Stefan Thomke, professor at Harvard Business School, says running experiments can give companies tremendous value, but too often business leaders make decisions based on intuition. While A/B testing on large transaction volumes is common practice at Google, Booking.com, and Netflix, Thomke says even small firms can get a competitive advantage from experiment ... Show More
Jul 30
Introducing The Founder Mindset: Tim Ferriss on Experiments, Risk, and Freedom
What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur in today's uncertain world? How do you balance risk, decision-making, and curiosity? We’re sharing an episode from The Founder Mindset with Reza Satchu, the new podcast from Harvard Business School Foundry about what it truly take ... Show More
32m 40s
Apr 2025
Great Strategy Starts with Experimentation
Stefan Thomke, professor at Harvard Business School, says running experiments can give companies tremendous value, but too often business leaders make decisions based on intuition. While A/B testing on large transaction volumes is common practice at Google, Booking.com, and Netfl ... Show More
23m 28s
Nov 2021
A Culture of Experimentation
<p>How can organizations become more experimental? Julia Dhar, the cofounder and leader of BeSmart, BCG’s behavioral economics and insights initiative, says identify a big problem, start small, and do not overly worry that academics may criticize your experiment. As a bonus, Dhar ... Show More
22m 29s
Aug 2024
How to Make Better Decisions, According to Science
Entrepreneurs make a mistake: They often think of decisions as binary, where one answer is definitely right and the other is definitely wrong. Astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter says there's a better way to approach decisions — and it's with "probabilistic thinking," a concept that's ... Show More
19m 9s
Oct 2025
540. The Art of Experimentation to Gain Consumer Insights
In this episode of The Brainy Business podcast, Melina Palmer welcomes Dr. Henry Stott, co-founder of Dectech, to discuss the nuances of business experimentation and how to better predict customer behavior. Henry shares insights from his extensive experience in applying behaviora ... Show More
42m 49s
Apr 2025
To Make Better Decisions, Think Like a Venture Capitalist
Venture capital firms notoriously embrace risk and take big swings, hoping that one startup will become a monster hit that pays for many other failed investments. This VC approach scares established companies, but it shouldn’t. Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Ilya ... Show More
24m 44s
Jul 2025
At Booking.com, Innovation Means Constant Failure (Summer Repeat)
During a busy travel season, digital travel platform Booking.com tried a risky experiment that meant changing the site’s landing page. Then CEO Gillian Tans made the decision to lean into the company’s “test everything” culture—even if it meant failure. In this episode from 2019, ... Show More
26m 41s
Jun 2025
Stress Test Your Strategy Before It Fails
While many teams and organizations engage in scenario planning, most don’t go far enough. Arjan Singh, consultant and adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University, says a more disciplined approach, borrowed from the military, can help leaders truly test how their strategies ... Show More
26m 51s