The journey to becoming a Frontier Firm requires leaders to reimagine every aspect of their organization - quickly and without a playbook. Harvard Business School’s Raffaella Sadun joins host Molly Wood to explore what makes a Frontier Firm, why reskilling is so hard, and how leaders can build cultures that thrive on experimentation and human-AI collaboration. Discover actionable strategies for navigating uncertainty, driving transformation, and empowering every employee to become an AI-enabled inventor. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 01:15 - Echoes of past tech revolutions & AI’s promise 02:45 - The J curve of productivity & firm-specific adoption 03:55- Defining frontier firms & strategic experimentation 04:33 - Organizational vision, value creation & building buy-in 06:25 - No playbook: tailoring AI to culture & people 08:36 - Human–AI collaboration & managerial mindset shifts 10:41 - Leadership styles, adoption phases & building credibility 12:57- Reskilling challenges & five paradigms overview 14:59 - Middle management’s role & employee perspective 17:35 - Designing effective reskilling programs & strategic imperative 26:26 - Practical steps for CEOs & employees to become frontier firms 29:16 - Looking ahead – divergence across firms & the future of work Find this episode on: - Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/worklab/id1582908812 - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2vApnLW5XfXoP8WDYGzFkT - WorkLab Podcast: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/podcast/ About the WorkLab Podcast: Join host Molly Wood as she explores what leaders need to know to prepare their organizations for the innovations and disruptions that are transforming the way we work. Listen to her conversations with leading economists, technologists, and researchers on everything from how to use AI effectively to what it takes to thrive in a digital age. Subscribe to Microsoft on YouTube here: https://aka.ms/SubscribeToYouTube Follow us on social: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Microsoft Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Microsoft/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/microsoft/ For more insights on the future of work, visit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/ Follow us on social: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Microsoft Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Microsoft/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/microsoft/ For more about Microsoft, our technology, and our mission, visit https://aka.ms/microsoftstories

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