Rapid Response
Episodes
Leading with your gut, w/Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tapping both personal experience and intuition, Lifeway CEO Julie Smolyansky has embraced action amid uncertainty. Before the pandemic reached full th...
Future-proofing, w/Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg
16 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Data streaming, videoconferencing – even phone calls are way up at Verizon amid Covid-19, as digital interaction steps in for IRL. But boom times do...
Operating in a fishbowl w/76ers & Devils CEO Scott O’Neil
09 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In sports, everyone has an opinion on every hire, every trade, every price change. That’s the reality – and also the privilege, says Scott O'Neil,...
Crisis lessons from inside the ER, w/physician Dr. Bon Ku
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the Covid-19 storm, treating hospital patients requires constant iteration, creative information-sharing, and worst-case-scenario planning. Dr. Bon...
Food security in a pandemic, w/Gro Intelligence founder and CEO Sara Menker
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Will the U.S. run out of food? Can the world's food supply chains survive coronavirus? Sara Menker, founder and CEO of Gro Intelligence, which parses ...
On the frontlines of scale, w/AAMC CEO Dr. David Skorton
02 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hospitals are facing overwhelming challenges they weren’t equipped for – and in many cases, they’re now innovating their way toward solutions. T...
Inside a pandemic pivot, w/Panera CEO Niren Chaudhary
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What do you do when you can’t serve customers in cafes and carry on business as usual? You try unusual things, says Panera CEO Niren Chaudhary. Forc...
A crisis leadership session, w/General Stanley McChrystal
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone's looking for a box of crisis tricks. But the hard truth is that it simply doesn’t exist, says retired General Stanley McChrystal. Instead ...
Pet adoptions: Up. Delivery business: Up, w/Chewy CEO Sumit Singh
25 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pet adoptions have soared during the coronavirus lockdown, as people seek companionship and solace. For Chewy, the pet-supply company, that’s drivin...
Neighbors are the frontline of support, w/Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar
24 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A neighborhood is more than just the people who share a common address, says Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar. It’s every space that makes up your daily lif...
Build government back and better, w/Code for America founder Jen Pahlka
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the US, local governments are leading the response to COVID-19 – making decisions and gathering data at a speed and scale never before seen. And ...
Remote teams as an intentional choice, w/Xapo co-founder Wences Casares
22 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us will be working remote for a long time to come. So: How do you turn March's temporary scramble into a long-term benefit? Bitcoin pioneer We...
In crisis, be more altruistic, w/DonorsChoose CEO Charles Best
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
People are altruistic – even more so in times of uncertainty. DonorsChoose CEO Charles Best has learned this through 20 years of leading his nonprof...
Retail's fight to survive, w/Target CEO Brian Cornell
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Every day in a pandemic is different, and that’s true for people and for corporations. CEO Brian Cornell has promised Target will keep its doors ope...
First, be human, w/Masters of Scale host Reid Hoffman
19 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Can you blitzscale when the world grinds to a halt? How do you do right by your team AND your investors? What will the entrepreneurial world look like...
“A pandemic doesn’t see money", w/TaskRabbit CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot
18 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
TaskRabbit remains open for business, says CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot. As the magnitude and severity of the pandemic became clear – and as workers acro...
Crisis data is the story of our times, w/Crisis Text Line founder Nancy Lublin
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Anxiety," "grief," "mom”: These are the words that matter at this extreme moment in time. That data comes from Crisis Text Line, whose online couns...
How to keep an essential business running, w/Lyft co-founder John Zimmer
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Everything starts with transportation, says John Zimmer, co-founder and president of Lyft. And even though ride sharing is sharply down, transportatio...
Hourly workers are a 'hero class', w/Cue Ball investor Tony Tjan
15 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jobless claims are in the millions and climbing by the week. As businesses close indefinitely, the workforce—and especially hourly workers — face ...
A playbook for when there’s no playbook, w/Carbon CEO Ellen Kullman
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
How do you survive a crisis? You create your own trajectory, says Ellen Kullman. And she knows: In her former role, she became CEO of the chemical eng...
Crisis is pushing us back to our roots, w/Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky
13 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the pandemic hit, Airbnb was preparing for an IPO. Within a matter of days, everything changed dramatically, as travel worldwide screamed to a halt...
The wrenching decision to layoff thousands, w/restauranteur Danny Meyer
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In late March 2020, Danny Meyer laid off 2,000 people – that's 80 percent of staff at Union Square Hospitality Group, representing 20+ restaurants a...
Crowdfunding in a crisis w/IFundWomen CEO Karen Cahn
04 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What are your options for emergency funding in the US? Can you use the U.S. CARES Act to get financial assistance? Should you consider crowdfunding? W...