaired Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus.In this podcast, Kets de Vries, who authored the book Storytelling for Leader
Negotiating Beyond Win-Win
The world is becoming more interconnected. Digital platforms and social media are giving us a greater “voice” and more ways to group, which can increase the chances of disagreeing with one another. Unsurprisingly, we are seeing great polarisation and conflicts in many parts of the world.In this podcast, INSEAD professors and the co-founders of INSEAD’s Negotiation and Conflict Management Collabora
Tackling the Third Sales Transformation
Today’s uncertain and disrupted world has had a major impact on how firms do business. It has led to a gradual strategic shift from the era of “bigger is better” and a narrow fixation on increased sales growth to a more nuanced, broader vision of corporate value growth.In this podcast, Jean-Claude Larreche, an Emeritus Professor of Marketing and the Alfred H. Heineken Chaired Professor of Marketin
Coaching As Collaboration
The concept of coaching has been a hot topic in business circles for a number of years. It now almost seems a given that top executives employ the services of a coach to help them become better leaders and advance their careers. But the rise in popularity of coaching has also thrown up a number of questions: What really makes a good coach? What can and should you expect from your coach? How can yo
Love Your Job or Leave It? Maybe There's Another Way
Finding meaning in your work isn't just about loving what you do. The reality is there are many ways to experience fulfillment, even in what might seem like a mundane job.In this episode, Winnie Jiang, an Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, explains how financial security, connections with colleagues and even the satisfaction of doing a good job can all contribute to a sense
Mine Your Language
The emergence of large language models (LLMs) is poised to transform many industries, from entertainment and health care to market analysis. Businesses that fail to explore the rich opportunities presented by language technologies may soon find themselves at a significant competitive disadvantage.We speak to Abhishek Borah, Associate Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, about his new book, Mine Your
Grow Your Networks With a Growth Mindset
Professionals are often told – and mostly convinced – that networking is good for their careers. However, the challenge is plugging the knowing-doing gap. How can people build and manage their networks more effectively? What makes individuals more or less motivated to network? In this podcast, Ko Kuwabara, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, explains how mindsets can affect
How Leaders Can Effect Change by Changing Themselves
Leaders play an important role in spearheading organisational change. However, INSEAD professor Narayan Pant notes that many leaders tend to rely on the same ways of doing things that have worked for them in the past, even though it may be the wrong approach for a particular situation.In this podcast, Pant delves into why it can be difficult for leaders to identify and change their behaviours. He
X-Teams: Three Principles to Guide Today’s Leaders
The increasing volatility and asynchrony in today's business environment is urging leaders to move beyond traditional, internally focused team models.In this podcast, INSEAD professor Henrik Bresman discusses the second edition of his book, X-Teams: How to Build Teams That Lead, Innovate, and Succeed, co-authored with Deborah Ancona from MIT Sloan. The book emphasises the need for teams to engage
How Networks Actually Harm Organisations
Digital technologies create digital relationships that limit comapnies ability to innovate and change.It’s long been understood that social networks, the likes of LinkedIn and Facebook, but also tools such as Whatsapp and Slack, enable individuals to collaborate and accomplish important tasks. As a result, firms typically rely on collaboration through networks to help them innovate and change.Yet,
Regrowing Local Roots
Why and how to reinvent multinational management skills. In this podcast conversation, Yves Doz, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Management at INSEAD, draws on over 30 years of research to argue that global companies now have two choices: They can simply retreat from operating globally, or they can try and rebuild their multinational management capabilities.
The Making of Start-Up Ecosystems
Are start-up ecosystems born or can they be made? Both, says Chiara Spina, INSEAD Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, who has extensive experience working with and studying start-ups in Italy, the United Kingdom, India and Pakistan. In the latest INSEAD Knowledge podcast, Spina explains that flourishing ecosystems such as Silicon Valley and Israel are often nurtured by unique local conditions
Mastering the Game: The Advantage of Training With AI
Artificial intelligence has already demonstrated its ability to amplify performance and reshape competitive dynamics. A prime example lies in the pivotal role played by chess computers as artificial training partners, boosting players' capabilities.Introduced in the late 1970s, chess computers gained popularity in Western countries but were not available in the former Soviet Union due to microchip
What Businesses Can Learn From Humanitarian Operations
Supply chain disruptions have become commonplace in recent years due to the increasing occurrence of natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war and various forms of geopolitical tension. In an increasingly volatile business environment, organisations that are used to operating in structured environments can look to the humanitarian sector for insights on navigating this new reality.
Leveraging Generative AI for Digital Transformation
Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, many companies have harnessed the language model and similar generative AI tools for a variety of business functions, including writing marketing copy, coding and plugging gaps in medical imaging data. But before leaders jump on the generative AI bandwagon, they should consider how it fits into their existing technological infrastructure and wider digi
Recognising Possibility in Uncertainty
How do world-renowned leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, artists and creatives achieve success? For some 20 years, Nathan Furr, an Associate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD, has been interviewing such individuals, culminating in a book with 42 practical tools to overcome uncertainty. In this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, we speak to Nathan Furr and Susannah Furr, his co-author of the book The Upside
How to Effectively Engage Stakeholders
Despite their best efforts and desire to “do good”, firms are often primarily focused on financial returns and rarely give stakeholders a seat at the table. This is because firms often lack a genuine understanding of the values that diverse stakeholders can bring and the unique needs and interests they seek.In this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, Lite Nartey, a Visiting Professor of Strategy at INSEAD,
Circularity in Practice: Case of a Zero-Waste Island
What does it take to transform the idyllic Greek island of Tilos into the first zero-waste island? Can this circular model be extended to other islands and even other parts of the world? These are questions the INSEAD Sustainable Business Initiative seeks to answer in its first research collaboration with Polygreen – a network of companies that offers integrated and innovative circular economy sol
Demystifying China's Internet Giants
Love them or loathe them, Chinese tech giants such as ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have become global household names in e-commerce, digital payments, social media and gaming in a few short years. Relatively little is known about these firms, but a new book may just change that.Written by INSEAD Professor of Strategy Guoli Chen and Jianggan Li, founder and chief executive of venture capital firm
How to work out what your employees really want
From the challenges of hybrid working to the quiet quitting trend, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a seismic impact on the workplace, leaving many companies struggling to understand how best to understand and meet employees' needs and motivations. In this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour Mark Mortensen proposes a more holistic approach to understanding employ
Bringing Innovation Inside
The engine a multinational uses to create novel ideas is often an "innovation outpost". In this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, INSEAD Professor Felipe Monteiro shares his research on these outposts and the ways that multinationals manage to integrate innovation.
How Tech is Reshaping Consumer Behaviour and Well-being
Does taking photos during an experience helps us enjoy it more, or not? Alixandra Barasch, INSEAD Visitor Professor of Marketing, joins us to discuss the interplay between immersion in an experience and common fears of being judged on social media. Barasch also shares advice on the type of photos we should share online if we want observers to feel more connected to us. In addition, tech can influe
The Neuroscience of Eating
Why is it so hard to lose weight and keep it off? Is it because willpower is a scarce resource? Or could there perhaps be a biological component? Hilke Plassmann, Octapharma Chaired Professor of Decision Neuroscience at INSEAD, joins us to discuss how newly discovered connections between the gut and the brain are making scientists rethink the issue of food choice. As researchers like Plassmann dis
Professionalising the family firm
In this INSEAD Knowledge podcast, Professor Morten Bennedsen, the Academic Director of the Wendel International Centre for Family Enterprise at INSEAD, talks about how the experience of bringing in talent from outside the family can rejuvenate family firms. Professionalisation is “about having the right leadership skills at any level in the organisation and moving the family firm from a one-man ba
Do CEOs matter?
Unlike men, CEOs are not all created equal. Whether it’s due to national culture, industry, personality and timing, captains of industry or public service run the gamut between powerful leaders or symbolic figureheads. INSEAD Professor of Strategy Guoli Chen draws on nearly two decades of research into chief executives, leadership teams and corporate strategy to illuminate the factors that determi
The business value of empathy
Our relationship to products and brands is complicated. Our opinion of them is shaped by how they make us feel as much as what they do for us. Tim Kobe, founder of strategic design firm Eight Inc., knows this all too well. Starting with his pioneering work on the initial Apple Store concepts, he's helped global brands find their voice -- and new heights of profitability -- by leveraging the emotio
What it means to embark on a journey of change
Many executives have a nagging sense that something is amiss in their lives. But not all of them find the courage – or the tools – to tackle what needs fixing. In his new book, The CEO Whisperer, Manfred Kets de Vries, INSEAD Distinguished Professor of Leadership Development and Organisational Change, shares lessons and insights he gleaned from decades of helping CEOs and executives become their b
How a paradox mindset can be measured and cultivated
How can doing more with less make us more innovative? With a paradox mindset, by embracing both sides of seemingly conflicting priorities, many people find creative solutions to persistent problems.INSEAD's Ella Miron-Spektor joins us to discuss her research into the paradox mindset. Whether people struggle or thrive with competing demands largely depends on their mindset. With a paradox mindset,
Netflix's 'no-rules' approach to innovation
How did a DVD-by-mail company transform itself into a leading global entertainment brand? By rejecting mediocrity, embracing negative feedback, and turning hierarchy on its head.INSEAD's Erin Meyer joins us to discuss Netflix's unique corporate culture, designed to maximise innovation by minimising rules and red tape. Her new book, No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, was writte
How capitalism went astray—and how to fix it
Capitalism's current troubles did not begin with Covid-19, but the pandemic has further exposed the grave consequences of inequality in developed economies and the fragility of global value chains. Populist movements (on both the left and right) are intensifying their demands that Adam Smith's "invisible hand" be assigned a local habitation and a name. Moreover, the harsh business lessons of Covid
The two faces of leadership
Leadership has two faces -- there's the glamorous side that happens in the spotlight, and the less obvious work that goes on behind the scenes. Both are crucial, but leadership literature has increasingly stressed the public face at the expense of the more technocratic one. To borrow terminology from seminal organisational theorist James March, it focuses on the poetry of leadership and often negl
Reimagining business to monetise sustainability
Luk Van Wassenhove, INSEAD Emeritus Professor of Technology and Operations Management, is one of the world's foremost researchers on business and sustainability. Long before the phrase "circular economy" was widely known, he was partnering with companies to reduce waste in their supply chains. In addition, he has decades of experience helping NGOs improve their delivery of services in some of the
Securing supply chains in an era of turmoil
Even before COVID-19, supply chains were under constant threat from global disruptive events. Demand volatility caused by climate change, trade wars, pandemics, political unrest, etc. stir chaos in the market, as we saw with the waves of panic buying that swept the world along with the coronavirus. Supermarket shelves stripped of toilet paper and other essentials are only the most recent manifesta
How discomfort makes us more creative
A lot of us are out of our comfort zones right now, both physically and psychologically. While this is an unsettling place to be, it can also lead to more out-of-the-box thinking and breakthrough ideas. In other words, the exceptional conditions of this crisis may help foster the new ideas we need to surmount it. Prof. Li Huang joins us to discuss her extensive research into creativity, recommendi
SPECIAL EDITION: Healthcare in the time of coronavirus
In this Special Edition of the INSEAD Knowledge podcast, our editors sit down with three INSEAD faculty thought leaders working at the cutting edge of public health research. First, Prashant Yadav discusses how medical supply chains are falling short of keeping us safe, the potentially dire consequences in cases of global emergency such as the coronavirus pandemic, and the "social innovators" pois
Getting real about social impact: How business can make a difference
Can you do good without being a "do-gooder"? INSEAD strategy professor Jasjit Singh argues that you don't need to quit your job and join an NGO to have a beneficial impact on the world. But doing the most good may not mean painting houses in your off-hours or running marathons for charity. Increasingly, businesses are pursuing both social impact and profits -- sometimes in the same sweet spot, oth
The key to successful innovation is collaboration
When it comes to innovation, people often confuse product with process. Creating game-changing products and services (or any novel and useful business solution) requires creative approaches that aren't part of the standard managerial skill-set. Manuel Sosa, INSEAD Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management, joins us to discuss how close-knit collaborations between managers and des
Conversation, not compromise, is the key to success for dual-career couples
Jennifer Petriglieri, author of the new book Couples That Work: How to Thrive in Love and at Work, has interviewed more than 100 dual-career couples on their triumphs and tensions. The key to long-term happiness, she says, is for partners to communicate about deeper issues, rather than getting hung up on practicalities. But what happens if couples discover they may not be on the same page?Read mor
