Optimistic Outlook

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, ranks among the most promising developments in the effort to revitalize American manufacturing and localize supply chains. But what are the technolo…

Can the future of manufacturing be almost like playing a video game? In this Optimistic Insights episode, Barbara looks back to CES in January and presents Siemens’ vision for the Industrial Metavers…

Digital innovation is no longer limited to Silicon Valley. Some of the most exciting, and potentially world-changing, developments are happening in manufacturing plants across America as industrial a…

For decades, American manufacturing shifted to other countries. Now, it’s growing again in the United States. To launch a new “Optimistic Insights” series, Barbara outlines the trends such as emergin…

Older generations have often misunderstood younger generations. And yet, as the U.S. workforce ages, the value of multigenerational teams will continue to grow. In this episode, Barbara talks with un…

Successfully addressing the climate crisis requires significant progress by 2030. Will we get there? Christiana Figueres, a former UN climate leader who led the process securing the Paris Climate Agr…

Imagine self-healing concrete or traffic lights with “eyes” that save lives in crosswalks. Technology startup leaders join Barbara to discuss breakthrough innovations that could be accelerated by the…

With American healthcare representing 10% of U.S. carbon emissions, decarbonizing hospitals and healthcare systems promises to deliver meaningful climate action. In this episode, Barbara brings liste…

Effective partnerships between large companies and startups can accelerate net-zero strategies and even produce cost savings that strengthen the business case. Recording from the TED Countdown Summit…

Barbara shares her keynote speech from May’s Automate conference in Detroit.

Show notes:

Siemens and FREYR: https://press.siemens.com/global/en/pressrelease/freyr-scale-battery-cell-gigafactory-produ…

Barbara reflects on how her ideas about leadership changed during the pandemic by sharing an audio version of her recent leadership essay, The Greatest Gift We Can Give Our Organizations.

Show Notes:

Siemens CEO Roland Busch joins Barbara to discuss “glocalization” and how to scale technologies shaping a better tomorrow as industry and infrastructure become more productive and sustainable. 

Show …

The U.S. power grid has been called both the “greatest machine ever built” and the “great enabler” of our greatest innovations. But can we successfully reinvent it? In this decade of action, with tec…

Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director, National League of Cities, joins the podcast to provide a local perspective on the deployment of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. With many communitie…

For the last episode of 2022, Barbara is joined by Dr. Connie Hadley, an organizational psychologist and founder of the Institute for Life at Work, to discuss how to build stronger, more innovative t…

Barbara visits a groundbreaking microgrid project in the South Side Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville. Features interviews with ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones and Paul Pabst, who leads ComEd’s Smart Grid …

Chad Frischmann is the co-author of the New York Times best-seller “Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.” He also pioneered Project Drawdown and is now the f…

Barbara brings listeners inside a United for Infrastructure event focused on accelerating electric vehicle deployment and grid modernization in North Carolina, with commentary from North Carolina Gov…

With previous episodes focusing on the power of new federal investment combined with emerging technologies, this one explores the big, overarching trend that promises to truly change everything: a pl…

Barbara looks at infrastructure’s legacy of exacerbating inequality and explores a more sustainable, equitable, resilient approach as the bipartisan infrastructure law is rolled out. Her guest, Steph…