In How to Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage, Ranjay Gulati argues that being bold is something you can learn—not a trait you have to be born with.

Gulati, a professor at Harvard Business School, is a leading organizational sociologist and management scholar. In his new book, he explores the science and psychology of courage—showing that bravery is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it.

In his conversation with Adam Job, senior director at the BCG Henderson Institute, he discusses the difference between uncertainty and risk, strategies for building courage at the individual and corporate level, and why we shouldn’t be worried about boldness leading to excessive risk-taking.

Key topics discussed:

00:58 | The definition of courage

05:11 | Boldness and excessive risk-taking

06:34 | Strategies for building courage as an individual

14:51 | The power of sense-making

18:16 | Risk management systems

21:13 | How to build a culture of courage

31:40 | One thing executives should do differently

Additional inspirations from Ranjay Gulati:

Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies (Harper Business, 2022)

How to Be Bold with Ranjay Gulati

Thinkers & Ideas