Knowledge at Wharton

Hugh Sinclair is the author of a new book titled Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic: How Microlending Lost Its Way and Betrayed the Poor in which he debunks the image of microfinance as a do-good industry committed to helping poor people create sustainable businesses. Instead he documents corruption extortionist interest rates and a lack of transparency that he says characterize much of the microfinance industry today. Sinclair spoke with Knowledge at Wharton about his book the problems microfinance continues to face and some solutions for moving forward. (Podcast with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen J. Girsky vice chairman of General Motors says the company has a new emphasis on the customer even as it faces such challenges as industry-wide overcapacity strong competition from rivals both in the U.S. and Europe and slower-than-expected sales of the Volt. Wharton management professor John Paul MacDuffie asked Girsky to talk about these issues and others shortly before Girsky’s presentation at the recent Wharton Leadership Conference. (Podcast with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In their book Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal Be Flexible Generate Breakthrough Growth authors Navi Radjou Jaideep Prabhu and Simone Ahuja present a new approach to innovation that is fueling growth in emerging markets as well as developed ones. Radjou and Ahuja recently sat down with Knowledge at Wharton to talk about the six principles of jugaad a Hindi word meaning ”an improvised solution born from ingenuity.” (Podcast with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leading thinkers from President Barack Obama to Thomas Friedman argue that innovation is key to improving the United States economy now and in the future. If that is the case how do we prepare young people to become innovators? That is the question Tony Wagner Harvard University’s first innovation education fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center asks in his new book Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World. To find the answers Wagner profiles several young innovators drawing on interviews with them and their parents educators and mentors to discover the forces that have driven them to succeed in thinking outside the box. (Podcast with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli’s most recent book -- Why Good People Can’t Get Jobs: The Skills Gap and What Companies Can Do About It -- has inspired a reaction from just about every group with a stake in today’s workforce: employers employees recruiters academics and media commentators. Cappelli debunks the oft-repeated argument from employers that applicants don’t have the skills needed for today’s jobs. Instead he puts much of the blame on companies themselves. In this interview with Knowledge at Wharton Cappelli talks about his book the current labor market and how the job hunting process can be vastly improved. (Podcast with transcript) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gabon is one of the stable regimes in the African continent and leaders there have a vision of progress based on being both business- and environment-friendly. Liban Soleman is the president’s chief of staff of the government of Gabon. In this interview with Knowledge at Wharton Soleman says there is enormous opportunity for investors in Gabon and in Africa as a whole. (Article with audio) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The general approach towards private equity investments has shifted substantially in part to conform with the tougher market conditions prevailing after the financial shocks of the last few years. Gone are the days of earning profits largely through financial engineering and rapid portfolio turnover. In their place — business transformation — where investors park their money for longer terms and generally rebuild under-performing companies. Wharton professor Stephen M. Sammut and Philip Bass global private equity markets leader at Ernst & Young LLP discuss the new landscape in this Knowledge at Wharton podcast. They also take a look at the similarities — and differences — between private equity specialists and entrepreneurs. Ernst & Young: Private Equity Heads Down a New Path Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the aftermath of the election of Socialist Francois Hollande as the new president of France eurozone austerity policies in Europe which many now blame for pushing much of the Continent back into recession appear likely to be loosened. At the same time at least some complementary growth-oriented policies may be introduced. Big questions remain however: What will these changes look like and how much difference will they make? (Article with podcast) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this third and final segment of the interview with Chade-Meng Tan best selling author of Search Inside Yourself Knowledge at Wharton explores the relationship between emotional intelligence and financial performance. According to Meng companies as diverse as GE Patagonia Zappos Genentech American Express and MetLife have seen positive business results through practices based on emotional intelligence. Mindfulness can also help laid off job seekers find work faster.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second segment of Knowledge at Wharton’s interview with Google’s Chade-Meng Tan author of Search Inside Yourself focuses on the role that emotional intelligence can play in helping managers resolve conflicts within high-performance teams. It also shows how the Google SIY program through compassion training has helped managers become more successful and charismatic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.