Rotman Visiting Experts

Liberal democracy is facing a crisis. But can it be fixed? Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu joins the latest episode of Rotman’s Visiting Experts to break down how rising inequality, political polarization and declining trust have weakened democratic institutions, and how artificial intelligence could make matters worse. What will it take to build communities where prosperity is shared? Show Notes:00:00 – Meet Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu 01:59 – What happened to liberal democracy?03:53 – Three promises of liberal democracy05:30 – How technology and globalization have increased inequality08:46 – The growing divide between social and economic groups10:00 – Explaining working-class liberalism11:53 – Reasons for optimism in a divided world13:02 – Rebuilding trust in leadership 15:28 – What have universities gotten wrong?16:20 – How AI could threaten or strengthen democracy17:58 – Why rebuilding democracy starts locally18:24 – The role of business leaders 20:16 – What will it take to revitalize liberal democracy?

AI isn’t just a productivity tool — it’s changing how knowledge itself is created. Author Paolo Granata joins the latest episode of Rotman’s Visiting Experts podcast to explain why the real question isn’t whether AI can think, but rather, how it’s transforming human thinking. Show Notes  [00:00] Brett Hendrie asks what AI is doing to the way we think  [1:40] Meet Paolo Granata, Author of Generative Knowledge: Think, Learn, Create with AI [2:02] What does it mean for AI to help us think?  [4:28] How knowledge has historically been created, shared and understood, and what's different about this moment [7:32] How should people adapt their mindset in terms of how they use AI in their day-to-day lives?  [10:08] What does a healthy partnership with AI look like?  [12:17] How to find the right balance, and not offload too much to AI.  [15:42] The idea of learnability, and why it matters.  [18:33] What does success look like for individuals and businesses in terms of their use of AI over the next 10 years?  If you enjoyed this episode, why not give some of our back catalogue a listen? If you want to dig deeper into leadership topics, check out Cutting through the noise: How to make better decisions with Nuala Walsh, or Michael Bungay Stanier on the secrets to coaching others. Make sure you subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts — and please consider giving the series a five-star rating. To explore more leadership tips and tricks from the Rotman School of Management, check out our Rotman Executive Summary podcast, featuring the latest research and thought-leadership from our esteemed faculty. Check it out on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to subscribe to the Rotman Insights Hub bi-weekly newsletter for even more insights shaping business and society.    

Are you carrying certain beliefs that might limit your ability to lead? Leadership coach Muriel Wilkins explores how hidden beliefs — like “I need to be involved in everything” or “I can’t make a mistake” — quietly limit leadership potential. She shares a practical three-step framework to help uncover, unpack and reframe these thoughts.  Show Notes  [00:00] Brett Hendrie on hidden beliefs  [1:12] Meet Muriel Wilkins, author of Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential [2:26] What are internal beliefs?  [4:27] The complete list of blockers and what they mean.  [6:01] Situations where these types of blockers are more likely to manifest themselves. [7:03] Honing in on one blocker: "I need it done right now." What does that blocker reveal about a person, and how does Wilkins coach people past that immediate urgency? [9:09] Another example blocker: "I can't make a mistake" — a relevant blocker for those who may have perfectionist tendencies. Wilkins explains how she coaches leaders to get past that mindset? [11:03] Exploring how different blockers can sometimes overlap.  [12:27] Wilkins provides advice on how to move past the blockers.  [14:24] How Wilkins overcomes her own blockers. [16:13] Advice on how to potentially help colleagues to see their own blockers.  [18:00] Final thoughts: you can lead with more ease if you remember how much your mindset matters, so try to leverage that.   If you enjoyed this episode, why not give some of our back catalogue a listen? If you want to dig deeper into leadership topics, check out Cutting through the noise: How to make better decisions with Nuala Walsh, or Michael Bungay Stanier on the secrets to coaching others. Make sure you subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts — and please consider giving the series a five-star rating. To explore more leadership tips and tricks from the Rotman School of Management, check out our Rotman Executive Summary podcast, featuring the latest research and thought-leadership from our esteemed faculty. Check it out on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to subscribe to the Rotman Insights Hub bi-weekly newsletter for even more insights shaping business and society.

What does it mean to go against the grain? To be a trailblazer or a maverick? To break the rules? We often celebrate mavericks in the business world for their success, but rarely acknowledge the tumultuous — and sometimes despondent — path they face when defying convention. On the latest episode of Visiting Experts, Terry O’Reilly joins host Brett Hendrie to discuss his new book and explore how mavericks have changed the world, even when the personal cost was great. From Gustave Eiffel to Taylor Swift, it’s essential listening for leaders looking to bend — or break — a few rules.Show Notes[0:00] Brett Hendrie on the power of mavericks in business and society.[1:10] Meet Terry O’Reilly, host of The Age of Persuasion, and author of the new book Against the Grain. [2:17] What prompted Terry to write a book on individuals who break the rules, and through the process, what did he learn about shared traits they all have? [5:18] How did Gustave Eiffel — of Eiffel Tower fame — succeed when everyone believed he (and the tower) would fail? [8:42] Terry breaks down the important, yet tragic, story of Ignaz Semmelweis. [12:46] Why are intuition and hunches so crucial to the maverick mindset? [14:20] Taylor Swift may feel like she’s part of the system, but her smart approach to bending the rules has made her an unrivalled superstar. [17:23] Terry’s own journey into rule-breaking, for work with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, shows the power of trusting your gut and ignoring the status quo. [20:34] If everyone has their own platforms and echo chambers, can you really go against the grain anymore? Terry says sort of. [21:52] His parting advice: “I would say this, if you don't think one person can change the world, you are wrong. That's the takeaway.”If you enjoyed this episode, why not give some of our back catalogue a listen?  If you want to learn more about dealing with disruption, check out our conversation with Karthik Ramanna on leading in a time of outrage, or Anne Chow on redefining what inclusive leadership really means. Make sure you subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts — and please consider giving the series a five-star rating.To explore more leadership tips and tricks from the Rotman School of Management, check out our Rotman Executive Summary podcast, featuring the latest research and thought-leadership from our esteemed faculty. Check it out on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to subscribe to the Rotman Insights Hub bi-weekly newsletter for even more insights shaping business and society.

What we know matters. But what we know others know can make or break a deal. Professor Steven Pinker joins host Brett Hendrie to talk about common knowledge — what everyone knows that everyone knows, why it’s crucial to business and negotiation, and how shared understanding helps people get work done.Show notes:[0:00] Brett Hendrie on moments of shared understanding[0:58] Meet Harvard professor Steven Pinker, who joins the episode to talk about his new book When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows.[2:28] What is common knowledge?[3:49] Steven was drawn to the topic because so much of language is what we don’t say… and he began to wonder why we don’t say it.[4:20] “Netflix and chill” is the perfect example of common knowledge in practice.[5:33] How common knowledge can shape advertising and marketing[7:59] It can also influence markets — think speculative bubbles, bank runs and trust in financial institutions.[11:01] Negotiations are often only successful because of common knowledge.[14:57] Complete openness and transparency can backfire — see Bridgewater Associates — and this is where things left unsaid (but still understood) can fill the gaps.[18:01] What do we lose with less common knowledge in a remote or hybrid work environment? Those physical social cues — blushing, glaring, staring — communicate a lot in the end.[19:51] In a world of information bubbles, common knowledge is getting fractured.[21:09] What’s left unsaid has lots of value. “I think the genteel hypocrisy and innuendo and euphemism makes social life possible — but that sometimes gets in the way of actually transacting the business of life. And that balance is, I think, what we call tact, savoir faire, social skill — not being too far along one end of the spectrum. And what I think a lot of that consists of is knowing what to put in common knowledge and what to keep out of common knowledge.”If you enjoyed this episode, why not give some of our back catalogue a listen? If you want to dig deeper into the psychology of the world around us, check out our discussions with Malcolm Gladwell on how our shared stories shape our world, or Michael Bungay Stanier on the secrets to coaching others.Make sure you subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts — and please consider giving the series a five-star rating.To explore more leadership tips and tricks from the Rotman School of Management, check out our Rotman Executive Summary podcast, featuring the latest research and thought-leadership from our esteemed faculty. Check it out on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to subscribe to the Rotman Insights Hub bi-weekly newsletter for even more insights shaping business and society.