The Better Question

Increasingly disruptive global challenges, such as income inequality, cybersecurity, and climate change, pose direct risks to long-term economic and business growth.   The latest EY CEO Imperative Study, created by EYQ, reveals we have now arrived at a tipping point, as CEOs, board directors and institutional investors of the world’s largest companies align on the need for corporate action. With employees, customers and other stakeholders expecting CEOs to lead the way, it’s a growth imperative.   In this episode of The Better Question, EYQ Fellow Chris Meyer and Yassmin Abdel-Magied are joined by Daryl Brewster, CEO of Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, and Jan Babiak, Independent Board Director and Audit Committee Chair.  

In the second half of the 20th century, much of the world enjoyed success and stability relying on a set of institutions well-suited to the industrial economy. More recently, skepticism has grown that these arrangements are responding effectively to those they were designed to benefit.   Consequently, individuals are withdrawing from political processes in favor of changing the institutions they can influence — their workplaces. In this episode of the Better Question podcast, EYQ Fellow Chris Meyer is joined by Kees Kruythoff, Ex-President Unilever Home Care & Unilever North America and Co-founder IMAGINE and Ethan Zuckerman, who Direct MIT’s Center for Civic Media.

The population of Africa is about 900 million, with incomes expected to grow 4-5% over the next decade. By 2050, it is destined to have the world’s largest and youngest labor force, providing a rapidly growing opportunity for skills creation — essential to attract foreign investment and support growth of local production. Today, intra-African trade accounts for only 15% of the continent’s product.   In this episode of the Better Question podcast, EYQ Fellow Chris Meyer is joined by Nicola Kleyn, Dean, Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, and Ajen Sita, CEO, EY Africa.

China’s rise to the world’s largest economy is the third phase of the development of a modern, connected Asia.   By 2030, many of the world’s largest economies will be Asian. Organizations must therefore pay more attention to their relationships with trading partners throughout the continent, not just China.   In this episode of The Better Question podcast, EYQ Fellow Chris Meyer is joined by Parag Khanna, Managing Partner at FutureMap, and Jennifer Zhu Scott, Founding Principal of Radian Partners.

Nothing can change if minds do not. How can we make common ground the foundation for real change? As technology increasingly takes on the role of management, more emphasis falls on the role of leaders. Neuroscience is uncovering approaches to influence that leaders can use to enlist others to share their beliefs and commitments.   In this episode of The Better Question, EYQ Fellow Chris Meyer is joined by Tali Sharot, professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London and EYQ Fellow, and Seth Godin, entrepreneur and author of numerous bestsellers, including Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers.

For an increasing number of people, work can combine labor and purpose. With the advancement of AI, and its ability to increase productivity and make time for other pursuits, individuals can pursue vocation as a career. The impact? If companies need the services of people motivated by a purpose, they will come to ask what their vocations are as well.   In this episode of The Better Question podcast, EYQ Fellow Chris Meyer is joined by Aaron Maniam, Leader of the Minister of Industry in Singapore, and Kevin Kelly, founder of Wired magazine.

Like the elevator or electricity, AI is a technology that expands what is possible for humans to do. Ai has the potential to spread extremely rapidly, but it’s not yet clear how it will be slowed by resistance, backlash and regulation.   Executives must think about AI as a part of any product or process. As with previous innovations, productivity opportunities will propel economic growth and society will adapt to it sooner or later.   In this episode of The Better Question podcast, EYQ Fellow Chris Meyer is joined by Stefan Heck, CEO of Nauto, and Eduardo Potter, New York Times economics writer.

The Better Question, EY’s podcast series, answers the questions that will help executives lead their business through this transformative age. The first of six new episodes will launch on 10 September, where we discuss the new world-changing issues that will start to transform society. Find out more here.

In any business transformation, there are so many ‘unknown-unknowns’ that it’s impossible to have all the best answers on an ongoing basis without first examining whether you are asking the best questions. How can senior executives and board directors prioritize creating the conditions and culture that encourage better questions to consistently get to better answers?   In this episode we discuss what better, catalytic questions are; their criticality for business leaders in the transformative age; and how to generate them to get to better answers and drive competitive advantage through innovation, growth mindsets, and trust.

Despite digital as a concept being gender-agnostic, the practices and people historically involved reflect a bias toward male participation – the workforce that sits behind the design and execution, and implementation, has a bias toward men. It’s up to leaders and boards to be the architects of a new paradigm. What should senior executives and board directors be asking to deliver the pipeline of female leaders that organizations and their boards need to deliver sustainable growth and make certain that women play an equal role in this transformational age?