Thought Sparks

Hosted by Rita Gunther-McGrath

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156

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Aug 2026

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About the show

Thought Sparks are the brainchild of Rita McGrath. They are insightful actions, strategic ideas, actionable suggestions and innovative approaches that help organizations and leaders master the future with less fear and more confidence. New episodes of the Thought Sparks Podcast are released every other Tuesday at 11am Eastern.

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September 8, 2026Episode 3657 min

The Science of Better Leadership with Rita McGrath and Caroline Webb

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Caroline Webb, former McKinsey partner, leadership coach, and economist. Her new book, Leadership Intelligence, which is available on September 8, gives practical strategies for leaders facing 21 everyday management challenges. 0:00 Welcome to Thought Sparks 0:24 Meet Caroline Webb 1:21 Experiential vs. Deliberate Wisdom 3:04 How the Book Came to Be 10:27 The Three-Part Structure: How We Think 12:57 The Brain's Reward System: Competence & Connection 17:23 The Brain's Threat System & Resilience 19:58 Absorbing Uncertainty: Know, Be, Do 26:00 Staying Calm Under Pressure: The ABC Routine 27:57 The Readiness Reframe: Channeling Anxiety 29:59 Preparing Before Key Moments 31:00 The Positive No 36:51 Fix Flex: The Art of Delegation 40:17 The Leadership Pipeline & Managing AI Agents 41:48 Difficult Conversations: Layoffs & Underperformance 45:08 Compassionate Clarity 45:36 The Arc of a Coaching Engagement 50:21 Common Themes in Senior Leaders 53:56 Loneliness at the Top & Building Networks 56:09 Wrap-Up & Where to Learn More Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

September 1, 2026Episode 3555 min

Leadership in an Age of Polycrisis with Rita McGrath and Caroline Stokes

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Caroline Stokes, author of AfterShock to 2030: A CEO’s Guide to Reinvention in the Age of AI, Climate, and Societal Collapse, and member of the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2026. 0:00 — Cold Open: The Trust Crisis in CEO Leadership 0:26 — Welcome to Thought Sparks & Introducing Caroline Stokes 2:10 — The Brian Thompson Assassination: Why It Opens the Book 6:21 — Why the Book Is Digital-Only & CEO Reading Habits 8:10 — The Trust Gap: Organizations Making People Sick 12:20 — LSE Research: Doughnut Economics & Post-Growth Practices 15:15 — Why "Aftershock": Polyvagal Theory & CEO Behaviors 19:11 — Carlota Perez: Turning Points in Capitalism 22:03 — NVIDIA's Fluid, Mission-First Organization Model 25:55 — Mea Culpa & Tabula Rasa: Reinventing Yourself as a Leader 31:07 — Radical Listening: The Human-to-Human Approach 34:39 — The PlayStation Backward Compatibility Story 36:30 — AI-Enabled Radical Listening & the DOGE Example 38:21 — NVIDIA's Top Five Things & Stochastic Sampling 41:01 — Getting Started: Finding Your Mission & Purpose 45:43 — Corruption, Shareholder Theory & the Need for a Reset 48:12 — Caroline's Personal Shocks & Living Abroad 49:53 — Advice for Younger People 54:26 — Where to Find the Book & Closing Remarks Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

August 25, 2026Episode 3455 min

Designing Meetings that Matter with Rita McGrath and Rebecca Hinds

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Rebecca Hinds, Head of the Work AI Institute & Director of Thought Leadership at Glean to discuss her new book Your Best Meeting Ever. 0:00 Intro & Welcome 0:13, Meet Rebecca Hinds 0:58, Rebecca's Journey Into Meeting Research 3:45, Meetings as Status Symbols & Power Dynamics 6:36, Meetings as a Product: Design Principles 7:33, Cutting Meeting Debt: The Meeting Doomsday 9:52, Return on Time Invested (ROTI) 13:42, The Four D CEO Test for Meetings 15:02, Bezos One-Way Door Decisions & Law of Triviality 18:13, Decision Fatigue & The Importance of Breaks 20:13, Amazon's Six-Page Memo Practice 26:05, Using Verbs in Agenda Items 27:11, Alan Mulally at Ford: Meetings That Drive Action 31:08, In-Person vs. Hybrid Meetings 38:51, Ensuring Diverse Perspectives Are Heard 45:48, AI's Role in Improving Meetings 47:27, Surprises Since the Book's Publication 50:14, Meeting Budget & Optimal Meeting Hours 53:43 Where to Learn More & Closing Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

August 18, 2026Episode 331 hr 4 min

Developing a Marketing Mindset with Rita McGrath and Rory Sutherland

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of the Ogilvy & Mather group of companies and expert in behavioral science and creativity. Their conversation took place in person at the Ogilvy offices in London. 0:00 The Marketing Mindset 0:29 Welcome & Introducing Rory Sutherland 1:10 Rory's Path into Advertising 2:11 Direct Marketing & A/B Testing Origins 3:01 Edwardian Era Newspaper Experiments 4:18 Testing Creative vs. Price 7:23 Discovering Behavioral Science 10:08 Marketing as a Way of Thinking 11:05 Uber & the Psychology of Innovation 12:23 Marketing & Innovation: Two Sides of a Coin 13:45 The Austrian School of Economics 14:46 The Swiss Watch Industry 17:21 Public vs. Private Advertising 18:50 What Are You Really Competing With? (Zippo) 22:16 Quarter-Inch Holes & Hidden Value 24:10 Trade-offs in Innovation 27:27 Austrian Economics & Value Creation 28:47 Baumol's Cost Disease & Non-Transactional Value 31:23 Universities as Luxury Goods 34:32 Ogilvy Adapting to Digital Change 37:48 The Marketing Mindset for All Businesses 40:02 Symbolism Matters: NASCAR Tickets & Corporate Perks 41:47 Risk & Reward in Organizations 42:54 The BT A/B Test: Channels Affect Purchases 47:33 Marketing Genius: James Watt's Horsepower 50:11 Marketing as Value Creation 51:18 The Citibank Demo: Finding the Real Sell 53:50 Kano Theory: Delighters & the DoubleTree Cookie 55:48 Reverse Benchmarking 58:05 The State of Advertising Today 59:27 Book Recommendations & Risk Aversion 1:03:45 Marketing Metrics & Digital Platforms Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

August 11, 2026Episode 3258 min

Leading with Humanity with Rita McGrath and Kevin Nolan

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, hosts Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances, who talks through Haier’s acquisition of GE Appliances, and his advice for leaders facing massive transformations. 0:00 - Intro: Can you choose between growth and profitability? 0:27 - Meet Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances 1:40 - GE's long history of wanting to divest the appliances division 2:47 - The Haier acquisition — and the surprise of who bought them 5:55 - First meetings with Haier: "salad management" and philosophy over business 8:37 - "We don't plan to learn. We plan to win." — The GE mindset 10:14 - Culture shock: Haier kept asking, "What do YOU want to do?" 16:55 - The concept of "leading goals" — goals you don't know how to achieve 19:25 - Kevin becomes CEO: setting the bold goal of #1 in 5 years (from #5) 25:12 - Introducing FirstBuild: GE's open, consumer-driven innovation engine 34:06 - The nugget ice story — and why engineers don't understand customer needs 39:37 - FirstBuild's secret sauce: it must be self-funding (zero-cost innovation) 44:40 - From #5 to #1 in 5 years — with no acquisitions and no new people 48:51 - CEO humility: going to the factory floor unannounced 59:15 - Final advice: rely on the people closest to the work Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

August 4, 2026Episode 3138 min

Lessons from Three Decades at Columbia Business School

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Bill Klepper, Academic Director in Executive Education at Columbia Business School, to celebrate Bill’s retirement and reflect on his expertise in executive learning, strategic leadership and corporate governance. Their conversation took place at Columbia Business School, following a session of Rita McGrath's Executive Education course Leading Strategic Growth and Change. 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Meet Bill Klepper 02:03 The Origin of The CEO's Boss 06:25 Why Board Governance Matters 06:58 The Lifeline Exercise 08:06 Bill's Lifeline: Early Values 12:29 Path to Public Office 15:06 The 9/11 Story 18:31 Learning Styles Framework 24:08 The Integrative Leadership Model 30:39 Legacy and Wisdom 32:38 Strategic Centering 33:15 Audience Q&A 38:18 Closing Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

July 28, 2026Episode 3055 min

How Organizations Can Win with AI with Rita McGrath and Charlene Li

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Charlene Li, author of author of Groundswell, Open Leadership, and The Disruption Mindset, and a new book, written with Katia Walsh: Winning with AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success . 0:00 - Introduction & Meet Charlene Li 1:35 - Charlene's Upbringing in Detroit 4:14 - Introducing Winning with AI 7:34 - Strategy First, Not "What Do We Do About AI" 8:56 - Three Ways AI Creates Value 12:43 - The AI Hesitancy Gap: FOMO vs. FOGI 13:40 - Why a 90-Day Blueprint 18:53 - The Grief and Rage Behind AI Disruption 24:52 - Why AI Pilots Fail 28:43 - Building an AI Investment Portfolio 31:46 - Trust, Honesty, and Fairness in Leadership 39:04 - How AI Gave Charlene Her Voice 41:24 - Speed as the New Competitive Moat 44:22 - Goldilocks Governance 49:01 - Lessons from Burning Man's Mudpocalypse 53:04 - Becoming Superhuman with AI Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

July 21, 2026Episode 2954 min

Achieving Real Business Growth with Rita McGrath and Victor Grizzle

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Victor Grizzle, CEO and Executive Chairman of Armstrong Industries, to speak candidly about the massive transformation he led at Armstrong, inspired by McGrath’s work on growth outliers. 0:00 Introduction 0:46 Victor Grizzle's Career Journey to Armstrong 5:31 The Growth Outliers Research 7:23 Separating the Flooring and Ceilings Businesses 10:42 Finding a Burning Platform for Growth 14:37 Divesting the International Business 17:03 Driving a Growth Mindset Shift 25:46 Building an Innovation Engine 30:46 Embracing Intelligent Failure 35:07 Balancing Stability with Entrepreneurial Acquisitions 42:41 Advice for the Next Generation 48:39 Culture, Teamwork, and Consistency 50:42 Looking Ahead: AI and the Future of Armstrong Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books, and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

July 14, 2026Episode 281 hr 1 min

Understanding the New Longevity with Rita McGrath and Michael Clinton

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Michael Clinton, former president and publishing director and current special advisor to the CEO of Hearst Magazines, author of “Longevity Nation”, “ROAR Into The Second Half of Your Life.”, and expert on the business and personal effects of the New Longevity. 0:00 — Intro 0:19 — Meet Michael Clinton & Longevity Nation 1:29 — Michael's backstory in publishing at Hearst 2:43 — How Roar into the Second Half was born 3:49 — Retirement is a false construct 5:40 — Reimagineers: rewriting the second half of our lives 11:20 — Do companies take longevity seriously? 13:20 — Innovative work models (Flex 58, Singapore) 15:12 — Reconciling ageism vs. the 50+ economy 20:07 — Medicine, tech, and AI convergence 24:55 — The 60-year career 32:38 — Self-efficacy and the confidence edge 48:21 — Entrepreneurship in midlife 50:05 — Women leading the longevity movement 57:04 — The five core longevity hacks 1:00:07 – Conclusion and where to learn more Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .

July 7, 2026Episode 2757 min

Longterm Strategic Thinking with Rita McGrath and Roger Dennis

In this week’s Thought Sparks Podcast episode, Rita McGrath, a Columbia University Business School Professor, C-Suite strategist, business founder and best-selling author, sits down with Roger Dennis, advisor on long term thinking and foresight and cultural transformation specialist. 00:00 Introduction 00:22 Welcome Roger Dennis 01:03 How Roger became a futurist 03:05 "Getting above strategy" explained 05:18 Current geopolitical risks & top trends to watch 07:13 Three things leaders need: capabilities, process, routines 09:44 Historical precedents for today's volatility 11:31 Example: tolls on the Strait of Hormuz/Malacca 12:35 Reversion to the mean, or a new normal? 14:19 The "Layer Player" framework 18:28 Second-order consequences & policy paradoxes 23:26 Acting under uncertainty: the Netflix story 26:15 Why you need real experts, not guesswork 28:03 The 2015 pandemic report nobody wanted 29:53 New Zealand's COVID Tracer App success story 33:08 The mindset of realistic optimism 41:58 How the music industry refused to adapt 43:38 Industries still "hanging on" today 45:02 Agentic AI and the ROI problem 46:57 From mass production to personalization 50:11 Where to learn more: The Paradox of Preparedness 55:02 Key takeaway for leaders Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify . https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thought-sparks/id1546758719 https://open.spotify.com/show/0xmTsYXMgTeielwZ0dGTSU Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTube . https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyXT8iJkTSciUMe0me3L7Q Follow Rita on LinkedIn , Instagram , X and Blue Sky . https://www.linkedin.com/in/ritamcgrath/ https://x.com/rgmcgrath https://bsky.app/profile/rgmcgrath.bsky.social Connect with Rita on TikTok and Instagram . https://www.tiktok.com/@rgmcgrath https://www.instagram.com/ritamcgrath.hub/ Sign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack . https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/ Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com .