Wisdom From The Top with Guy Raz

What does it take to rebuild a company from the brink of failure? In this conversation from 2020, Guy sits down with Peter Cuneo, the former CEO who famously guided Marvel Entertainment out of bankruptcy and onto a path that ultimately led to its $4.5 billion acquisition by Disney. They explore the career trajectory that got him, as he puts it “offically addicted to turn around challenges." And unpack some of the 32 leadership principles he has developed over the years. How Cuneo’s turnaround philosophy, born from his experiences in the Navy and Vietnam, helped him identify Marvel’s untapped potential, shift its focus toward intellectual property, and pave the way for its cinematic universe.

In 2012, Best Buy was in deep trouble—a crisis so severe that Forbes declared, “Why Best Buy is Going Out of Business.” By March, the company reported a staggering $1.7 billion loss, and by April, its CEO had stepped down amid scandal. Enter Hubert Joly, a leader whose career had shaped him into essentially an elite relief pitcher of the business world. Armed with calm focus and a knack for navigating adversity, Joly stepped up to the plate just as the future of big-box retail hung in the balance. In this classic 2019 episode, discover how Joly took the helm at Best Buy during one of the most tumultuous moments in its history.

"You can't analyze your way into something new," says today's guest. Over the course of a career spanning four decades, Roger Martin has been a management consultant, an influential business strategy thinker and author, as well as the Dean of the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto. He advises CEOs of global companies such as Ford, Proctor & Gamble, and Lego. He is well known for developing and exploring the concept of "integrative thinking" in management problem solving and for troubling conventional management wisdom as he does in his book, A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Management Effectiveness. In this episode, recorded in 2021, Martin challenges the relentless drive for efficiency and advocates for a re-think in approach.

When Arnold Donald took the helm at the Carnival Corporation, a public relations crisis of multiple layers threatened its future. Donald prioritized building a diverse and dynamic leadership team, appointing new heads for seven of the company's nine cruise lines, including more women and minorities. in this 2019 conversation, Donald shares his philosophy that "diversity of thinking is a business imperative and a powerful advantage," explaining how fresh perspectives lead to innovative ideas and drive growth. How his strategies helped him rebuild Carnival into one of the industry’s most valuable brands.