Videos from the MIT Sloan School of Management

Warning: Physics Envy May be Hazardous to Your Wealth

Andrew Lo addresses the problem of finding the right level of abstraction with which to think about economic phenomena. He compares economics to physics, with some surprising results.

Rusnano: Fostering Nanotechnology Innovation in Russia

In both lecture format and conversation with Sloan Senior Lecturer Noubar Afeyan, Rusnano CEO Anatoly Chubais presents an ambitious plan to create Russia's Nanotechnology Center--a $10 billion, entrepreneurial ecosystem that incorporates education, research and business incubation.

From Relief to Reconstruction -- Practical and Policy Challenges

Raymond Offenheiser, President, Oxfam America

As the United Nations and worldwide NGOs face the challenges of providing basic services to the survivors of the January 2010 Haitian earthquake, Oxfam's Raymond Offenheiser scrutinizes what will ultimately be "crucial to the outcome, in the Haitian context, of a successful recovery and rehabilitation by the Haitian people and for the Haitian nation--distributed leadership."

Bill Porter in Conversation with Howard Anderson

Bill Porter shares his own "light bulb moment" when he discovered that a simple Apple computer could give him stock quotes, hours before the morning newspaper arrived. This moment in the early 1980's led to the creation of E-Trade. Howard Anderson hosts this lively conversation on leadership.

Lunch with a Laureate: Robert Merton

Robert C. Merton Ph.D. '70

As an MIT Museum audience peppers him with queries ranging from the barter system to development, and the role of intuition in economics, Nobel Prize-winner Robert Merton pushes back against any assumptions that he might be a "renaissance man." He carefully steers listeners to his areas of expertise -- financial engineering and innovation, and risk management.

13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown

Simon Johnson warns in a new book that a "new financial oligarchy" threatens not only the nation's economy, but its political core. In 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, Johnson, says the book provides "the back story" for the 2008 financial crisis "and for all the issues being raised now around financial reform.

A Policy on Leadership

Edmund (Ted) F. Kelly PhD '70 Chairman, President & CEO, Liberty Mutual

Ted Kelly walks a Sloan audience through the process of turning around a failing company. His formula? Develop two key things: a fact based analytical organization, and great management teams that value people.

Automotive Lightweighting as a Strategic Opportunity for India's Automotive Industry

Although steel has been the material of choice for many automotive components since the dawn of the automotive age, there is evidence that a change to lightweight intensive materials would bring significant environmental and economic benefits.

Leading through Adversity

Paul Sagan, President and CEO, Akamai Technologies, Inc.

Few companies have endured such hardship, or risen to such heights in a brief span of time as Akamai Technologies. Paul Sagan tells how he became the CEO of this young firm, and helped it survive and then flourish despite "unimaginable adversity."

Sustainable Accessibility: A Grand Challenge for the World and for MIT

Transportation systems, as we know them today, will simply not sustain the worlds' growing population. John Sterman says we need to see transportation in its complexity, and expect that our planning efforts will have totally unintended, unexpected "rebound" effects.

The Great Climategate Debate

The hacking of emails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit in November rocked the world of climate change science, energized global warming skeptics, and threatened to derail policy negotiations at Copenhagen. These panelists, who differ on the scientific implications of the released emails, generally agree that the episode will have long-term consequences for the larger scientific community.

Creating a Game Plan for Transition to a Sustainable Economy

The "chief inspired protagonist" of Seventh Generation, one of the nation's oldest and most successful green manufacturers apologizes for delivering a talk "more depressing than expected." While discussing the challenges facing businesses attempting to transition to a more just and sustainable economy, Jeffrey Hollender enumerates the many reasons he's feeling bleak these days.

Leadership Amidst Crisis

In thirty years, S. D. Shibulal has seen his share of economic crises, three to be exact. But in thinking hard about the role of crises in the future for today's students, he predicts: they will occur more frequently, and will be less predictable, longer lasting and more costly.

Financial Services: Prospect for Your Future

In a lively discussion with Simon Johnson, Lawrence Fish deconstructs the near collapse of the banking system and points out the multiple factors that have contributed to the financial crisis.

Air Safety: Nothing But Blue Skies?

Arnold Barnett returns with new insights into aviation and aviation safety, and remains remarkably consistent in his quite sunny assessment of the current state of aviation safety -- even after a recent string of air accidents.

The Power of Competition: How to Focus the World's Brains on your Innovation Challenges

Cooperation may be making us "a little bit too nice" when it comes to innovation, suggests Fiona Murray. She believes there's nothing like competition for injecting energy into the process of solving key innovation problems, whether in business or society.

Global and Domestic Imbalances: Why Rural China is the Key

Contrary to popular thinking, China owes its astonishing economic expansion not to far-sighted government policy but to hundreds of millions of entrepreneurial peasants. Yasheng Huang's research reveals not only how small-scale rural businesses created China's miracle but how that nation's recovery from the global recession and righting the massive East-West trade imbalance depend on this same under-acknowledged sector.

Energy Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Today's Challenges, Tomorrow's Opportunities

There are ample opportunities for new energy entrepreneurs, these panelists agree, but motivation and certain kinds of know-how play key roles in bringing new ventures to fruition.

Composing a Career and Life

Linda Mason was originally going to make a case study of Bright Horizons, her $1.3 billion, early childhood care business, but reconsidered in light of the current economic crisis -- to the benefit of her audience. Instead, she takes up her own story as a recession-era entrepreneur who built several hugely successful, socially oriented ventures, navigating very real pitfalls and challenges along the way.

Leading an Environmentally Sustainable Enterprise

Martin Madaus, Chairman, President & CEO, Millipore Corporation

Climate change poses perhaps the premiere threat to coming generations, but to avoid its worst impacts, we must confront the issue now. To that end, Millipore's Madaus exhorts business leaders to focus immediately on building environmental sustainability into their operations.

Distributed Leadership in the Obama Campaign

The Obama campaign owes its victory not to a single charismatic candidate, but to the efforts of a disciplined and motivated organization whose roots go back to landmark movements of the 1960s. Marshall Ganz describes how the principles and practices he learned around organizing and leadership played out in the most recent presidential election.

Values-Based Leadership

Robert McDonald, COO, Procter & Gamble

A West Point start, army career, and a disciplined approach to distilling key life experiences has guided Robert McDonald through his 20 years at Procter & Gamble. He shares his insights on leadership and values.

Distributed Leadership in the Obama Campaign

Emmanuel Maceda SM '89, Chairman of the Asia Pacific region, Bain & Company

The same institutional tenets guiding innovative management during good times needn't waver during a downturn, even the present one, says Emmanuel Maceda. After two decades at Bain, Maceda feels confident in his company's practices and principles, which have guided both Bain and its clients through earlier economic booms and busts.

Observations on the Science of Finance in the Practice of Finance

Robert C. Merton Ph.D. '70, Professor of Economics, Harvard

There will be a time "beyond crisis," asserts Robert C. Merton, who delves into the dense science of derivatives -- a field he has fundamentally shaped -- to explain how the vast global economic collapse has come about, and how financial innovations at the heart of the collapse could also be tools for reconstruction.

Paint it Black: Avoiding the Financial Beast of Burden in 2009 and Beyond

James Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics, MIT

James Poterba takes a scholarly approach to moderating this detailed discussion of the unfolding economic collapse, its ramifications on business, and the possible impact of governmental remedies.

Challenges to the Global Economy

If economic analyses earned ratings like movies, this event would receive an X for extremely disturbing. Two of the field's most prominent voices spare any sugar coating in their unsettling accounts of the world's unfolding economic crisis.

Nurturing a Vibrant Culture to Drive Innovation

Terri Kelly, President and CEO, W.L. Gore & Associates

Terri Kelly provides insights into the W.L. Gore Company, and explains its unique culture that encourages experimentation, risk taking and taking the long view.

Seminar Series: Real Time Deep Dive into the Global Crisis as it Evolves 11/18/08

Simon Johnson, Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship

Nov. 18, 2008: In the second in a series of special seminars, Prof. Simon Johnson dives deep into the global economic crisis and answers questions from the MIT Sloan community.

Seminar Series: Real Time Deep Dive into the Global Crisis as it Evolves 11/04/08

Simon Johnson, Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship

Nov. 4, 2008: In the second in a series of special seminars, Prof. Simon Johnson dives deep into the global economic crisis and answers questions from the MIT Sloan community.

Achieving U.S. Energy Security Through Energy Diversity

Robert Malone SF '89, Chairman & President, BP America

Robert Malone reminds us that the fate of the U.S. economy is intricately bound up with energy costs, and that this year alone, "we'll pay more than $400 billion for imported oil," and that the U.S. has paid out $8 trillion for foreign oil since 1973.

George Soros on The New Paradigm for Financial Markets

In conversation with Ricardo Caballero, George Soros recounts the formative experience of his life -- surviving the German occupation of Hungary -- "a far from equilibrium situation." He credits his father for recognizing that "the normal rules don't apply" and falsifying documents permitting the family's escape from fascism.

What (if Anything) Should Be Done About Improving the System of Electing a President?

Arnold Barnett offers a "pragmatic compromise" between a popular vote and the current Electoral College system, a potential cure for the current "funhouse mirror" of election politics based on weighted averages.

Building the Next Generation Company: Innovation, Talent, Excellence

Simon Johnson, Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship

While the ongoing world economic crisis has left many business leaders sweating (or worse), John Chambers is rolling up his sleeves in anticipation of an eventual recovery. After every economic challenge, he says, Cisco has come out with dramatic gains in market share. This time won't be different, if Chambers' bets pay off.

Leading Change: A Conversation with Ron Williams

Ronald A. Williams, SF '84, Chairman and CEO, Aetna

Ronald A. Williams discusses how an emphasis on new technology and application of basic values helped turn around the health care giant Aetna.

MIT experts analyze financial crisis, debate cures

A panel of MIT faculty experts convened Oct. 7 to discuss current economic news. The panelists focused on different aspects of the history, the present unfolding, and the likely future of the financial mess, and emphasized that the situation is far more complex -- and the long-term outcome more uncertain -- than is typically portrayed.

Sustainable Building Design @ MIT: Walking the Talk

There's "just exactly enough time, with no time to lose" to address the massive challenge of climate change and renewable energy, says moderator John Sterman.

Opportunities in Infrastructure and Built Environments

Half the world's population currently lives in cities, and that number is spiraling upward, as urban settlements gobble up most of the world's natural resources and emit the most pollutants.

Getting Unstuck: How to Promote More Sustainable Practices in Our Organizations

Rebecca Henderson '81, Eastman Kodak LFM Professor, MIT Sloan School

All that's required to achieve sustainability, says Rebecca Henderson, is to clean up your current operations and/or rethink the business. "That's easy," she says -- with a smile. Henderson has spent much of her career trying to help firms embrace and survive such transformations.

Opportunities in Building More Sustainable Supply Chains

When a global corporation implements sustainability standards, it pays to work closely with supply chains, as these panelists attest.

Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities for Business and Society

If "organizations are the way that ideas change the world," as MIT Sloan Dean Dave Schmittlein puts it, then look to institutions like MIT, which has wrapped its arms around the issues of energy and climate change, to help make sustainability real and attainable. The Dean describes some showcase work launched at MIT, including a long-lasting battery for electric cars, and MIT's own green campus efforts.

Neuroeconomics

A pioneer in a "dangerously hot research area," Drazen Prelec peers into the human brain while it makes decisions. In his corner of the new field of neuroeconomics, Prelec uses a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine to scan minds pondering the pros and cons of purchasing and selling products like Godiva chocolate and flash drives.

Projects for Change: Bringing Management Tools and Ideas, Collaboration, and Learning-by-Doing to the Challenge of Global Health Delivery

Anjali Sastry '86, PhD '95, Senior Lecturer, Management Science, MIT Sloan

The Latin motto on the MIT seal, mens et manus -- mind and hand -- encapsulates Anjali Sastry's view of the combined theoretical and practical education that students gain at the Institute.

Software Innovation--Do You Think the Last 20 Years Were Exciting? The Next 20 Years Will Blow Your Mind

Feld discusses the next generation of software in context of changes in the last twenty years, and considers software that provides an immersive experience, the prospect of decoupling mouse and keyboard and the implications of cloud computing.

The U.S. and the World's Recession

Roberto Rigobon, PhD '97, Professor of Economics, MIT Sloan School of Management

Roberto Rigobon summarizes preliminary research on worldwide inflation and recession, data that bring some grim tidings about our global economic state of health.

Leading with Information Technology

Marshall Carter leads an MIT class through a case study on corporate transformation, highlighting tips he believes are as salient for engineering students as for those focused on business services.

Building Technology, Talent and Policy Bridges to a Low-Carbon Future

James Rogers, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Duke Energy

After 20-plus years in the utility industry, James Rogers is emphatic that we must "build a bridge to a low carbon world." He confesses to a missionary zeal around clean energy, and to the fact that he must reinvent his business, Duke Energy.

Speed and Scale

John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers

In turn pragmatic and visionary, John Doerr describes his venture capital firm's response to the climate change/clean energy challenge, while answering a range of questions from an entrepreneurial and academic audience.

The Internationalization of Spanish Companies: Ferrovial, The Rise of a Multinational

Rafael del Pino, SM '86, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Grupo Ferrovial

Rafael del Pino tells the story of Ferrovial, a European firm that started out in the 1950's building sleeper cars for railroads, that has grown to a major infrastructure, design, construction, financing and operations powerhouse.

Agents of Change: Model Partnerships with Academia

This panel offers some evidence that sustained alliances between academia and other organizations may help us more effectively address climate change issues.

Digital Evolution

Craig R. Barrett, Chairman of the Board, Intel Corporation

The world is counting on the fulfillment of (Intel co-founder) Gordon Moore's Law for at least another half century. In Craig Barrett's view, solutions to the crucial challenges of our time depend on improving on already nano-sized microprocessors every few years.

Why Bad Things Happen to Good Technologies

John Sterman pokes holes through some popular proposals for addressing climate change, with sobering case studies that demonstrate why "technological solutions are not enough to address the problem of creating a sustainable world."

How Would Climate Change Influence Society in the 21st Century?

Rajendra Pachauri describes the kinds of adaptations humanity must make to the changes already underway, including protection from flooding; preventing water scarcity; and retooling agriculture. Developed nations have a head start in these, and must help out developing nations, or risk global conflicts. Yet adaptation alone "cannot cope with all the projected impacts of climate change," says Pachauri, so greenhouse gas mitigation efforts are urgent.

How Would Climate Change Influence Society in the 21st Century? (Panel)

Rajendra K. Pachauri leads fellow members of the Nobel Prize-winning IPCC in a remarkable public session of soul-searching. Now that the IPCC has helped make climate change a signal issue of our times, what next?

Leading Global Growth by Protecting What Really Matters Most

Ellen J. Kullman, Executive Vice President, DuPont

After 205 years, DuPont has transformed itself substantially while remaining true to its character, suggests Ellen Kullman. "We're a company with a passion for science," says Kullman. DuPont, which got its start making black powder for explosives, pursued chemicals for its first 100 years, but is now taking its science into energy, biotechnology and nanotechnology, with products and services in agriculture, nutrition, coating and color technologies, performance materials and safety and protection.

Are You Ready for IPO? Strategies and Steps For How and When to Take Your Company Public

These panelists serve up straight talk and occasionally dish on various aspects of going public, giving aspiring entrepreneurs an unvarnished view of the process.

Implementing Sustainability Strategies

Companies sometimes regard sustainability as "metaphoric low-hanging fruit," says moderator Peter Senge, and reach for a few easy targets to achieve cosmetic improvements. His three panelists describe how their corporations are attempting to embrace sustainability as more than just another high-profile, low-impact initiative that "goes right into an overloaded bucket."

NBC's Heroes: Appointment TV to Engagement TV

Henry Jenkins, Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities

Two progenitors of broadcast TV's rapid expansion into the digital world provide narrative and back story for the development of NBC's crossover series, Heroes.

Strategy and Sustainability

Rebecca M. Henderson, Eastman Kodak LFM Professor of Management at MIT Sloan

As part of the Strategies for Sustainable Business Practice conference, Rebecca Henderson talks about Mobilizing an Organization: Strategy and Sustainability.

Strategy and Sustainability: Panel Discussion

As part of the Strategies for Sustainable Business Practice conference, Peter Senge moderates this dialogue among representatives of IBM, Staples, and BT Global Services.

The World is Flat 3.0

Thomas L. Friedman, Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times

Elaborating on his World is Flat thesis, Thomas Friedman describes how this new global order puts creative, entrepreneurial individuals in the driver's seat, and poses distinct new challenges and opportunities.

Climate Change: The Economics of and Prospects for a Global Deal

From Nicholas Stern's market perspective, climate change constitutes an "externality" that, like traffic grid lock in a city center, arises when some people's actions affect the welfare of others, at no cost to the perpetrators.

Bridging the Delivery Gap to Global Health

As part of MIT Sloan's Dean's Innovative Leader Series, Dr. Jim Yong Kim on "Bridging the Delivery Gap to Global Health." Dr. Kim is co-founder of Partners in Health, a professor at Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, and chief of the Division of Social Medicine and Health Inequalities at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

The Next Frontier: Bioelectronic Interfaces

Mark A. Reed, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics

As technologies scale down, and more computer chips get packed together, the number of watts per square centimeter reaches a point "when materials start to do nasty things, like break down," says Mark Reed.

Geosciences and Carbon Sequestration to Address Climate Change

Margaret Leinen, Chief Science Officer, Climos, Inc.

Margaret Leinen, drawing on the U.N.'s recent climate reports, and the latest research from the field, shows the dire graph: a red line of CO2 emissions marching steadily upward, with accompanying graphics depicting hoped-for impacts of international efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas release.

Solar Energy as a Major Replacement for Fossil Fuel

t took a crisis to shift Roger Angel's gaze from the stars back to Earth, but we may all benefit from his full attention, locked as it is on helping crack the problem of global warming.

Anthropogenic Climate Change: Science, Economics and Policy

If you'd asked Ronald Prinn a decade ago whether human activity played a significant part in global warming, he would have given you an "equivocal" answer. Today, he is no longer straddling the line.

Collective Intelligence

David Thorburn, MIT Professor of Literature

Can human beings, with the help of smart machines, not merely avoid "collective idiocy", but actually achieve a degree of intelligence previously unattainable by either humans or machines alone? These three panelists study the possibilities from different angles.

Global Poverty: How Demanding Are Our Obligations?

Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University

Peter Singer walks listeners through one of his most provocative philosophical arguments -- that affluent individuals must acknowledge their moral obligation to relieve the unnecessary death and suffering of the poor.

When I'm 64: Discounting, Time Preference, and Personal Identity

Shane Frederick, MIT Sloan associate professor

MIT Sloan Professor Shane Frederick speaks as part of Back to the Classroom at Reunion 2008.

Global Resources and the Built Environment

John Fernandez talks of the buildings we use for shelter at home and work, and the infrastructure that connects these.

CrackBerrys: Exploring the Social Implications of Wireless Email Devices

MIT Sloan Professor JoAnne Yates speaks as part of Back to the Classroom at Reunion 2008.

Marketing the Arts: The Secret Weapon

Michael Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Alum and Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser speaks as part of Back to the Classroom at Reunion 2008.

Two More Things to Worry About

Arnold I. Barnett, George Eastman Professor of Management Science

MIT Sloan Professor Arnie Barnett addresses improvements to the U.S. Electoral College and aviation safety as part of Back to the Classroom at Reunion 2008.

Collaboration and Collective Intelligence

MIT Sloan Professor Tom Malone moderates a discussion on the potential of Internet-driven collectives.

A Conversation with Jack Welch and Alex D'Arbeloff

In a far-reaching discussion, former GE CEO Jack Welch urges managers to focus on top-tier employers and says being candid with employees is important, so employees know where they stand. He also doismisses telecommuting as a fad and says companies should seek to capitalize on the Green market.

Energy 2.0 Morning Keynote

Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO, General Electric

Jeffrey Immelt says that increasing demand among both developing and developed nations, geopolitical concerns, and a recent focus on environmental considerations in international policy dictate GE's vast investment in new energy ventures, and its expectation of handsome returns for many decades.

Insights on Leadership at United Technologies Corporation

George David, Chairman and CEO, United Technologies Corporation

Key to such successes is flow optimization, says George David, and simultaneous work: short assembly lines with quality checks along the way. "There is no force more powerful in modern business than productivity," he says.

Financial Markets: Outlook 2007

Liz Claman, co-anchor of CNBC's Morning Call and anchor of CNBC's Cover to Cover

Analysts offer a grab bag of investment tips for average consumers and entrepreneurs in this annual event from the MIT Enterprise Forum. Moderated by CNBC's Liz Clayman, this event features Frederick Lane of Lane, Berry and Co. International; Brandeis University CIO Deborah Kuenstner, Axel Bichara of Atlas Venture, and Benjamin Howe of America's Growth Capital.