Deep Purpose

Aug 05 2024 29 ep. 398
Deep Purpose Podcast artwork

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.

  Business  Society & Culture
RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


Introducing HBS Think Big, Buy Small

Aug 05 2024 57 mins  
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 approa

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

Mar 18 2024 44 mins  
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

Behind the CEO Who Wants to “Keep Commerce Human”

Mar 04 2024 41 mins  
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 di

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

Feb 26 2024 40 mins  
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.

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

Feb 12 2024 45 mins  
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

What it Takes to Lead a Successful Turnaround in Health Care

Feb 05 2024 32 mins  
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 diffi

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

Dec 18 2023 47 mins  
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.

How Anne Mulcahy Turned Xerox Around – and What Came After

Dec 11 2023 44 mins  
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.

Entrepreneur Harsh Shah Debates the Exit Strategy: Is it Selling Out or Building Value?

Dec 04 2023 32 mins  
Harsh Shah and his firm’s co-founders faced a once-in-a-lifetime quandary: should they sell the incredibly successful e-commerce venture they worked so hard to build to a big conglomerate? Reflecting on the circumstances surrounding their acquisition offer, Shah outlines the values that guided their ultimate choice.

From Rags to (Shared) Riches: How James Mwangi Democratized Financial Access Across Africa

Nov 27 2023 38 mins  
James Mwangi made a courageous decision to leave a comfortable, big-city banking job to rescue Equity Building Society, a local financial institution on which Kenyan farmers and villagers depended. Under his leadership, the struggling firm transformed into a multi-national conglomerate (Equity Group Holdings) that now serves millions of customers across six African countries. Mwang