Thought Sparks

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, speaks with Garry Ridge, the former CEO of WD-40, and author of “Any Dumb-Ass Can Do It: Learning Moments from an Everyday CEO of a Multi-Billion-Dollar Company”. They share lessons from Garry’s 25-year tenure at WD-40 on how leaders can foster a supportive, positive workplace, and create cultures of belonging.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Meet Garry Ridge: WD-40 Chairman Emeritus & "Dean of Dumbassery"

01:19 Business as a Force for Good: Creating Cultures Where People Go Home Happy

02:29 “Smart Alec” the Doll: Identifying Soul-Sucking Leadership Behaviors

03:19 The Tribal Concept: Why "Belonging" Is the Foundation of Great Organizations

06:56 The Maniac Pledge: Eliminating the Finger-Pointing Disease in Organizations

11:26 "I Hate the Word Manager": Why Coaching Beats Management Every Time

13:53 Learning Moments vs. Failures: Building Psychological Safety in Your Team

18:13 WD-40's Origin Story: How 39 Failed Attempts Led to a Global Brand

19:59 Beyond Squeaks: Why Your Product Isn't Your Purpose

22:32 Values as Decision-Making Tools: How Hierarchical Values Empower Employees

24:41 The $4 Million Decision: How Values Protected WD-40 from a Toxic Opportunity

30:36 Market Research in China: How Curiosity Transformed a Failed Product Launch

33:41 "Don't Understand? Get Curious!": How to Identify Your Customers' Real Needs

36:09 From CEO to "Refirement": Planning Your Leadership Exit with Purpose

40:33 Leading Through Uncertainty: Six Principles for Navigating Crisis

43:31 The Leadership Risk: Why Absorbing Uncertainty Is Your Most Important Job

49:47 The Remote Work Dilemma: Why In-Person Connection Drives Innovation

55:06 "97% of My Assets Drive Out the Gate": Treating People as Your Greatest Value

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. Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators?

Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTubeFollow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.

Connect with Rita on TikTokSign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack.

Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com

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, speaks with Anupam Jena, the host of the Freakonomics MD Podcast. Anupam is here to talk about his recent book “Random Acts of Medicine”, which shows how unexpected—but predictable—events profoundly affect our health. What are the hidden forces that sway doctors, impact patients and shape our health? He’s here to explain and help us understand what to do about it.

00:00 Welcome to Thought Sparks with Rita McGrath & Dr. Anupam "Bapu" Jena

00:56 "Random Acts of Medicine" - The Surprising Reception to Bapu's Groundbreaking Book

01:40 The Paradox: Why Do Patients Do Better When Cardiologists Leave Town?

04:17 London Cabbies, Brain Development & Alzheimer's: The Stunning Connection

08:50 The 5-Minute Fix: Why Sports Teams Warm Up But Surgeons Don't (And What Happens When They Do)

13:37 Trust vs. Errors: The Counterintuitive Research That Changed Everything

17:00 "The Machine Saw That": How AI Could Transform Professional Feedback in Medicine & Beyond

21:12 America's Healthcare Paradox: Why Spending 20% of Our Income Doesn't Make Us Healthier

32:45 "Flooding the System with Humans": How AI Could Democratize Healthcare Access

36:28 The 16-Minute Visit: Does Anyone Have Time for Healing?

37:53 Your Zip Code Shouldn't Determine Your Health: The Geography of Medical Inequality

43:02 From Research to Reality: The Rocky Path from Healthcare Insights to Actual Policy

46:31 When Science Meets Values: The Hidden Battle Behind Health Policy Debates

53:10 New Zealand's Hard Choice: A Global Lesson in Healthcare Trade-offs

54:41 The Orphaned Cures: Why Some Life-Saving Treatments Never Make it to Market

57:46 Unintended Consequences: How the Inflation Reduction Act Is Reshaping Medicine's Future

59:34 The Unsung Heroes: Why We Thank Doctors But Not the Innovations That Save Us------------------------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. Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators? Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTubeFollow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.Connect with Rita on TikTokSign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack. Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com

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, speaks with Dean Carignan and JoAnn Garbin about their new book The Insider's Guide to Innovation at Microsoft. Together, the three innovation experts discuss the strategies and models that enabled Microsoft to continuously innovate for 50 years, and how other leaders and organizations can apply these strategic lessons. Key Takeaways:✅ The Power of Reinvention – How Microsoft has navigated four major technological shifts, including AI.✅ Culture of Risk & Learning – Why embracing failure fuels innovation rather than stifling it.✅ From Competition to Collaboration – How Satya Nadella’s leadership transformed Microsoft’s work culture.✅ The Hackathon Effect – How company-wide experimentation has driven groundbreaking ideas.✅ Human-Centered AI – How Microsoft approaches responsible AI development.🔗 Order now: https://www.innovationatmicrosoft.com/home#buynow

00:00 Welcome Intro

01:17 Dean Intro

02:08 JoAnn Intro

03:23 Brief Book Intro & Proceeds to STEAM

05:35 Microsoft’s “Secret Sauce” for Innovation

09:45 Boundary Crossers for Innovation @ Microsoft

11:23 How to Grow a Business — Innovate with Everyone & Over the Years

15:26 Failure and Not Working Out in Innovation

19:29 “Failure to Launch” — Trying New Things

20:54 Agility & Learning from Failure (Mobile Example)

23:03 Hackathons & Rita’s “Brand Takeover” — Expanding Your Thinking

27:32 Design Principles — What Good Looks Like

31:10 Overshooting What Customers Want — No New Features!

34:01 Satya Nadella Transition

38:10 Responsible AI & Human-Centered AI

45:55 Startups & Where the Money Flows

51:23 Is Software Going Away? Agentic AI

54:26 “Fifth Industrial Revolution”

58:06 Hyper-Localization & Technology Reaching Out to U -------------------Thought Sparks, the brainchild of Rita McGrath, 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. Want to learn more about Rita’s ideas and hear more of her conversations with business leaders and innovators? Listen to more Thought Sparks Podcast episodes on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Watch Thought Sparks episodes on YouTubeFollow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.Connect with Rita on TikTokSign up for her Thought Sparks Newsletter on Substack. Learn more about Rita, her books and ideas at RitaMcGrath.com

Join me in this chat with Matt Beane as we dive into one of today’s biggest workforce challenges: upskilling at scale. 📈 In a rapidly evolving world, the skills our teams need are constantly changing, and leaders everywhere are asking: How do we equip people to adapt and thrive?

Matt, author of “The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines, a groundbreaking book on skill-based work, will share insights into skill transfer and workplace transformation—vital topics for any executive navigating today’s fast-paced environment. Don’t miss this chance to explore the future of work and practical strategies for upskilling. 🔥

Follow my social channels to hear the full discussion on Friday, December 13 at 11 am EST!

Sitting down with Susannah Fox, former Chief Information Officer at Health and Human Services and author of “Rebel Health.” Susannah is a true innovator in healthcare, and her work on “Rebel Health” explores how patients, caregivers, and survivors are using digital platforms to unite, advocate, and change the system from within. 💡

From inspiring stories of grassroots health movements to practical insights on shaping healthcare from the ground up, this chat is one you won’t want to miss.

Follow me on my social channels to get notified when we start our live discussion.

Rita McGrath joins KFNN

H.R. McMaster's new book "At War with Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House" is an incisive account of his time as National Security Advisor during Trump's presidency. Be sure to tune in this Friday at 11:15 am EST to ask questions, and hear firsthand about the political experience of a lifetime.

Steven Brill is a veteran journalist and author whose previous books include "The Teamsters," "America's Bitter Pill," and "Tailspin." His new book is exactly as terrifying as it sounds. It's called "The Death of Truth: How Social Media and the Internet Gave Snake Oil Salesmen and Demagogues the Weapons They Needed to Destroy Trust and Polarize the World - and What We Can Do About It." Brill outlines in precise detail exactly how our big technology platforms have profited from the weaponization of communication platforms, even as they undermine and starve legitimate news sources. None of this has happened by accident, and Brill leads us through a compelling narrative of the decisions made to maximize profits, hurt the vast majority of us and cloud reality. His efforts to uncover Russian activity even led to him being targeted by Russian operators. He is also the co-founder of NewsGuard, a company that tracks online misinformation. He'll be joining me by the virtual fireside on November 8, and I'm truly looking forward to the conversation and seeing a way forward out of the mess we have gotten ourselves into. Join us live on LinkedIn or catch the recording on my YouTube Channel.

Frederik Pferdt was Google's Chief Innovation Evangelist, building a world-class organization that trained tens of thousands to face the world in a future-ready way. He is an Adjunct Professor at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, where he teaches courses called things like "Hacking Your Innovation Mindset." His brand-new book, "Next is Now: How to Live Future Ready" was just published to tremendous acclaim in June. It made the Next Big Idea Club's must-read list for September. I'm delighted that on October 25, Frederik will be joining me to talk about the book, his philosophy of being future-ready and why Optimism, Openness, Curiosity, Experimentation, Empathy and the mysterious "Dimension X" can let you take control of your future. In a world that seems at times to be bleak, his optimistic perspective that we can all shape our futures is most welcome!

There was a time when there was a standard template for what kinds of people became leaders. They were confident. They had the answers. They led by example. They told people exactly what needed to be done. Oh, and they were usually tall, and nearly always, men. We've learned, though, that while that kind of leadership certainly has its place, in rapidly changing, uncertain situations, a different leadership model leads to higher performance. Senior media and technology reporter at CNBC, Julia Boorstin, set out to find what this different lens for leadership was by studying the very different ways in which groundbreaking women forged a path to transforming businesses and even entire industries. Women, she learned, have figured out how to create advantages that are simply not apparent to their male counterparts, using adaptive, empathetic, learning oriented qualities to win. Julia joined me by the virtual fireside to discuss her 2022 book "When Women Lead" and to chat about what she's learned since then and where we stand now.

This week's guest is Paul LeBlanc, who has just stepped down as President of Southern New Hampshire University. In his tenure, he took back online education from predatory for-profit institutions to give thousands of students access to higher education. He's also the author of a fascinating book called "Broken: How Our Social Systems are Failing Us and How We Can Fix Them". We'll be chatting live at 11 am -- register here to tune in!

Today we are hosting Barron Witherspoon on my Friday Fireside Chat. He's the author of "The Black Exec: And the Seven Myths", which draws from his 38-year career at Procter & Gamble, where he retired as Senior Vice President for Global Industry Affairs & The Corporate Race Initiative. He now enjoys a second career as an ordained minister, out of Cincinnati.

The phrase "innovate or die" has never been more relevant, yet the track record of most companies for organic innovation is dismal. But, there are leaders who demonstrate that making innovation an actual proficiency can be accomplished. Steve Wunker, together with his co-authors Jennifer Luo Law and Hari Nair, de-mystify the process. Examples include Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Panera's Ron Shaich and Levi's Chip Bergh. We'll chat about their practical and useful new book "The Innovative Leader" that takes readers on a step by step approach to building innovation capability.

Have you ever wondered about the essence of an idea? According to Jeremy, there are no entirely new ideas, as our brains cannot create something from nothing. He explains that a new idea is simply a connection between two concepts that haven't been linked before. In other words, it's a novel synthesis of existing knowledge. Sharing with you our exhilarating conversation with Jeremy Utley, centered around his latest and already immensely popular book, "Ideaflow." What makes it even more fascinating is that Jeremy actively participates in start-up initiatives, providing him firsthand experiences of the concepts he describes in the book. Throughout our talk, I relished the multitude of examples he shared from his own experiences and personal life, adding depth and relatability to his insights.

Join Tiffani Bova and I for actionable insights from her book "The Experience Mindset" and the respective research supporting how you can drive revenue growth by getting the balance between focus on customer experience and focus on employee experience right.

It is staggering how many truly awful jobs Americans hold. Low pay, unpredictable hours, no opportunity for advancement and no chances of development. Little surprise then is that what we get as a result is high turnover, poor customer service and even higher risks in our everyday lives. In this masterful and entirely readable book, Zeynep Ton systematically dismantles the argument that bad jobs are the price we pay for profitable companies. If you combine operational excellence with good jobs, you can create a competitive advantage - and that's something competitors with the wrong mindset won't be able to match!

It's easy to despair at high levels of inequality and lack of access to capital and resources that still face entrepreneurs who aren't white, male or well-connected. @Freada Kapor Klein's career is a beacon of hope for those of us looking for real, practical solutions. The Fund, @Kapor Capital, which she co-founded puts its money into underrepresented founders with huge impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem and benefits for all of us! She is going to be joining me to discuss her new co-authored book "Closing the Equity Gap" to share with others how it's done. Join us live on May 5th at 1pm EST or catch the recording afterward.

Do you feel as though you are perennially chasing your tail? Look up from your screen and wonder where the morning went? Feel as though you accomplished nothing but are totally exhausted by it? The problem may not be one big thing, but an accumulation of lots of little things. On Friday, I'll be talking with Rob Cross and Karen Dillon about their highly anticipated new book "Micro-stressors" with guaranteed practical and actionable takeaways. Join us live or catch the recording on my YouTube channel once it's released.

Hiding in the Bathroom: How to Get Out There When You’d Rather Stay Home - Is this a great title, or what?? My Friday fireside chat guest is Morra Aarons-Mele, a globally recognized speaker, podcast host and author of the new book "The Anxious Achiever." She's on a mission to get people to understand that anxiety can actually be a superpower if you train yourself to manage it well. More broadly, she's at the forefront of making mental health issues a discussable phenomenon at work and in your personal life. Her new book is personal, readable and engaging and I'm really looking forward to our conversation. Join us live!

We all think that we are rational decision-makers who determine what stuff we'll buy and how we will spend our time on the basis of rational calculation. But, as my Friday Fireside Guest and top-ranked thinker Roger Martin observes, our minds are like an iceberg - the stuff that we can access consciously is a fraction of what is actually there. Instead, our minds seek convenience, comfort and familiarity. The course of least resistance is the course of action that is most powerful. Cumulative advantage is the consequence of habit! Great insights in this short clip.  

Rita McGrath is a best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and longtime professor at Columbia Business School. As one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth, Rita’s work is regularly published in the Harvard Business Review. She is consistently ranked among the Top 10 management thinkers in the world and was ranked #1 for strategy by Thinkers50.

Rita McGrath is a best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and longtime professor at Columbia Business School. As one of the world’s top experts on innovation and growth, Rita’s work is regularly published in the Harvard Business Review. She is consistently ranked among the Top 10 management thinkers in the world and was ranked #1 for strategy by Thinkers50.

Christopher Mims is a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and writes Keywords, a weekly column on technology. He has a fascinating new book out called "Arriving Today" that is particularly relevant to our pandemic-related supply chain disruptions. It's really eye opening! Before joining the Journal in 2014, he was the lead technology reporter for Quartz and has written on science and tech for publications ranging from Technology Review, Smithsonian, Wired, the Atlantic, Slate and other publications. Mims, who has degree in neuroscience and behavioral biology from Emory University, lives in Baltimore.

Anne-Marie Slaughter burst into the public eye with her 2012 article in the Atlantic "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." Since then, she's gone on to run New America Foundation as its CEO (among many other things, including her highly acclaimed book "Unfinished Business"). She has a new book out, "Renewal: From Crisis to Transformation in Our Lives, Work, and Politics" in which she reflects on the transformation in her own life sparked by a major professional crisis. Can't wait to dive in!

Marcus Eriksen made a huge impression on me when I first met him. He is an environmental scientist, educator and author as part of his day job. On the side, he's built rafts out of junk, floated down the Mississippi river for days on said raft, writes books about his adventures and advocates for the environment. He has been an outspoken and forthright advocate for the environment, particularly the elimination of plastics in the oceans. Most importantly, his efforts have gotten results, notably in a law prohibiting micro-beads in cosmetics.

Ron Adner and I have been intellectual sparring partners and friends for a very long time. He's just come out with a terrific new book, "Winning the Right Game" which tackles head on the strategic challenge executives confront when the ecosystems they compete in are disrupted. The problems start, as Adner explains, when strategists choose the wrong "game" to begin with, meaning that even if they succeed, they will ultimately lose. The book talks about defense, offense, timing, mindsets and what has to be one of my favorite chapters the dangers of an "ego-system" in which leaders let their preferences (and their hubris) undermine their judgment.