The 7% Rule: How Companies Can Grow Without Destroying the Planet

The 7% Rule: How Companies Can Grow Without Destroying the Planet

In this episode of Business Talk, Dr. Per Espen Stoknes, psychologist, economist, serial entrepreneur, and Associate Professor at BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, unpacks the central argument of his book Tomorrow's Economy (MIT Press): that green growth is not only possible, but measurable, actionable, and urgently necessary. At the heart of his framework is a sharp distinction between healthy and unhealthy growth. GDP, he explains, tells us how much an economy produces, but not how. Healthy growth demands two additional productivity measures: resource productivity (generating more value with less material and energy use, targeting 6-7% annual improvement) and social productivity (ensuring that income growth reaches the bottom 40-50% of earners, not just the top 10%). Beyond GDP, Dr. Stoknes calls for a planetary balance sheet that accounts for four forms of capital, human, natural, social, and productive, where a healthy economy is one in which all four improve net-positively year over year. He further argues that the biggest barrier to this transformation is not technological, but psychological: since double-entry accounting was introduced in 1494, we have been conditioned to measure success in short-term monetary terms alone. From a six-step corporate green growth model, spanning outreach, house cleaning, procurement, operations, product portfolio shifts, and business model innovation, to the structural protection offered by Benefit Corporation structures, Dr. Stoknes offers business leaders and policymakers a clear, science-based roadmap. And for India, he reserves particular urgency: with its vast workforce and rapid growth trajectory, he calls it "the most important country in the world right now" to demonstrate that resource-productive, inclusive economic development is not a trade-off, it is tomorrow's only viable path forward. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. Disclaimer: 1. The background music incorporated in this video is the intellectual property of its respective developer and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Notwithstanding that it is a free-to-use version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy, and Deepak Bhatt do not own, and expressly do not claim, any rights, title, or interest in or to this music. 2. Dr. Per Espen Stoknes shared key insights from his book, ‘Tomorrow's Economy’, in an engaging episode of the Business Talk podcast. The uploaded video contains copyrighted content, so changing any graphics, music, or on-screen appearance of the author or host is not allowed.

Healthcare by Design: A Practical Handbook for Clinician-Led Change

On this episode of Business Talk, we are joined by Dr. Barry M. Katz, Professor of Design at California College of the Arts and adjunct professor at Stanford University; Schirin Lucie Richter, design strategist and senior partner at Future Medical Systems; and Svava María Atladóttir, Chief Transformation Officer at Landspítali University Hospital and Special Advisor at Iceland’s Ministry of Health, to explore the key ideas from their collaborative handbook, Healthcare by Design: A Handbook for Changemakers. Drawing on their experience working within complex health systems, they discuss why dedicated clinicians often struggle to make change, the mindsets needed to drive innovation safely, and how human-centered design can unlock practical, low-cost improvements in patient and provider experience. Through real-world cases, such as rethinking the everyday experience of dialysis patients, they show how design methods can complement evidence-based medicine, support the quadruple aim, and help frontline insights meaningfully reach leadership and the C-suite. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. Disclaimer: 1. The background music incorporated in this video is the intellectual property of its respective developer and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Notwithstanding that it is a free-to-use version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy, and Deepak Bhatt do not own, and expressly do not claim, any rights, title, or interest in or to this music. 2. Dr. Barry Katz, Schirin Lucie Richter, and Svava María Atladóttir joined the Business Talk podcast to share key insights from their co-authored book, Healthcare by Design: A Handbook for Changemakers, in a deeply engaging conversation. The uploaded video contains copyrighted content, so changing any graphics, music, or on-screen appearance of the author or host is not allowed.

Are Algorithms Co‑Authoring Your Life? Prof. Philippe Huneman Explains

Dr. Philippe Huneman is a French philosopher and research director at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), affiliated with Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, whose recent work examines how predictive algorithms are reshaping identity, knowledge, and democracy in the digital age. In this conversation, drawing on his book Profiling: How Predictive Algorithms Shape Identity and the Social Fabric, he explains how data-driven profiling turns everyday traces of our lives, our GPS movements, purchases, searches, and social media activity, into high-dimensional profiles that can predict and subtly shape what we see, do, and even who we become. Moving beyond simple critiques of “big data,” Dr. Huneman argues that profiling systems do not merely observe reality; they help produce it, constructing new forms of community, altering our memories and experiences through algorithmic curation, and raising urgent philosophical and political questions about autonomy, corporate power, and the conditions for a truly democratic internet. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. Disclaimer: 1. The background music incorporated in this video is the intellectual property of its respective developer and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Notwithstanding that it is a free-to-use version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy, and Deepak Bhatt do not own, and expressly do not claim, any rights, title, or interest in or to this music. 2. Dr. Philippe Huneman shared key insights from his book, “Profiling: How Predictive Algorithms Shape Identity and the Social Fabric”, in an engaging episode of the Business Talk podcast. The uploaded video contains copyrighted content, so changing any graphics, music, or on-screen appearance of the author or host is not allowed.

Defeating Dengue: Dr. R. Edward Freeman on Stakeholder Problem Solving

In this episode of Business Talk, we sit down with Dr. R. Edward Freeman of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, a pioneer of stakeholder theory, to delve into his award-winning book Defeating Dengue: A Multistakeholder Approach to Problem Solving, co-authored with Andrew Sell. Drawing on a remarkable public health project in Indonesia, Dr. Freeman unpacks how a breakthrough Wolbachia mosquito technology, a courageous venture-philanthropy effort by the Tahia family, and deep community engagement came together to tackle dengue at scale. From randomized control trials and cultural-ethical challenges to 12,400 local volunteers and creative trust-building strategies like murals, hotlines, and “Wally the Wolbachia” bike visits, the conversation shows how stakeholder thinking can turn complex, seemingly intractable problems into collaborative solutions. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. Disclaimer: 1. The background music incorporated in this video is the intellectual property of its respective developer and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Notwithstanding that it is a free-to-use version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy, and Deepak Bhatt do not own, and expressly do not claim, any rights, title, or interest in or to this music. 2. Dr. R. Edward Freeman shared key insights from his book, “Defeating Dengue: A Multistakeholder Approach to Problem Solving”, in an engaging episode of the Business Talk podcast. The uploaded video contains copyrighted content, so changing any graphics, music, or on-screen appearance of the author or host is not allowed.

Inside the Mind of an Economist: Dr. Eugenio Proto on Personality and Choice

Dr. Eugenio Proto, Alec Cairncross Chair of Applied Economics and Econometrics at the University of Glasgow’s Adam Smith Business School, unpacks fascinating insights from his research, showing how personality traits, cognitive ability, and emotional states subtly shape the economic and social decisions that define our lives. Tracing his journey from traditional models to behavioral complexity, Professor Proto shows how the Big Five personality traits, emotional states, and different types of intelligence interact to influence our choices at work, in markets, and at the ballot box. Drawing on natural experiments such as the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-cultural studies, and laboratory research, he challenges simplistic stories about happiness, stress, and rational decision-making, instead revealing nuanced, often non-linear patterns in how people think, feel, and act. Along the way, the conversation highlights why moods and relationships matter for productivity, why voters can rarely be fully “rational,” and why policy, management, and education must account for both cognitive limits and emotional forces. Ultimately, the episode invites listeners to embrace the discomfort of partial models and unresolved complexity, recognizing that economic behavior is deeply human, and that honest scholarship must balance explanatory ambition with intellectual humility. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. Disclaimer: 1. The background music incorporated in this video is the intellectual property of its respective developer and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Notwithstanding that it is a free-to-use version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy, and Deepak Bhatt do not own, and expressly do not claim, any rights, title, or interest in or to this music. 2. In an engaging episode of the Business Talk podcast, Dr. Eugenio Proto unpacks the key insights from his research, “Personality, Intelligence, and Emotions: The Hidden Drivers of Economic and Social Behaviour”. The uploaded video contains copyrighted content, so changing any graphics, music, or on-screen appearance of the author or host is not allowed.