Do you stick to the rules or do you roll through stop signs? Whether you’re “tight” or “loose” — how closely you adhere to social norms — has major implications for your life at home and at work.

“To be effective, we want to be ambidextrous,” says Michele Gelfand, the John H. Scully Professor in Cross-Cultural Management and Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “Even if we might lean tight or loose, we want to be able to create a context where we can have both tight and loose elements.”

Sophisticated strategies will fail if they don’t account for deeply embedded norms, and Gelfand breaks down why the adage that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is more than just a management cliché.

“From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep, [culture is] affecting everything from our politics to our parenting,” Gelfand says. “But we take it for granted — we don’t even think about it. So it’s kind of invisible. And that’s a pretty profound puzzle.”

What’s the biggest cultural adjustment you’ve made? Share your story at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.

This episode was recorded on January 28, 2025.

Related Content:

• Faculty profile
• Psst — Wanna Know Why Gossip Has Evolved in Every Human Society?
• Class Takeaways — The Art of Negotiation
• Why the Pandemic Slammed “Loose” Countries Like the U.S.

If/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society. Each episode features an interview with a Stanford GSB faculty member.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

AI has the potential to reshape medicine. But translating its promise into solutions for providers and patients is a high-stakes challenge.

“There’s a lot more problems than solutions available,” says Mohsen Bayati, the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Professor of Operations, Information & Technology at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “So it’s ripe for innovation.”

From trust and privacy to hallucination and data quality, the complications are significant. Bayati says that safely and effectively integrating AI into an enormous industry that treats people in their most vulnerable moments requires safety guardrails, human oversight, and maybe even a leap of faith.

“[We] need to have patience with the benefits of these systems,” he says.

Are you ready to interact with artificial intelligence at the doctor’s office? Sound off at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.

This episode was recorded on March 4, 2025.

Related Content:

• Mohsen Bayati faculty profile
• A Peek Inside Doctors’ Notes Reveals Symptoms of Burnout
• Many Health Care Workers Are Emotionally Exhausted, and Technology May Be to Blame
• Why Hospitals Underreport the Number of Patients They Infect

If/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society. Each episode features an interview with a Stanford GSB faculty member.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“The way I think about trying to anticipate and shape the AI future requires us to take a step back and ask ourselves first, ‘What does this technology do? What does it enable?’” reflects Amir Goldberg, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business. “That’s very different from asking ourselves, ‘How is the technology implemented?’”

From locating the origins of innovation to identifying hidden barriers blocking new ideas, Goldberg presents a framework for harnessing novel technological capabilities like AI — capabilities that are essential for staying ahead of the competition.

“The data/AI train is leaving the station,” he says. “The problem is, there are many trains — and some are going off a cliff.”

Is your organization exploring how to transform its experience into data? Tell us your story at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.

This episode was recorded on February 5, 2025.

Related Content:

• Amir Goldberg faculty profile
• To Discover Breakthrough Ideas, Look to the Outsiders
• Is Your Business Ready to Jump Into A.I.? Read This First.
• Why Investors Throw Money at Eccentric CEO

If/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society. Each episode features an interview with a Stanford GSB faculty member.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.