Dr. Brian Alexander at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center in Boston was in the process of launching a new type of clinical trial: an adaptive platform trial. Unlike the traditional randomized controlled trial, adaptive platform trials facilitate simultaneously studying multiple therapies for a given disease and have the potential to make clinical trials for new cancer drugs more efficient and accessible to patients. Developing questions around design, operations, and financing set the stage for this ...
Mar 05, 2018•21 min•Ep. 67
The African American CEO of a money management firm publicly criticizes the Fortune 500 for paying lip service to diversity. His board urges him to stop. What should he do? Harvard Business School professor Steven Rogers and protagonist John Rogers discuss Rogers’ new case, “John Rogers Jr. — Ariel Investments,” about the risks of speaking up, and the importance of black empowerment in the investment sector.
Feb 13, 2018•23 min•Ep. 66
Oprah Winfrey believes in sharing the experiences that led her to become the wealthiest woman in the entertainment industry and the first African American woman billionaire. Harvard Business School professor Bill George discusses his case “Oprah!” about her growth from childhood, focusing on how and when she discovered her true voice and how that authenticity spurred her career success.
Jan 31, 2018•13 min•Ep. 65
The One Love Foundation is a group dedicated to the prevention of relationship violence through education. Harvard Business School professor Tom DeLong talks about the challenges CEO Katie Hood faces as the organization works to create a movement and then maintain momentum around community engagement, fundraising, and growth. DeLong is the author of the case entitled “One Life; One Love.”
Jan 23, 2018•14 min•Ep. 64
As the Montgomery Bus Boycott starts, the young Martin Luther King, Jr. faces challenges to his leadership goals, strategic vision, and personal and family safety. Harvard Business School professor Bill George discusses his case entitled “Martin Luther King, Jr: A Young Minister Confronts the Challenges of Montgomery,” regarding Dr. King’s early years and how they shaped his ability to respond with courage at his crucible moment — and how leaders today can find the strength to do the same....
Jan 11, 2018•14 min•Ep. 63
Inspired by research linking happiness and productivity, the Japanese multinational conglomerate Hitachi Ltd, invested in developing “people analytics” technologies like high-tech badges (so-called “happiness sensors”) to help companies monitor and increase employee happiness. Harvard Business School professor Ethan Bernstein discusses his case entitled “Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi” — how to find the right business model — as well as the ethics of collecting and sharing employe...
Jan 03, 2018•14 min•Ep. 62
Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile discusses her case, “Creativity Under the Gun at Litmus Corporation” — how managers can create the ideal conditions for employee creativity and success based on her research in three industries, seven companies, and 26 creative project teams.
Dec 04, 2017•19 min•Ep. 61
Japan’s largest online retailer Rakuten is rapidly expanding into global markets. In order to ensure the success of the organization, but also to break down linguistic and cultural boundaries in Japanese society, CEO Hiroshi Mikitani mandates English proficiency within two years for all employees. Harvard Business School professor Tsedal Neeley discusses her cases entitled “Language and Globalization: ‘Englishnization’ at Rakuten” — the thinking behind Mikitani’s mandate and why there’s such a s...
Nov 15, 2017•17 min•Ep. 60
What’s the value of crowdsourcing technological solutions to societal problems? Could a hackathon help solve the heroin crisis in Cincinnati, Ohio? Harvard Business School 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.”
Oct 31, 2017•15 min•Ep. 59
With about 54 million Hispanics in the U.S. who have an estimated buying power of 2.3 trillion dollars, it’s no wonder Telemundo is the fastest growing television network here. But as the traditional broadcast market as a whole continues to shrink, Telemundo chairman Cesar Conde grapples with how to redefine Hispanic television to capture millennials consuming media on digital devices. Harvard Business School professor Henry McGee discusses his case entitled “NBCUniversal Telemundo: Transforming...
Oct 11, 2017•19 min•Ep. 58
Bob Nease, chief scientist at Express Scripts, wants to promote home delivery of prescription drugs by mail — a process proven to lower error rates, increase cost savings, and improve medication adherence. But, if switching to home delivery is beneficial to most employees, why don’t more of them do it? Harvard Business School professor John Beshears describes his case entitled “Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery” — how using choice architecture, or nudging people, can gui...
Oct 03, 2017•18 min•Ep. 57
Financial returns are important, but for many companies, using capital to influence positive outcomes is just as important. Enter impact investing and the example of State Street’s SHE, a gender diversity index ETF designed to track U.S. companies leading their industry in placing women on boards of directors and in senior leadership positions. Harvard Business School professor Vikram Gandhi discusses his case entitled “State Street—The Development and Growth of SHE” — the importance of investin...
Sep 19, 2017•15 min•Ep. 56
Faber-Castell is a 255-year-old company that makes pencils. How does an established company like this think about innovation, particularly if and when to adopt a new technology? Harvard Business School professor Ryan Raffaelli’s research looks at established companies that produce beloved products and how they manage technological shifts in their industry and in the world. This case — entitled “Faber-Castell” — explores Faber-Castell’s “companion for life” strategy and its bet to double down on ...
Sep 05, 2017•16 min•Ep. 55
Longchamp’s Le Pliage is one of the fashion world’s most successful products, a cultural icon across the globe. But managing the low priced, nylon handbag is challenging as Longchamp tries to move its brand upmarket into higher priced, luxury leather goods. Harvard Business School professor Jill Avery discusses her case, “Longchamp” regarding the balancing act of cherishing the heritage of an established brand against the need to look forward and grow in the face of a rapidly changing industry....
Aug 22, 2017•19 min•Ep. 54
Pal’s Sudden Service has developed a unique operating model and organizational culture in the fast food restaurant business. With an emphasis on process control, zero errors, and extensive employee training and engagement, Pal’s has been able to achieve excellent performance in an extremely competitive industry. Harvard Business School professor Gary Pisano discusses his case entitled “Pal’s Sudden Service: Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth” — the company’s strategic challenge of d...
Aug 08, 2017•18 min•Ep. 53
Advertising in the digital age bears little resemblance to the “Mad Men” depiction — the Don Drapers of advertising have been replaced by big data and the people who work with it. Harvard Business School professor John Deighton , the author of the case, “WPP: From Mad Men to Math Men (and Women),” and Sir Martin Sorrell , founder and group chief executive of WPP and the protagonist in the case, discuss how WPP has been successful in the new advertising world order where algorithms and robots rul...
Jul 21, 2017•23 min•Ep. 52
ShotSpotter provides gunfire detection sensors to cities across the United States. CEO Ralph Clark is interested in taking the company beyond the business-to-government sales model and into new services. Could his company provide a service to colleges and schools concerned with mass shootings? Could the technology be adapted for indoor applications like shopping malls and movie theaters? Or even citywide deployment through smart cities to detect gunfire during terrorist attacks. Harvard Business...
Jun 19, 2017•17 min•Ep. 51
It’s a common challenge for almost every startup: how much and how fast to grow. But Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of the Indian mobile payments and commerce platform Paytm, knows that he wants to take his company to $100 billion and replicate its model in other emerging markets. Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta discusses his case “Paytm: Building a Payments Network” — how reaching Sharma’s lofty goal won’t be about technology and finding new solutions, but rather all about finding ...
May 30, 2017•14 min•Ep. 50
When CEO Jeffrey Dunn took over Sesame Street in 2014 and made a licensing arrangement with HBO, many people were skeptical this would take the program in the right direction. But with a new mission to, “Make kids smarter, stronger, and kinder,” and a lot more innovation, it seems the opposite is in the works. Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter , who wrote the case entitled “Sesame Workshop: Bringing Big Bird Back to Health” with Harvard Business School professor Ryan L. Raff...
May 16, 2017•19 min•Ep. 49
What does it take to successfully lead a team to the top of the highest peak in the world? First-year students find out as they participate together in, “Everest: A Leadership and Team Simulation.” Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson talks about the choice to use Mt. Everest as the backdrop for this academic exercise, designing the simulation, and what students learn about teamwork along their way “up the mountain.”
May 02, 2017•11 min•Ep. 48
Health insurance that consumers like? Doesn’t sound possible, but South African company Vitality is doing just that. By focusing on consumer-driven health insurance ideas like paying customers to take care of themselves, Vitality has expanded to the UK and China. Harvard Business School professor Regina Herzlinger discusses her case entitled “The Vitality Group: Paying for Self-Care” — why this idea of paying for self-care has the potential to improve health care in the United States as well....
Apr 18, 2017•16 min•Ep. 47
Germany took in a million Syrian refugees in 2015, buoyed by the knowledge that these people could contribute strongly to the country’s economy. But has it worked out as successfully as hoped? Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson discusses her case study, “German Business and the Syrian Refugee Crisis” — what it takes to integrate a huge number of new people, and the role business can play.
Apr 04, 2017•16 min•Ep. 46
Is it possible to retain brand value after cutting costs and services dramatically just to stay alive? The airline industry has struggled with this question for decades in the face of economic downturns, changes in market structure, and shifting clientele. Harvard Business School professor Susanna Gallani discusses one of the central lessons from her case study (co-authored with Harvard Business School professor Eva Labro), “RegionFly: Cutting Costs in the Airline Industry,” that encompasses any...
Mar 21, 2017•16 min•Ep. 45
IDEO’s human-centered design thinking is a systematic process used to help create new products and services. And, the best part? They are open about the process and how to adopt it. Harvard Business School professor Ryan Buell explores this process through the example of Cineplanet, the leading movie cinema chain in Peru. The company hired IDEO to help them determine how to better align their operating model with the needs of its customers. Like Buell, this case, entitled “IDEO: Human-Centered S...
Mar 03, 2017•18 min•Ep. 44
Using crowdsourcing to develop an annual list of Hollywood’s hottest unproduced screenplays, Harvard graduate Franklin Leonard took the negative term “black list” and turned it into a coveted place to be. Three films that once appeared on his Black List are nominated for a Best Picture Oscar this year. Harvard Business School professor Henry McGee , the former president of HBO Home Entertainment, discusses his case, “The Black List,” which explores a fascinating case about navigating the Hollywo...
Feb 22, 2017•23 min•Ep. 43
Growing up in the heart of the Confederacy, Maggie Lena Walker started work as a laundress at age nine. At the urging of her mother and mentors, she turned to education, and used it to propel her life forward — graduating high school at 16, working as a teacher, and learning accounting. Those experiences, coupled with her strong work ethic, culminated in Walker rising to lead the Independent Order of St. Luke and found several other businesses, all of which created jobs and opportunities for man...
Feb 15, 2017•27 min•Ep. 42
In theory, most companies would love to diversify their workforce. In practice, hiring specifically to increase diversity can cause a variety of cultural problems within an organization. Harvard Business School professor Robin Ely discusses two of her cases — “Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens & Co.” and “Managing Diversity at Cityside Financial Services” — that train a critical lens on race-based and race-blind hiring, and some of the best practices firms can employ to achieve a well-bala...
Jan 26, 2017•19 min•Ep. 41
For more than seven decades, Ebony Magazine has chronicled the most important African-American issues, personalities, and interests of its time, including operating essentially as the journal of record for the Civil Rights Movement. But along with most other media companies, the publication faced stark challenges if it was to survive in the rapidly changing media landscape of 2015. Harvard Business School professor Steve Rogers discusses his case “Ebony Magazine” about Ebony Magazine’s storied h...
Jan 26, 2017•18 min•Ep. 40
Research says that people imprint on music in their dating years, and carry those tastes with them through the rest of their lives. Lately, this has spelled trouble for jazz music, which is failing to attract new and younger fans in a competitive musical landscape. With its listenership in steep decline, jazz legend Wynton Marsalis is looking to rebrand the genre and engineer its comeback, with the help of Harvard Business School professor Rohit Deshpande , author of the case, “Wynton Marsalis a...
Jan 18, 2017•16 min•Ep. 39
One third of the U.S. population is obese, even as 50 million Americans often struggle to find enough to eat. And all that in a country where 40% of the food made and purchased each year is thrown away, and in which food needs are expected to more than double over the next few decades. Harvard Business School professor Jose Alvarez discusses his case entitled “Doug Rauch: Solving the American Food Paradox” — how the former president of Trader Joe’s is boiling these difficult problems down into o...
Jan 03, 2017•21 min•Ep. 38
