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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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

Sridhar Narayanan, a professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business, studies how small businesses operate and why they’re so important, especially in the developing world.

“Modernizing small businesses will have a profound impact on economies worldwide in many ways,” he says.

In this episode of If/Then, Narayanan explains why so many retailers still rely on cash, how modernization can boost revenue, and what these patterns reveal about credit access, trust in institutions, and global economic development.

Have you modernized a small business or did you choose to stick with what was already working? Tell us your story at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.

This episode was recorded on November 5, 2024.

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• Upgrades Can Help Mom-and-Pop Stores Compete with Big Retail
• From Instinct to Insight: Crafting an Intentional Sales Strategy
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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.

Only a third of the global population is financially literate. Why? Because most of us don’t learn the basics of personal finance in school — or elsewhere.

Treating financial literacy as an afterthought can have serious consequences, from personal calamities to economic crises, according to Annamaria Lusardi, a professor of finance and the director of the Initiative for Financial Decision-Making at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

On this episode of If/Then, Lusardi makes the case for treating financial education like preventative care: essential, cost-effective, and an enormous opportunity to improve people’s lives, boost workplace performance, and strengthen economic resilience.

“We should learn about money as soon as possible,” Lusardi says. “As soon as the tooth fairy comes.”

Where do you go for financial advice? Tell us more at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.

This episode was recorded on November 5, 2024.

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• Annamaria Lusardi faculty profile
• On a Mission to Teach the World the Basics of Personal Finance

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.

Susan Athey, the Economics of Technology Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and founding director of the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab, studies the impact of technological innovations on workers, businesses, and society.

Will the world’s economies successfully adapt to a future defined by artificial intelligence? On this episode, Athey shares what the stories of 22,000 laid-off workers in Sweden can tell us about who recovers from economic turmoil, how small design changes and product features can have outsize societal impact, and how AI could transform the way we work, from hiring to healthcare.

What’s the best way to build a future that effectively integrates AI and supports workers? Tell us more at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.

This episode was recorded on December 16, 2024.

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• East Brother Light Station

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - Modernizing a 150 Year Old Lighthouse
• (00:03:05) - Adapting to Advancing Technology
• (00:04:20) - Impact of Mass Layoffs
• (00:06:16) - Low-Cost Scalable Solutions
• (00:13:37) - AI’s Role in the Future of Work
• (00:19:45) - Managing Transitions in the Job Market

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.

Brian Lowery, the Walter Kenneth Kilpatrick Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business and the author of Selfless: The Social Creation of You, argues that identity is about much more than external characteristics, family history, or the collection of experiences that compose the chronology of our lives. In fact, Lowery argues, our identities are constantly being formed, shifted, and even co-created — by the people around us.

In this episode, Lowery breaks down how leaders, colleagues, and even casual acquaintances influence the people we are continually becoming — and why recognizing this can change our lives and how we experience the people we know. Understanding this social conception of the self helps us effectively navigate challenges at home and in the workplace, strengthen key relationships, and even bridge political divides.

“All these constraints that you feel, maybe those are imaginary,” Lowery says. “The world opens to you, I think, if you believe this, but that is also what's terrifying about it. What's exciting is what's terrifying.”

Has someone in your life changed how you see yourself? Tell us more at ifthenpod@stanford.edu.

This conversation was recorded on November 13, 2024.

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• A Provocative Theory of Identity Finds There is No “You” in Self
• Let’s Make a Deal: Negotiation Tips from the Experts
• Quick Thinks: How Others Define Us
• Janet Varney

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) - Improv is a Team Sport
• (00:04:20) - Rethinking the Self
• (00:05:16) - Leadership and Influence
• (00:07:30) - The Leadership Experiment
• (00:11:55) - Trust in the Workplace
• (00:14:24) - Polarization and Social Identity
• (00:18:33) - The Influence of Proximity
• (00:20:55) - Changing Identities
• (00:24:38) - Conclusion

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