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. Ho...
Jan 19, 2021•23 min•Ep. 137
For family social workers, coping with the hardships of children and parents is part of the job. But that can cause a lot of stress. Is it possible to use non-cash rewards and recognition to improve social workers’ well-being? Ashley Whillans describes the experience of Chief Executive Michael Sanders’ experience at the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care.
Jan 05, 2021•26 min•Ep. 136
Unilever’s Dove soap became a brand with purpose when it launched the “Campaign for Real Beauty” to combat media-driven stereotypes of female beauty. But now Dove is facing criticism about its other brands that contradict the Dove campaign, and struggling to determine the best allocation of funds between advertising and the educational programs that deliver social impact. Can Dove maintain both its market position and social impact in the future?
Dec 22, 2020•24 min•Ep. 135
As the transportation landscape evolves, can Uber adapt its business model to be successful in unique regional markets around the world? Alexander MacKay describes Uber’s global market strategy and responses by regulators and local competitors.
Dec 08, 2020•28 min•Ep. 134
From Weight Watchers to bariatric surgery, innovations for combatting obesity abound. But which will do the most good for society and yield the best business results? Harvard Business School professor Regina Herzlinger discusses how to evaluate health care innovations aimed at providing solutions for obesity in her case, “Fighting the Battle of the Bulge – Evaluating Innovations in Morbid Obesity Treatment.”
Nov 24, 2020•31 min•Ep. 133
Entrepreneur Christy Jones is trying to create a new venture to help women preserve their eggs and postpone motherhood. But what would an egg-freezing service sell – and to whom?
Nov 10, 2020•26 min•Ep. 132
Nehemiah Manufacturing turned a social mission to hire convicted felons into a competitive advantage, with decreased turnover and higher staff loyalty. Harvard Business School professor Michael Chu discusses the challenges and opportunities of combining profit with social impact in his case, “Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance.”
Oct 27, 2020•23 min•Ep. 131
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.”
Oct 13, 2020•22 min•Ep. 130
As we celebrate the five-year anniversary of Cold Call, we welcome a special guest, Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria to discuss the classic case, “Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley.” The case poses a complex dilemma: should Morgan Stanley promote a high performer who lacks interpersonal skills and brushes off company values? More subtly, the case also encourages reflection about the accountability of managers in an employee’s performance.
Sep 29, 2020•24 min•Ep. 129
Simón Cohen, founder of Henco Logistics, transformed a small Mexican logistics company into a major player within the industry. Cohen credits the firm’s focus on employee happiness as the key ingredient to its success -- an approach he developed following a personal crisis. But can that approach endure through Henco’s rapid growth, leadership transition, and changing employee expectations?
Sep 15, 2020•29 min•Ep. 128
C16 Biosciences wants to replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation and climate change, with a lab-grown substitute. Should the synthetic biology startup start small in the personal care market or dive into booming lab-grown food market?
Sep 01, 2020•22 min•Ep. 127
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. 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 Kirby 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. Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Thiele discuss how changing the narrative is imperative when looking for ways to solve big problems.
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.
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 factors that go into deciding where companies should locate production facilities in his case, “Fuyao Glass America: Sourcing Decision.”
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.
Dec 17, 2019•31 min•Ep. 109
