From Problems to Possibilities: Entrepreneurial Leadership in Action Presented by Babson College

Brand Love: Representation in Media

Even though the advertising and entertainment industries have made strides in trying to be more inclusive and speak more directly to different consumer groups, work remains to be done.
Research done by the Geena Davis Institute shows that representation for women, LGBTQIA+ race, disability, age and body size was actually shrinking for some audiences in recent years.
So why does representation in media matter? 
How does it affect the business landscape in terms of sales and brand equity?
And beyond even that, how does representation in the content we view every day affect consumers and how they view themselves?
And how can entrepreneurial leaders lay the groundwork in the content creation ecosystem for creating authentic stories?
In this episode, three entrepreneurial leaders talk about how authentic storytelling and representation in media can make an impact not only on a company's bottom line, but on the customers they serve.
We'll speak with a Babson alum who's an advertising Hall of Fame inductee and visionary creative agency leader. Babson's own resident marketing expert, who will help us break down the connections between representation brands and consumers. And an entrepreneur who's bringing inclusive casting practices for photo and video to a whole new level.
Aaron Walton ’83, CEO and Founder Walton / Isaacson, Advertisers Hall of Fame Inductee
Anjali S. Bal, PhD., Associate Professor of Marketing and Presidential Scholar at Babson College
Kristie Raymond, Founder & Chief Casting Strategist, HumanKind Casting
Sources:
Intro Segment
1. (2024, September 1). See Jane 2024. The Geena Davis Institute. Retrieved
February 21, 2025, from (Geena Davis Institute (2024, September 1). See Jane
2024: How Has On-Screen Representation in Children’s Television Changed
from 2018 to 2023? Https://Geenadavisinstitute.org/. Retrieved February 24,
12025, from
https://geenadavisinstitute.org/research/see-jane-2024-how-has-on-screen-repre
sentation-in-childrens-television-changed-from-2018-to-2023/).
 
Aaron’s Segment
1. Mckinsey & Company (2020, May 19). Diversity wins: How inclusion matters.
Mckinsey.com. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins
-how-inclusion-matters
2. Gartner (2019, September 20). Diversity and Inclusion Build High-Performance
Teams. Gartner.com. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from
https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/diversity-and-inclusion-build-high-per
formance-teams
3. World Economic Forum (2019, April 29). The Business Case for Diversity is now
Overwhelming. Weforum.org. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2019/04/business-case-for-diversity-in-the-work
place/
 
Professor Bal’s Segment
1. 2. NeuroLaunch Editorial Team. (2024, September 15). The psychological power of
using someone's name. NeuroLaunch. Retrieved from
https://neurolaunch.com/psychology-of-calling-someone-by-their-name/
Bond, J. (2021, August 30). The impact of respecting another person's gender.
Psychology Today. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/more-diagnosis/202108/the-impact-res
pecting-another-persons-gender
 
Credits:
Paul DeWolf, Executive Producer
Madeline Poirier, Writer, Producer, and Host
Billy Wirasnik, Audio Recording, Design, and Mix
Epidemic Sound, Music and SFX

Trust the System

The way leaders are problem solving in the world we live in today is changing.  
The World Economic Forum has been touting the practice of systems thinking for years, which you can loosely define as a way of viewing problems and the path to their solutions in a multi-dimensional approach, as opposed to a linear path.  
Similarly, the concept of biomimicry, or analyzing a problem and evaluating solutions based on how nature would approach it, is another concept taking off in the business landscape. Especially as business and governments try to align behind sustainability goals and targets.  
In this episode, three entrepreneurial leaders talk about how systems thinking and biomimicry help drive their businesses from ocean cleanup to becoming simultaneously profitable and water positive.  
Ela Gokcigdem ‘24, Blue Economy Specialist
Vikki L. Rodgers, PhD., Professor of Ecology and the Science Director and Integrated Sustainability Director at Babson
Ramón Mendiola, Sustainable Business Leader, Former CEO of Florida Ice and Farm Company (FIFCO), Current Babson Board Member 
Sources:
 
Intro Segment:
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/01/what-systems-thinking-actually-means-and-why-it-matters-today/
https://www.weforum.org/publications/innovative-learning-solutions-to-navigate-complexity-adapting-systems-thinking-to-future-classrooms/
 
Ela’s Segment:
Stanichny, Sergey. (2022). Outbreak of marine mucilage in the Sea of Marmara in 2021. Marine Biological Journal. 7. 107-109. 10.21072/mbj.2022.07.1.09. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359401873_Outbreak_of_marine_mucilage_in_the_Sea_of_Marmara_in_2021
https://www.avsaproject.org/
 
Professor Rodgers’ Segment:
 
Books on Biomimicry:
Benyus, J. 2002. Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by nature. Harper Perennial
Collins, K. 2014. Nature of investing: Resilient investment strategies through biomimicry. Routledge
 
Articles (mentioned or used for research):
Brier, E. Sept 19, 2024 “Forbes Sustainability Leaders” Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/elisabethbrier/article/forbes-sustainability-leaders/
Russo, A. 2020. “Half of world’s GDP moderately or highly dependent on nature, says new report” World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/press/2020/01/half-of-world-s-gdp-moderately-or-highly-dependent-on-nature-says-new-report/
Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. Global warming of 1.5 C https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/
Colombo, L. A., Moser, C., Muehlfeld, K., & Joy, S. (2024). Sowing the seeds of change: Calling for a social–ecological approach to management learning and education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 23(2), 207-213. https://journals.aom.org/doi/full/10.5465/amle.2024.0086
 
Article Professor Rodgers co-authored that references Babson’s interdisciplinary SES work to focus on inclusive and interdisciplinary teaching:
 
Byrne, L. B., Rauschert, E. S., Rodgers, V. L., Bowser, G., Casper, A., Dewsbury, B., ... & Weber, L. (2025). Diversifying Ecology Education for Everyone Through More Inclusive, Interdisciplinary, and Accessible Teaching. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, e2233. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bes2.2233
 
Babson publications on SES courses:
Babson College. “Socio-Ecological Systems Core Courses”https://www.babson.edu/undergraduate/academics/curriculum/socio-ecological-systems/
Savignano, M. 2022. “Exploring an integrated mindset” Babson Thought & Action https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/socio-ecological-deer-island/
Crawford, J. 2023. “What the future demands of today’s classrooms”. Babson Magazine. https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/faculty-future-classroom/
 
Ramón’s Segment:
https://thecostaricanews.com/fifco-aspires-to-be-the-first-positive-water-company-in-costa-rica/
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57f3c5ddbe65946007f0290f/t/663a6a0a2ab5953f275ef5e3/1715104284095/FIFCO-Integrated-Report-2024-ENVIRONMENTAL.pdf

Believe Them, Include Them, Fund Them

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s 2023/24 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report, startup activity among women has risen steadily over the past 25 years, even as they face headwinds related to cultural perceptions of women in business and limited access to capital.
One of the effects of this activity is women entrepreneurs who are taking problems affecting women in healthcare and creating business solutions to address them. 
In this episode, four entrepreneurial leaders in the women’s health innovation space, taking problems in women’s healthcare and leading the way to possibilities.
Elissa Kalver Founder and CEO of Wegotthis.org
Dr. Wiljeana Glover, Associate Professor in Operations and Information Management, and the founding faculty director of the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Babson College
Elizabeth Bailey, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Foreground Capital
Mary Tinebra '90, Business Partner and Chief Commercialization Officer at Inflection
 
 
Sources:
 
Intro Segment:
 
(2024, November 19). 2023/24 Women’s Entrepreneurship Report Reshaping Economies and Communities. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. https://gemconsortium.org/report/202324-womens-entrepreneurship-report-reshaping-economies-and-communities-2
 
Dr. Wiljeana Glover Segment:
 
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2024/aug/health-care-women-how-us-compares-internationally
 
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2866602/#:~:text=Results.,of%2043.7%25%20of%20the%20NMEs.
Keyhani S, Wang S, Hebert P, Carpenter D, Anderson G. US pharmaceutical innovation in an international context. Am J Public Health. 2010 Jun;100(6):1075-80. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.178491. Epub 2010 Apr 19. PMID: 20403883; PMCID: PMC2866602.
 
https://hologic.womenshealthindex.com/sites/default/files/2024-01/MISC09031_HGWHI_Y3GlobalReport_Final_Digital.pdf
 
Glover, W., Pachamanova, D., and Li, Z. (2024) Framing Inclusive Practice Options for Financial, Operational, and Community Outcomes. Production and Operations Management Journal. Impact Factor: 4.6. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10591478241276927
 
Glover, W., Crocker, A., and Brush, C., (2024) Healthcare Entrepreneurship: An Integrative Framework for Future Research. Journal of Business Venturing Insights. Impact Factor: 6.6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352673424000283
 
https://submissions.mirasmart.com/InformsAnnual2024/Itinerary/PresentationDetail.aspx?evdid=69this particular study actually focused on breast cancer survival, not maternal morbidity, but similar findings have been found in maternal morbidity see: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11113-021-09691-2
 
Gai, Y., Crocker, A., Brush, C., & Glover, W. J. (2024). How healthcare entrepreneurship enhances ecosystem outcomes: the relationship between venture capital-funded start-ups and county-level health. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ijebr-02-2023-0204/full/html#:~:text=Indeed%2C%20our%20results%20show%20that,binge%20drinking%20rates%20at%20the
Elizabeth Bailey Segment:
Medicaid Stat: https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/quality-of-care/quality-improvement-initiatives/maternal-infant-health-care-quality/index.html#:~:text=Nearly%20two%20out%20of%20every,births%20in%20the%20United%20States.
Mary Tinebra Segment:
 

What is Entrepreneurial Leadership?

What is entrepreneurial leadership? And how can entrepreneurial leaders solve the problems that have perplexed so many others?
New research from Babson College faculty proposes that entrepreneurial leadership is a paradigm-shifting model that could have a long-term impacts for businesses and organizations of all kinds.
To outline how entrepreneurial leadership actually works, we’ve got two of Babson’s foremost researchers here today:
Professor Scott Taylor, Professor of organizational behavior and the Arthur M. Blank endowed chair for values-based leadership
Professor Danna Greenberg the Walter H. Carpenter professor of organizational behavior, also serving as the associate dean of the Faculty Division and chair of the management division
They have co-authored with four colleagues a recently published paper that offers the first academic model for how entrepreneurial leaders can move teams from problems to possibilities.
 
Sources:
New research paper:
Taylor, S. N., Corbett, A., Greenberg, D., Murphy, W., Rollag, K., & Shay, J. (2025). A conceptual model of entrepreneurial leadership: how entrepreneurial leaders enable entrepreneurial opportunity. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-025-01074-9
Book:
Greenberg, D., McKone-Sweet, K., & Wilson, H. J. (2011). The new Entrepreneurial Leader: developing leaders who shape social and economic opportunity. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24848726M/The_new_entrepreneurial_leader

From Problems to Possibilities

The world is evolving. The problems we’re facing are too big to be solved by any organization alone. A lot is uncertain, but one thing is for sure: change is coming. And the people driving it are entrepreneurial leaders.
Welcome to From Problems to Possibilities: Entrepreneurial Leadership in Action, presented by Babson College. On this podcast we’ll meet the entrepreneurial leaders in the Babson community and beyond who are working on solving some of the world’s biggest problems with the passion and skills that the world needs today.
How does an entrepreneurial leader look at a problem, and then get to the solution? Listen and find out how.