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The Friction Project

A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management.

PublishesTwice weeklyEpisodes651Founded20 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
BusinessManagementEntrepreneurship

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Artwork for HBR IdeaCast

Latest Episodes

Are you a morning type, a night owl, or somewhere in between? And what about the people on your team? When do they feel most energized and productive? Stefan Volk, professor of management at the University of Sydney Business School, says that leaders... more

Artificial intelligence is advancing quickly, but its real impact on productivity, jobs, and competitive advantage is still uncertain. In this four-part special series, we'll share conversations from the recent HBR Strategy Summit to help you get ahe... more

For sustainability to be a core part of your business model, you might need to rethink how and why you incorporate sustainable policies and products. That's according to IMD Business School professor Goutam Challagalla, who explains that many custome... more

Disagreement is essential to better decisions—but most of us either avoid it or handle it poorly. Julia Minson is a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and she's spent years studying disagreement and what we get wr... more

Key Facts

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Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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People also subscribe to these shows.

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The McKinsey PodcastMcKinsey & Company
Cold Call
Cold CallHBR Presents / Brian Kenny
Inside the Strategy Room
Inside the Strategy RoomMcKinsey & Company

Recent Guests

Stefan Volk
Professor at the University of Sydney Business School
University of Sydney Business School
Episode: The Case for Designing Work Around Circadian Rhythms
Andy McAfee
Principal research scientist at MIT and co-founder and co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy at Sloan
MIT
Episode: Strategy Summit 2026: Who’s Going to Succeed with AI?
Goutam Challagalla
Professor at IMD Business School and co-author of Clean Winners
IMD Business School
Episode: Building a Sustainability Strategy Around Customers
Julia Minson
Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, co-author of A Smarter Way to Disagree, author of How to Disagree Better
Harvard Kennedy School
Episode: Learn to Disagree More Effectively
Tsedal Neeley
Harvard Business School professor, expert on AI transformation
Harvard Business School
Episode: Strategy Summit 2026: Why AI Means Radical Change
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld
Senior Associate Dean and Professor at the Yale School of Management, founder and CEO of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute
Yale School of Management; Chief Executive Leadership Institute
Episode: The Shifting Relationship Between Business and the U.S. Government
Nigel Vaz
CEO of Publicis Sapient
Publicis Sapient
Episode: Strategy Summit 2026: Why AI Transformation Needs a Human Touch
Kate Niederhoffer
Chief Scientist at BetterUp and Stanford Professor
BetterUp / Stanford University
Episode: The Hidden Causes of AI Workslop—and How to Fix Them
Jeff Hancock
Professor of Communication at Stanford
Stanford University
Episode: The Hidden Causes of AI Workslop—and How to Fix Them

Hosts

Alison Beard
Co-host and a notable figure in business journalism with a focus on leadership and management topics.
Adi Ignatius
Co-host and Editor of Harvard Business Review, bringing deep insights from his editorial experience in the business sector.

Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars from 4.9k ratings
  • Partisan

    Claiming Wikipedia is a credible source is a non sequitur. They only allow leftist ideologues to edit now. Most editors suffer from Trump derangement syndrome. Let Trump say something and web pages will immediately change in a partisan attempt to discredit what he just said.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    This Ken
    United States5 months ago
  • Shifting into a new horizon? This is the podcast for you

    HBR IdeaCast delivers insightful conversations with industry leaders and experts - worth the listen, covering leadership, strategy, and innovation.

    Perfect for any professional seeking actionable takeaways and fresh perspectives on modern business challenges. This is one podcast you don’t want to miss.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    lavhill
    United States9 months ago
  • Missed the boat again

    DEI episode missed the mark. Again. Good intentions don’t translate into results, nor fairness. So frustrating.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    F500 Exec
    United Statesa year ago
  • Pseudoscience

    Largely pseudoscientific “social science” offering little-to-no utility outside the classroom.

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    hugefitzpatrick
    Australiaa year ago
  • Overly academic

    The AI episode represents the fatal flaw of this podcast: it is overly optimistic and academic for the stock market, not the people on the company. We will not get shorter workweeks out of ai -those who don’t adopt will be fired as a headcount reduction and you will be working the same number f hours. This was an arrogant take by a condescending guest.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    Done Trying76
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Some listeners express concerns over a perceived bias in content, indicating a potential political slant.
Provides fresh perspectives on modern business challenges and leadership practices.
Offers insightful conversations with industry leaders and experts, making it a valuable resource for professionals.
A mix of positive feedback for practical tips and constructive criticism for academic approaches to contemporary issues.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Strategy Summit 2026: Who’s Going to Succeed with AI?
Q: One practical question from the audience: how should leaders move away from Waterfall thinking to an Agile mindset?
Lead by enabling experimentation with two-way doors, let teams try things, tolerate failure for those experiments, and institutionalize learning as a core metric of progress.
Building a Sustainability Strategy Around Customers
Q: What role do different customer segments play in scaling sustainability?
Gray customers represent the largest pool and should be targeted to scale sustainability, while blue customers respond to incentives; green customers are valuable but alone cannot scale across the market.
Building a Sustainability Strategy Around Customers
Q: How should companies frame sustainability to drive growth rather than add cost?
By mapping end-to-end wastage and adding a customer-value axis to guide investments, focusing on reducing inefficiencies, and aligning sustainability with actual consumer benefits to create scalable, iterative innovations.
Building a Sustainability Strategy Around Customers
Q: Will customers pay a premium for a sustainable product?
The host and guest discuss that the willingness to pay is generally low, often under 10%, and that it varies by customer segment; sustainable value must be tied to practical customer benefits rather than assuming a premium alone will drive demand.
The Case for Designing Work Around Circadian Rhythms
Q: Why should leaders care about their team's circadian rhythms?
Understanding chronotypes helps leaders allocate tasks to match peak times, schedule meetings when people are most engaged, and reduce burnout by distributing demanding work to align with individual energy cycles.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About HBR IdeaCast

What is HBR IdeaCast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Focusing on the intersection of business leadership and management, the discussions often center around evolving industry practices, innovation, and leadership strategies relevant to contemporary challenges. Experts from various sectors discuss topics such as economic trends, artificial intelligence, and organizational culture, allowing listeners to glean insights that are both practical and actionable. This content is likely to resonate with business leaders and professionals aiming to enhance their strategic capabilities while navigating a dynamic market landscape.

What sets this podcast apart is its commitment to featuring thought leaders who not only share their expertise but also address broader socio-economic trends affecting busines... more

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How many listeners does HBR IdeaCast get?

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What are the audience demographics for HBR IdeaCast?

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How many subscribers and views does HBR IdeaCast have?

To see how many followers or subscribers HBR IdeaCast has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to HBR IdeaCast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with HBR IdeaCast:

1. HBR On Leadership
2. Coaching Real Leaders
3. The McKinsey Podcast
4. Cold Call
5. Inside the Strategy Room

How many episodes of HBR IdeaCast are there?

HBR IdeaCast launched 20 years ago and published 651 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact HBR IdeaCast?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for HBR IdeaCast?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for HBR IdeaCast from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on HBR IdeaCast?

Recent guests on HBR IdeaCast include:

1. Stefan Volk
2. Andy McAfee
3. Goutam Challagalla
4. Julia Minson
5. Tsedal Neeley
6. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld
7. Nigel Vaz
8. Kate Niederhoffer

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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