This week on If/Then, we’re sharing an episode of View From The Top: The Podcast, an audio series featuring leaders from around the world in conversation with MBA students. Recorded live at the CEMEX Auditorium at Stanford Graduate School of Business, episodes feature insights on effective leadership, the values that guide it, and lessons learned along the way.

Lisa Su, the chair and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), leads one of the world’s most influential technology companies, a pioneer in high-performance computing and designer of chips that power everything from cellphones to supercomputers.

Su joins Michael Liu, MBA ’25, to talk about what it takes to stay on the cutting edge of technology, the tremendous potential of artificial intelligence, and why her superpower may be her commitment to learning.

“Careers are very much by chance,” Su says. “The nice thing about my early career is I was lucky enough to have bosses who asked me all the time, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ And I was like, ‘I don't know. Let me think about [it]...what I like to believe is the ability to learn at each step was what really helped me in my career.”

This conversation was recorded on February 24, 2025.

More Resources:

• Lisa Su

• GSB Insights

• View From The Top

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.

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Kevin Cool introduces a summer spotlight on other podcasts, featuring View from the Top.

(00:00:59) Meet Lisa Su

Michael Liu introduces Lisa Su, AMD CEO, and highlights her career transformation.

(00:04:13) Growing Up & MIT Years

Lisa reflects on her immigrant upbringing and her journey through three degrees at MIT.

(00:05:43) Discovering Semiconductors

A part-time lab job at MIT ignites Lisa’s passion for chip technology.

(00:07:21) From Engineer to Leader

Lisa describes her transition from technical work to managing people and projects.

(00:11:19) Tackling Hard Problems

How curiosity and teamwork help Lisa embrace high-stakes technical challenges.

(00:13:40) Betting on Talent

Lisa recounts moments when she was given a chance—and how she now pays that forward.

(00:17:03) Becoming CEO at AMD

What brought Lisa to AMD and the unexpected call to lead the company.

(00:21:51) Strategy in a Turnaround

How AMD focused on high-performance computing and long-term bets.

(00:25:41) Cultural Shift at AMD

Lisa outlines how AMD’s culture became collaborative, ambitious, and learning-driven.

(00:27:19) AI & Global Tech Politics

The complex intersection of AI innovation and geopolitical regulation.

(00:32:37) Open vs. Closed AI Platforms

AMD’s open-source AI approach with NVIDIA’s more vertical model.

(00:38:54) Future Vision & Final Reflections

Lisa offers advice to MBAs and shares what she wants her legacy at AMD to be.

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As we celebrate the conclusion of the second season of the If/Then podcast, we present a bonus episode featuring Deborah H. Gruenfeld, the Joseph McDonald Professor and Professor of Organizational Behavior and a Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Gruenfeld, who appeared on the first season of If/Then in an award-winning episode about hierarchies and the nature of power, returned to the studio to share her thoughts on the value of academic research and its impact on individuals and organizations.

“The nice thing about research is that it provides tools and methods and an approach to learn about what’s true in the world, taking into account that what we learn from firsthand experience is not reliable,” she says. “Research helps us build a body of knowledge about what's actually true that we can trust.”

This episode was recorded on July 16, 2025.

Related Content:

• Deborah H. Gruenfeld, faculty profile
• Why Research Matters
• Why I Research: Findings Fueled by the Head and the Heart

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.

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.

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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.

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• 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.

Neil Malhotra, the Edith M. Cornell professor of political economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business, aims to identify the nature of our tumultuous political moment in his work.

In this episode, Malhotra explores rising distrust, shifting political identities, and what these changes mean for individuals — and businesses.

Plus, the billion-dollar question: “Is Trump creating a movement that is separate from himself or is it identified with himself?” Malhotra asks. “It remains to be seen.”

Is there a political question you’d like us to explore? Email us at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.

This episode was recorded on December 18, 2024.

Related Content:

• Neil Malhotra faculty profile: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/neil-malhotra
• A Surprising Discovery About Facebook’s Role in Driving Polarization
• Pulling Back From Polarization: How Business Leaders Can Step Up
• 10 Tips for Tackling Political Polarization in the Workplace and Beyond
• How the Supreme Court’s Abortion Ruling Played in the Court of Public Opinion

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.