What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur in today’s uncertain world? How do you balance risk, decision-making, and curiosity? We’re sharing an episode from The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu, the new podcast from Harvard Business School Foundry about what it truly takes to be a founder now. Hosted by Harvard Business School senior lecturer Reza Satchu, the show features intimate conversations with some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, including Reese Witherspoon, Kevin O’Leary, Galen Weston, and more. Satchu himself has built multiple high-profile companies and mentored thousands of students and founders as they start and scale ventures, and he pushes his guests to break down exactly how they commit, decide, and build for impact.

In this episode, Tim Ferriss—entrepreneur, investor, bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek, and host of one of the world’s most influential podcasts—reflects on experimentation, calibrated risk-taking, decision-making under uncertainty, and why curiosity and learning have shaped nearly every chapter of his career.

Listen to more episodes of The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu, follow the podcast here: https://play.megaphone.fm/zbmkcqmbqhymul1logpega

To compete in business anywhere today, leaders at all levels need to learn about the culture and mindset that sets Chinese businesses apart. Stanford research fellow Dan Wang argues that they’ve built an edge that goes well beyond lower labor costs or government subsidies. He explains how dense manufacturing ecosystems, relentless internal competition, deep process knowledge, and an engineering-first mindset have helped these companies become global leaders; what those in the United States and Europe can learn from them; and where they still fall behind. Wang is author of the book Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future.

Most leaders are asking the same question about AI: Will it make their teams more productive—or slowly erode the very skills they’re trying to build? In this special episode, as part of the recent HBR Leadership Summit 2026, University of Pennsylvania’s Angela Duckworth says her long-standing research on grit—and the fact the most successful people aren’t simply persistent, they stay committed to long-term goals while adapting their tactics as the world changes—is more relevant than ever in the age of generative AI. Rather than replacing human capability, she explains, AI can become a powerful coach that accelerates learning, if people treat it as something to learn from, not simply something that does the work for them. Duckworth’s new book is Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best.

What if the key to success in today’s business world wasn’t about making difficult decisions quickly—but about broadening the scope through which you make decisions? Leaders Alliance CEO Cornelia Choe and executive coach Marshall Goldsmith argue that being open to more perspectives can help leaders navigate an increasingly complicated world and lead better. They share their framework for this mindset shift, and examples of leaders who have done this well. Choe and Goldsmith are the authors of the book The Panoramic Leader: How Great Leaders See Differently.

How do you reinvigorate a legacy company without losing what made it great? In this special episode, as part of the recent HBR Leadership Summit 2026, AT&T CEO John Stankey shares how he refocused AT&T’s strategy on connectivity and simultaneously transformed its culture. He explains how he encouraged team members to adopt a more customer-led, market-driven mindset, integrate AI to reshape their products and performance, and embrace in-person collaboration.

What does it take to succeed in an enterprise-level leadership role today? Michael Watkins, professor at IMD and author of the book The First 90 Days, says that the leap from functional or business line manager to a more senior position is tricker than ever owing to three factors: AI, geopolitical complexity, and compressed leadership pipelines. He explains what that means for executives aspiring to make the transition and outlines all the new skills and capabilities they need to rise to the top now. Watkins is author of the HBR article, “3 Forces Are Redefining the Transition from Manager to Leader.”

How do you take a young, purpose-led company to the next level? In this special episode, as part of the recent HBR Leadership Summit 2026, The Honest Company CEO Carla Vernón shares how she leveraged the powerful reputation and loyal customers of the mission-driven consumer brand to turn the company around. Facing shrinking margins, limited cash, and growing pressure from Wall Street to consistently profit, Vernón worked to build trust, create a shared language for change, and help employees embrace new ways of working.

Many organizations are investing heavily in AI, but too few are asking the most important question: What problem are we actually trying to solve? Journalist and author Josh Tyrangiel argues that successful AI adoption has far less to do with choosing the right model and far more to do with identifying the right business challenge—and following through. He shares why executives should resist the pressure to become “AI-native” overnight and instead focus on targeted, high-impact problems where AI can create measurable value. He also offers practical advice on improving operations, communicating change across an organization, and avoiding the costly mistake of treating AI as a strategy rather than a tool, with examples from the healthcare sector and beyond. Tyrangiel is author of the book AI for Good: How Real People Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Fix Things That Matter.

How do you reinvent an 80-year-old company without losing what made it successful in the first place? In this special episode, as part of the recent HBR Leadership Summit 2026, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz explains how he transformed the iconic toy maker into an IP-driven entertainment company that creates movies, games, live experiences, and digital products alongside its toys. He shares how simplifying strategy, reshaping talent, and fostering a culture of innovation helped drive the company’s turnaround, why AI is accelerating product development without replacing creativity, and what leaders can learn about managing change, protecting trusted brands, and building organizations that are ready for the future.

When the stakes are high and the clock is ticking, how do great leaders make the right call? Sports performance consultant Alan McCall and sports scientist Johann Bilsborough say that leaders can improve decision-making before, during, and after critical moments, based on lessons they’ve learned from elite sports coaches. They share research on why preparation matters more than instinct, how to filter signal from noise, and why trust and relationships often determine the quality of decisions long before a crisis occurs. McCall and Bilsborough are coauthors, along with Adrian Wolfberg and Ricard Pruna, of the HBR article “How Elite Sports Coaches Make High-Pressure Decisions.”

Most leaders know they need to innovate, but many take a strong instinct and hold too tightly to an idea, rather than testing, experimenting, and playing to find the best solution. Mark Pincus, founder of Zynga, argues that by approaching product development with more curiosity, humility, and experimentation, leaders can improve their odds of building something people truly love. He shares lessons from launching hit products, scaling a fast-growing company, and creating a culture where play, rather than perfectionism, drives innovation. He explains why leaders should focus less on originality and more on understanding what already works and how to identify breakthrough opportunities. Pincus is the author of Life at the Speed of Play: Launch Products People Love.