Deep Purpose

Hosted by Harvard Business School Prof. Ranjay Gulati

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May 2025

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About the show

Deep Purpose is a series of captivating conversations with Harvard Business School Professor Ranjay Gulati and top global CEOs about how courageous leaders unlock potential, proving that vast performance gains–and vital social benefits–are the payoffs when firms get purpose right.

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31 recent

May 9, 202555 min

Introducing 'HBS Think Big, Buy Small' Season Two

Today, we’re sharing a special episode from season 2 of Think Big, Buy Small, the podcast from my colleagues at Harvard Business School. Think Big, Buy Small explores an innovative approach to entrepreneurship: acquisition entrepreneurship. Through engaging conversations, this season delves into how to buy your own business, become your own boss, and scale it to new heights. In this episode, HBS professors Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff sit down with Nick Vandam, a former Army officer and elite athlete who took an unconventional path to business ownership by pursuing entrepreneurship through acquisition. Nick shares what it’s really like to buy and run a small business, the tough lessons he learned, and why this path might be more accessible than you think. Listen to the complete season 2 of Think Big, Buy Small, and follow the podcast today: https://link.chtbl.com/B2cH36AX?sid=deeppurpose

December 10, 202439 min

Introducing 'Dealcraft: Insights from Great Negotiators'

Today, we are sharing the first episode of the new podcast Dealcraft: Insights from Great Negotiators. Recently called a “best podcast of the week” by The Guardian, Dealcraft is hosted by my HBS colleague, Jim Sebenius, who is a renowned negotiation expert and author. The show features interviews with the world’s greatest dealmakers and diplomats (like Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman) on their most challenging negotiations. And each episode, Jim shares fascinating deal stories and distills useful insights for listeners to apply in their toughest deals and disputes. In this specific episode of Dealcraft, you’ll hear how music industry super-lawyer John Branca was able to negotiate for Michael Jackson’s ownership of his master recordings… an almost unprecedented feat at the time. To listen to other episodes, follow Dealcraft: Insights from Great Negotiators here: https://link.chtbl.com/3CG3TbHY?sid=DeepPurpose

August 5, 202457 min

Introducing HBS Think Big, Buy Small

This is a special episode from Think Big, Buy Small, the chart-topping entrepreneurship podcast from our friends at Harvard Business School. Think Big, Buy Small explores an innovative approach to entrepreneurship -- acquisition entrepreneurship -- with conversations on how to buy your own business, be your own boss, and get the financial benefits of your efforts through the approach of entrepreneurship through acquisition. In this specific episode, HBS Professors Richard Ruback and Royce Yudkoff chat with graduating Harvard MBA students about their thoughts on becoming entrepreneurs. Listen to more episodes of Think Big, Buy Small and follow the podcast here: https://link.chtbl.com/B2cH36AX?sid=deeppurpose

March 18, 202442 min

Helena Foulkes: The Power of Asking “What Could Go Right?”

Research has repeatedly shown that we are hard-wired to worry. Whether we worry about our own survival, our family and friends, or our future, it can seem like we spend much of our lives fixated on what could go wrong. In this episode, Helena Foulkes discusses how taking courage can be as simple as asking what could go right – a philosophy that has taken her from the helm of CVS Pharmacy and Hudson’s Bay Company to the campaign trail for governorship of Rhode Island.

March 4, 202439 min

Behind the CEO Who Wants to “Keep Commerce Human”

In our increasingly virtual world, it can feel like many of our lives take place remotely. When Josh Silverman took the helm at Etsy in 2017, however, he went against this technological grain, helping to usher in a new, distinctly human-centered purpose at the e-commerce company: “Keep Commerce Human.” In this episode spanning the course of his career, Silverman recounts the difficult choices he has made in keeping people at the center of business – and what following that ethos has meant for his personal and professional life.

February 26, 202438 min

Global CEO of Chanel Leena Nair: Building the Courage to Lead

Despite the decades of progress women have made in the workplace, they remain underrepresented in leadership positions at companies across the globe. Leena Nair, CEO of Chanel, is working to change that. Reflecting on her journey from rural India to London, Leena discusses how she developed the confidence necessary to usher Chanel into the future – one led by (many more) women.

February 12, 202443 min

From the Frontlines to the C-Suite: How Penny Pennington Discovered Her Purpose at Edward Jones

Few CEOs can claim that they started in entry-level positions at the companies they now lead. Penny Pennington is one of those few, rising from financial advisor to CEO and Managing Partner at Edward Jones. In this episode, Pennington reflects on how Edward Jones’ purpose – “to partner for positive impact” – motivated her personal and professional life and, nowadays, how she has been working to realize that sense of purpose for Edward Jones’ employees, clients, and the communities in which they live.

February 5, 202430 min

What it Takes to Lead a Successful Turnaround in Health Care

As a veteran leader in the healthcare sector, José (Joe) E. Almeida, Chairman, President & CEO of Baxter, has made a lot of tough decisions. He led the successful turnaround of the Illinois-based multinational by calling on leadership lessons he gained from his family in Brazil. Almeida says courage is not the absence of fear, but the determination to press on when times are difficult.

December 18, 202347 min

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach on Driving the Future of the Digital Economy

What’s really in a payment? During his career at Mastercard, Michael Miebach has strived to understand how payment solutions make a difference in people’s lives, even before his appointment as CEO. In this episode, Miebach explains how he thinks through powering the economy in an increasingly digital (if uncertain) world and the leadership required to do so.

December 11, 202344 min

How Anne Mulcahy Turned Xerox Around – and What Came After

During the 2000s, Anne Mulcahy was faced with the seemingly unsurmountable challenge of saving Xerox, rising to the position of CEO after her predecessor had been unsuccessful. In this retrospective, Mulcahy discusses the leadership lessons she learned, the role she believes CEOs should play in today’s society, and how she’s defining her life post-Xerox.