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 Jaye Fenderson, an award-winning filmmaker and cofounder of Three Frame Media, about the power of storytelling to forge human connection.

1:08 Jaye’s Journey to Becoming a Documentary Filmmaker

3:18 Storytelling, Human Connection, and the Liberal Arts

5:42 What Job Prospects for STEM and Humanities Graduates Tell Us About Soft Skills

7:14 Laying the Foundation of Trust: Stewarding Someone Else’s Story

9:42 The Technical Constraints of Shooting Documentary Film

14:01 “The Admissions Arms Race”: What We Get Wrong About Higher Ed Admissions

19:49 The Class: Producing a TV Show and College Advising During a Pandemic

25:31 COVID Guidelines as Creative Confines

30:50 Storytelling for Impact

34:40 The Power of Resources, from Doctors to College Counselors

38:31 Resilience and Perseverance From the Class of 2020

40:12 Growth Mindset and Having a Plan A, B, and C

42:47 Renovating Hope, and Jaye’s Upcoming Projects

46:37 Building an Audience and “Chasing the World” in Book Writing and Film Making

51:39 The Benefits of Pandemic Delays

56:21 Building Students’ Futures When College Counselors are the First to be Cut

58:25 “Flooding the System with Humans”, and Lessons on Scaling from Paul LeBlanc

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 YouTube

• Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.

• Connect with Rita on TikTok

• Sign 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 Ben Nelson, Chairman and CEO of the Minerva Project, and Founder of Minerva University. They discuss the mission behind the Minerva Project: a university that prioritizes active learning, global perspectives, and impactful application of knowledge, and what it means to rethink what higher education could look like.

0:27: Introduction - Building the Intentional University

2:34: The 23-Year-Old CEO - Managing Stakeholders and Loneliness

3:43: The 29-Year-Old CEO - When Command-and-Control Leadership Thrives

6:40: Succession and Setting Up Your Future Organization for Success

8:38: Why “Socializing” A Decision is Ineffective

9:59: Ben Nelson’s Critiques of Education

11:22: The Retention Issue: How Would Present-Day You do on an Exam from your Undergraduate Days?

12:34: Minerva University’s Mission: Enabling Authentic Learning and Systems Thinking

16:24: The Qualities of Educational Systems Designed for a Different Era

19:27: Breaking Structures and Flipping Classrooms

20:46: Building Deep Processing Skills to Retain Knowledge

21:40: Measuring How Broadly Students can Apply What They’ve Learned

23:18: Living in Six Countries in Three Years of Study

27:52: Using AI Effectively to Inform Human Decision-Making

33:11: The Role of the University in Disseminating (and Interrogating) Knowledge

35:17: The Gaps in Project-Based Learning: When Do You Really Know How to Build a Bike?

38:08: Blockbuster, and Why the Case Method Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

41:56: 1,000 Graduates, and Growing: Minerva Methodology in Universities and High Schools

49:59: The Chicken-and-Egg Conundrum of Founding a New University

52:40: When Do Some Universities Run the Risk of Becoming “Diploma Mills”?

56:44: “Read a Hundred Opinion Columns, and Disagree with Ninety-Five of Them”

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 YouTube

• Follow Rita on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and Blue Sky.

• Connect with Rita on TikTok

• Sign 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 Jean Oelwang, founding CEO of Virgin Unite, author of Partnering: Forge the Deep Connections That Make Great Things Happen, and fierce advocate for the planet. Their conversation features case studies from Ben & Jerry’s, The Elders, and the global coordination around the hole in the ozone layer. 0:43: Breaking Glass Ceilings in the Telecommunications Sector2:42: Scaling Global Solutions and the Creation of Virgin Unite with Richard Branson4:09: The Story of Azeem and Plez: Building Bridges after Tragedy6:04: Ben and Jerry’s and The Elders: How Deep Connections Make Business Thrive8:13: Co-Creating The Elders with President Jimmy Carter9:39: The Throughline of Human Hope11:38: How We Addressed The Hole in the Ozone Layer18:10: The Need for Simple Communication Around Social Problems21:02: The Power of Mergers and what the Non-Profit Sector Can Learn from the Business Sector23:50: Why Purpose Matters25:50: Ben & Jerry’s Flavor Graveyard: “Magnetic Moments” Around Failure27:39: Ari De Geus’ The Living Company29:27: Lessons in Trust from Pandemic Layoffs at Airbnb35:29: Shared Ownership Models as an Answer to the Current AI Moment38:29: Carlota Perez’s Conception of a New Golden Age40:02: The $8 Trillion Cost of Disengagement at Work41:14: Planetary Guardians’ Crucial Work43:24: Celebrating Small Successes in the Fight Against Climate Change45:38: The Pitfalls of Hyper-Individualism and IsolationThought 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