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? Harvard Business School professor Mitch Weiss discusses his new case, “ TraceTogether .”...
Aug 18, 2020•12 min•Ep. 126
The digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand Glossier considers marketing strategies that move away from organic community support and toward influencer marketing and paid media. But what does that mean for its loyal digital community? Harvard Business School professor Jill Avery discusses the debate in her case, “ Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community .”...
Aug 04, 2020•27 min•Ep. 125
After a highly publicized act of racial discrimination by a Starbucks employee against two African American men in one of its stores in 2018, the company closed its 8,000 U.S. coffee shops for a day of unconscious bias training. The company also revised store policies and employee training practices. Harvard Business School professors Francesca Gino and Katherine Coffman discuss what we can learn about unconscious bias in corporate culture from Starbucks’ reaction to that incident in their case,...
Jul 21, 2020•29 min•Ep. 124
Harvard Business School professor Len Schlesinger and RSE Ventures Co-founder Matt Higgins discuss why direct-to-consumer channel businesses, like teledentistry company SmileDirectClub, must implement a strategy that moves them beyond DTC in order to thrive – and how to make that change. This episode is based on the Harvard Business School case, “ SmileDirectClub: Better is Better .”...
Jul 07, 2020•30 min•Ep. 123
By 2016, the Big Apple Circus had weathered many storms in its 38 seasons as one of the most well-known New York City nonprofits. But with ticket sales and charitable giving in steep decline, the future for this beloved circus and its Clown Care program is uncertain. Harvard Business School professor David Fubini discusses his case, “ Big Apple Circus: Time to Fold the Tent? ”...
Jun 23, 2020•18 min•Ep. 122
How should the vaccine alliance, Gavi, respond to the worldwide need for a vaccine for the Covid-19 pandemic? Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna discusses how experimentation, judicious risk taking, and entrepreneurship in finance and capital markets could enable the way forward and unlock the science in his case, “ Gavi and Covid-19: Pandemic of the Century .”...
Jun 09, 2020•24 min•Ep. 121
After 50 years at the helm of Cummings Properties, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Cummings is winding down his roles at both the family business and foundation that he built. How should the management team move the company forward? Harvard Business School professor Christina Wing and protagonist Bill Cummings discuss the case, “ Bill Cummings: The Cummings Way .”...
May 26, 2020•30 min•Ep. 120
The rise of autonomous vehicles has enormous implications for business and society. Harvard Business School professors Bill Kerr and Elie Ofek explore the factors influencing development and commercialization, as well as future success and consumer adoption in their cases: “ Autonomous Vehicles: The Rubber Hits the Road… but When? ” and “ Autonomous Vehicles: Smooth or Bumpy Ride Ahead? ”...
May 12, 2020•36 min•Ep. 119
Healthy buildings and superior air quality are increasingly important as people spend 90% of their lives indoors. Harvard professors John Macomber and Joseph Allen discuss their case, “ A Tower for the People: 425 Park Avenue ,” their new book, “ Healthy Buildings ,” and how their learnings extend to a post-COVID world....
Apr 28, 2020•32 min•Ep. 118
In the ever-changing video games industry, Epic Games, the maker of the incredibly popular Fortnite multi-player game, considers whether it could become a PC-games distribution platform. Harvard Business School’s Andy Wu discusses his case, “ Epic Games .”
Apr 14, 2020•18 min•Ep. 117
In this special episode of Cold Call , Brian Kenny speaks with Harvard Business School professor Srikant Datar about how Harvard Business School brought 1,800 MBA students and 200 faculty online in under two weeks amid the Covid-19 pandemic. They discuss the challenges of scaling under pressure to maintain the highest level of participant-centered learning possible, the lessons learned, and how this crisis may change the way we teach and learn forever....
Apr 07, 2020•23 min
Two siblings, Thomas and Sally Campbell, are faced with selling their childhood home. They need to make several difficult decisions, all the while navigating their contentious relationship. Harvard Business School professor Leslie John discusses the importance of asking (and answering) the right questions when negotiating, particularly under emotional stress, in her case, “ The Campbell Home .”...
Mar 31, 2020•26 min•Ep. 116
Against the backdrop of his case, “ Huawei: A Global Tech Giant in the Crossfire of a Digital Cold War ,” Harvard Business School professor Bill Kirb y discusses Huawei’s entrepreneurial start, where the tech giant is headed in the future, U.S.-China relations, and the Chinese government’s response to the Coronavirus....
Mar 17, 2020•28 min•Ep. 115
2U, an online program management provider, believed it was the strongest partner to enable the digital transformation of universities by allowing them to offer a variety of courses to a new student profile. Harvard Business School professors Karim Lakhani and Marco Iansiti discuss the case, “ 2U: Higher Education Rewired ,” and connections to concepts in their book, “ Competing in the Age of AI .”...
Mar 03, 2020•31 min•Ep. 114
Following a successful career in finance, Torsten Thiele has devoted himself full-time to the challenging cause of ocean conservation and stewardship, which led him to start the Global Ocean Trust. Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter discusses themes from her new book, “ Think Outside the Building ,” as she and Thiele explore how changing the narrative is imperative when looking for ways to solve big problems. This episode is based off of the case “ Torsten Thiele and the Glob...
Feb 18, 2020•27 min•Ep. 113
Harvard Business School professor Laura Huang , whose new book “ Edge ” explores methods for turning adversity into professional advantage, is joined by Venture Capitalist Arlan Hamilton to discuss her strategy of backing entrepreneurs who have been ignored because of stereotypes, biases, and preconceptions. This episode is based off Huang and Sarah Mehta’s case, “ Arlan Hamilton and Backstage Capital .”...
Feb 04, 2020•31 min•Ep. 112
Not many Chinese companies open manufacturing facilities in the U.S., but automotive glass maker Fuyao is considering just that. Harvard Business School professor Willy Shih examines the factors that go into deciding where companies should locate production facilities. The case, “ Fuyao Glass America: Sourcing Decision ,” focuses on the world’s second largest automotive glass producer as it expands from China into the U.S. and explores a core question facing managers who want to produce physical...
Jan 21, 2020•24 min•Ep. 111
Harvard Business School professors Ethan Rouen and Charlie Wang explore whether capitalism is broken and if JUST Capital’s performance evaluation rubric and strategies for exerting influence are likely to be effective in improving corporate behavior. Their case is titled, “ Measuring Impact at JUST Capital .”...
Jan 07, 2020•29 min•Ep. 110
Mexican convenience store chain OXXO dominated its market — until its chief rival doubled in size almost overnight. Harvard Business School professor Tatiana Sandino discusses how CEO Eduardo Padilla responded by creating an agile organization based on a team culture and strong management systems in her case, “ OXXO’s Turf War Against Extra .”...
Dec 17, 2019•31 min•Ep. 109
Should large institutional investors divest or engage if they have an issue with a company? Harvard Business School professor Vikram Gandhi discusses why and how CalSTRS, the $200 billion pension plan for California public school teachers, chooses to engage with gun makers and retailers in California in his case, “ CalSTRS Takes on Gun Violence .”...
Dec 03, 2019•28 min•Ep. 108
Harvard Business School professor Geoff Jones discusses his case, “ Thomas J. Watson, IBM and Nazi Germany ,” which explores the options and responsibilities of multinationals with investments in politically reprehensible regimes. The case considers the strategy of U.S.-owned IBM, then a manufacturer of punch cards, in Nazi Germany before 1937, and opens with IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson meeting Adolf Hitler in his capacity as President of the International Chamber of Commerce. IBM had acquired a Ge...
Nov 19, 2019•23 min•Ep. 107
In 2014, Neel Ghose (MBA 2019) created The Robin Hood Army , an organization entirely based on volunteer work that used food redistribution as a medium to bring out the best in humanity. By the end of 2018, the Robin Hood Army was present in twelve countries, was serving over 500,000 meals per month, and had helped more than 750 children enroll in public schools. All of it without raising a single rupee, in line with their “golden rule” of being a zero-funds organization. Harvard Business School...
Nov 05, 2019•35 min•Ep. 106
Launched in the midst of the financial crisis in 2009, Goldman Sachs’ “ 10,000 Small Businesses ” program provided free business education, a network of support, and access to capital for small businesses across the United States. The company committed $500 million to fund the program and nine years later had graduated 7,300 participants, just shy of its goal. Harvard Business School professor Len Schlesinger discusses the success, impact, and future of the program in his case, “ Goldman Sachs: ...
Oct 15, 2019•22 min•Ep. 105
Harvard Business School professors John Deighton and Jeffrey Rayport discuss their case, “ Gimlet Media: A Podcasting Startup ,” and how two former public radio producers launch a podcast network, entering the last frontier of digital media. Can they turn a content supplier into a disruptive platform?...
Oct 01, 2019•26 min•Ep. 104
Children’s Hospital & Clinics COO Julie Morath sets out to change the culture there by instituting “Blameless Reporting,” a policy which mandates that employees report anything that goes wrong or seems substandard without fear of reprisal for the act of reporting. Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson discusses getting an organization into the “High Performance Zone” by creating an environment of psychological safety and high accountability in her case, “ Children’s Hospital & ...
Sep 17, 2019•22 min•Ep. 103
Harvard Business School professor Stefan Thomke discusses how past experience and intuition can be misleading when attempting to launch an innovative new product, service, business model, or process in his case “ Booking.com ” (co-author: Daniela Beyersdorfer) and his new book, “ Experimentation Works .” Instead, Booking.com and other innovative firms embrace a culture where testing, experimentation, and even failure are at the heart of what they do....
Sep 03, 2019•26 min•Ep. 102
Harvard Business School professors Rebecca Henderson and George Serafeim discuss the efforts of Hiro Mizuno, CIO of GPIF, the Japanese Government Pension Investment Fund, one of the largest pools of capital in the world, to integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues into every aspect of GPIF’s portfolio. Mizuno believed the only way to meet his responsibilities to his beneficiaries was to improve the performance of the entire economy by improving corporate governance, increasing...
Aug 20, 2019•30 min•Ep. 101
Much of the advertising purchased during the Super Bowl is about selling corporate brands rather than products. Harvard Business School professor Shelle Santana discusses her case, “Super Bowl Storytelling,” (co-author: Jill Avery), regarding the art of storytelling on the world’s biggest television stage. Which stories win (or fumble) on game day?
Aug 06, 2019•33 min•Ep. 100
In his case, “ JUUL and the Vaping Revolution ” (co-authors: John Masko and Sarah Mehta), Harvard Business School professor Mike Toffel discusses the controversy surrounding the exponential growth of JUUL Labs in 2018, in particular the success of its e-cigarettes with teenage high school students who had never smoked. The company’s success had thrust it into the spotlight, with some advocacy groups and public policy makers speculating that the company had purposefully marketed its products to m...
Jul 16, 2019•24 min•Ep. 99
Harvard Business School professor Geoffrey Jones , an expert in business history, discusses the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954 in a U.S.-backed coup in support of the United Fruit Co. (now Chiquita Brands International). Jones examines the impact and role of the company in the Guatemalan economy in his case, “ The Octopus and the Generals: The United Fruit Company in Guatemala ” (co-author: Marcelo Bucheli)....
Jul 02, 2019•20 min•Ep. 98
