The Provocateurs
Provocateurs offer fresh insights, novel perspectives and unique ways forward in the face of uncertainty. A collaboration between Thinkers50 and Deloitte, the monthly Provocateurs podcast gives you direct access to the thoughts, experiences, stories and insights of remarkable leaders from around the world. The aim is simple: to provoke you to think and act differently through candid and thought provoking conversations with fantastic leaders.
The Provocateurs
Episode 41: Frances Frei
Frances Frei: Why Speed Doesn't Have to Break Things
Frances Frei is a professor of technology and operations management at Harvard Business School and, together with her partner Anne Morriss, is the bestselling author of Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business; Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You; and Move Fast & Fix Things: The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems. Frances and Anne are #7 in the Thinkers50 Ranking.
In this episode, Frances reveals the three pillars that define the architecture of trust, three key mistakes repeatedly made by organizations, and why "move fast and break things" is actually slower than moving fast and fixing things. Discover:
- Why every trust breakdown can be traced to one of three dimensions: authenticity, logic, or empathy
- Why you should look beyond the “usual suspects” when solving big problems and invite more “unusual suspects" to the table
- Why AI struggles with trust – and the crucial difference between engagement and empathy
This conversation took place in London’s historic Guildhall during the Thinkers50 London Summit & Awards Gala in November 2025, with Frances joining Provocateurs hosts Steve Goldbach, leader of Deloitte’s Sustainability Business in the US, and Stuart Crainer, co-founder of Thinkers50.
This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives’ participation in this podcast are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.