• Podcast Appearances

    The Urban Complex

    Interview with Mitchell Weiss

    The Urban Complex

    May 2021

    Shed Your Probability Mindset, On the Road to Possibility You Need Ideas, Test Ideas and Don't Scale Them Linearly, But Exponentially (build, measure, learn model) - Interview with Mitchell Weiss Author of We The Possibility and Former Chief of Staff to Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino.

    Gov Actually

    Ep 48: ‘We the Possibility’ ft. Mitchell Weiss

    Gov Actually

    April 2021

    “We get the government we invent.” That’s the concept behind Mitchell Weiss’ book “We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems.” Weiss, a professor of management practice and the Richard L. Menschel Faculty Fellow at the Harvard Business School, joined Gov Actually for a discussion on public entrepreneurship in government and how government can continue to evolve despite being thought of as inherently risk-averse. But really, Weiss says, that’s not the case. “Government actually as an entity is not, should not be risk-averse. Nobel Prizes have been awarded on this basis…Government should be risk-neutral by virtue of its size, its scale, its taxing authority. It’s most positioned to absorb risk.” The people, however, are. Still, Weiss says, “we have to acknowledge the main reason they’re risk-averse…is because they’re people. People don’t like risk.” So if other sectors have entrepreneurship, why can’t government?

    civtech talks

    Mitchell Weiss: We The Possibility

    CivTech Talks

    March 2021

    Evan and Ajay talk with Harvard Business School Professor and former Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Business Mitchell Weiss about his book We the Possibility. Mitchell Weiss discusses why government should transition to "possibility government", how government should be more accepting of failure, and how civic technologists can make the biggest impact in government.

    ELGL

    Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship with Mitchell Weiss

    ELGL GovLove

    March 2021

    Possibility government. Mitchell Weiss, Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School, joined the podcast to talk about his new book We the Possibility. He discusses how bringing entrepreneurship into government can help solve complex problems and improve services. He also shared how public entrepreneurship is different than starting a pilot program.

    Town Haul

    Ep 49: The Risk Takers: Stephen Goldsmith and Mitchell Weiss

    Rubicon Town Haul Podcast

    February 2021

    Host Amy Taylor hands over the reins of the show to Stephen Goldsmith, former Mayor of the City of Indianapolis, as he interviews Mitchell Weiss, Harvard Business School professor and published author about his new book “We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems.” Engaging because of their rapport, inspiring because of their experience, and timely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this episode is the perfect platform for the Town Haul season opener!

    Fomo Sapiens

    S5 Ep 13: How Entrepreneurs Can Fix Government

    FOMO Sapiens with Patrick J. McGinnis

    February 2021

    Mitch Weiss, Professor at Harvard Business School and author of We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems, shares his experience working in public office and using entrepreneurial thinking to solve significant problems. Mitch recounts his story during the fatal Boston Marathon Bombings. He was Chief-of-Staff to Boston’s mayor, Thomas Menino, at the time, and was responsible for implementing an innovative initiative to aid victims and direct funds to them efficiently.

    He also unpacks Public Entrepreneurship, a relatively novel concept, and stresses that governments need to emulate what works in the private sector and apply it to the public sector. To conclude the episode, Patrick and Mitch discuss examples of countries that have successfully implemented entrepreneurial thinking in public problems; and share practical ideas on how you too can get involved, contribute, and help make a change.

    Catalysts for Change

    Ep 42: Mitchell Weiss: Government, Innovation and We the Possibility

    Catalysts for Change | Shah Family Foundation

    January, 2021

    On today’s episode of Catalysts for Change, Jill talks to Mitchell Weiss, Richard L. Menschel and Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School. The former chief of staff to Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, Jill talks to Mitch about his new book, We the Possibility. We talk to Mitch about the contents in the book, the importance of his concept of possibility government and the difference between probability government, and more.

    Cold Call

    Engaging Community to Create Proactive, Equitable Public Safety

    HBR Cold Call

    January, 2021

    Melvin Carter, the mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, swept into office in 2018, promising to improve equity. In his campaign, he had spoken from experience about what it felt like to be pulled over by police as a Black man. He wanted to create a new public safety framework that would be rooted in community. But then the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out much of the city’s budget and the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by a police officer in neighboring Minneapolis sparked calls to defund the police. How would Mayor Carter make these changes happen?

    Cold Call

    Can Entrepreneurs Make Mobile Voting Easy and Secure?

    HBR Cold Call

    October 2020

    Making voting more accessible through technology could allow more people to take part in elections. But it also poses critical downsides, if the product fails or there are security failures. Harvard Business School professor Mitchell Weiss debates the risks, rewards, and business models for mobile voting in his case study on “Voatz.”

    Cold Call

    Is a Pandemic the Best Time To Try Out a New Idea?

    HBR Cold Call

    August 2020

    Singapore officials added a nationwide, Bluetooth-based contact tracing program called TraceTogether to their suite of Covid-19-fighting strategies, which already included human-led tracing. The new digital program’s success would rely on mitigating privacy issues. Would Singaporeans adopt TraceTogether? As Singapore’s government opened up the technology to the world, would you? In this podcast, Professor Mitch Weiss discusses his new case study.

    Cold Call

    Would You Live in a "Smart City?"

    HBR Cold Call

    April 2019

    Toronto is experimenting with smart-city concepts envisioned by Google spinoff Sidewalk Labs. Harvard Business School Professors Leslie John and Mitch Weiss discuss the tradeoffs of using technology to improve modern city life at potential costs to digital privacy from their case, “Sidewalk Labs: Privacy in a City Built from the Internet Up.” Is it worth it?

    Cold Call

    Could a Hackathon Help Solve the Heroin Crisis?

    HBR Cold Call

    November 2017

    What’s the value of crowdsourcing technological solutions to societal problems? Could a hackathon help solve the heroin crisis in Cincinnati, Ohio? Professor Mitch Weiss discusses the underlying skepticism and emerging realities that unfold during protagonist Annie Rittgers’ journey to organizing a successful hackathon in his case "Hacking Heroin."

    Cold Call

    ShotSpotter: A Gunfire Detection Business Looks for a New Market

    HBR Cold Call

    June 2017

    ShotSpotter provides gunfire detection sensors to cities across the United States. CEO Ralph Clark is interested in taking the company beyond its business-to-government sales model and into new markets. Could his company sell to schools and colleges? Could the technology be adapted for indoor applications like shopping malls and movie theaters? Could cities use it as an early alert to a terrorist attack? Professor Mitch Weiss discusses the difficulties moving from one business model to another, and how successful companies make the transition.