- 09 Jun 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
Hold on to Your Complexity: Bringing Multiple Identities to Work
Striking a careful balance between professional image and personal passion is difficult, as a case study on high-profile banker and gospel singer Carla Ann Harris underscores. Professor Lakshmi Ramarajan discusses the case in this Cold Call podcast. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 May 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
A Better World Through Brewing
Since brewing is a marketing-driven business, finding ways to differentiate a beverage from its competition is crucial. Heineken’s chief marketing officer took a novel approach: take the complicated processes of production and distribution and make them interesting and important to the consumer. Professor Forest Reinhardt explains how a big, sophisticated company used small details, from trucking routes to the color of refrigerators, to put its commitment to the environment to work on its behalf. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 May 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
Who Owns Space?
Entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are tapping into their vast personal wealth to make commercial space travel a reality. In the process, they're revitalizing a listless national space program. Professor Matthew Weinzierl discusses his new case on New Space, and how public-private partnerships are becoming the building blocks for the hottest new startup sector. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 May 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
The Real Cost of Ignoring Mental Health in the Workplace
The statistics are startling: about one-third of American workers suffer from chronic work stress; $27 billion worth of work days are lost to mental health-related absences each year. Professor John Quelch discusses his case on the state of mental health in the U.S. workplace, and why even though companies are better than ever about providing services to their workers, the stigma attached to mental health leaves a lot of work yet to be done. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Apr 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
Walmart: Changing the World for Better or Worse?
Can big companies fix big problems? Are they responsible for doing so? As the third-largest employer in the world, any move Wal-mart makes reverberates around the globe. Yet despite its many successes and innovations, particularly in terms of sustainability, the company often faces criticism for its business practices. Professor Rebecca Henderson discusses what she calls the paradigmatic case: how Wal-mart takes huge risks, makes great strides, and demonstrates how companies are one of the few instruments humanity has for changing the world at scale, for better or for worse. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Apr 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
The Key to Keeping Resolutions? Betting Against Yourself
It’s been a few months since many of us made New Year’s resolutions. Have you stuck with yours? Professor Leslie John studies how to help people change bad habits (and reinforce good ones) by looking at what makes them tick. Here, she discusses stickK, an application that motivates people by forcing them to put skin in the game of self-improvement. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Mar 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
A Map for Economic Renewal Begins in Maine
Maine has had one of the worst state economies in the country the last few years. But something special is happening there of late that could change the face of job creation in the future. Senior fellow Karen Mills, the former administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration under President Obama, explains her new case on the Maine Food Cluster Project, including the role catalytic philanthropy and cluster initiatives can play in reenergizing struggling business sectors. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Mar 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
The Team Sport of Scaling a Business
For entrepreneurs, size and scale don’t have to come at the cost of agility. Fabricio Bloisi, a 21-year-old Brazilian college graduate, proved that with his company Movile. Professor Lynda Applegate discusses how with the right blend of talent, ambition, and teamwork, a company can become an international powerhouse and still remain nimble and true to its roots. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 Mar 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
For Today’s Travel Businesses, Is It TripAdvisor or Bust?
Research says that 85 percent of people will make a purchase after reading online reviews about a product or service. This has had huge implications for the hotel industry and helps explain why TripAdvisor, a massive repository of user-generated reviews, was the most-visited travel website in the world in 2013. Associate Professor Thales Teixeira discusses TripAdvisor’s staggering success, how the company has forced an entire industry to change the way it considers (and purposefully influences) the online review process, and how consumers navigate that sea of reviews. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Feb 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
The Amazing Life of One of America’s Earliest Black, Female Entrepreneurs
Though not everyone may know her name, Madam C.J. Walker helped invent what have become staples of our modern country and economy: entrepreneurship, national sales forces, and corporate social responsibility, says Nancy Koehn. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Feb 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
The Space Shuttle Columbia’s Final Mission
No organization wants to fail. But even for the best and the brightest, failure is inevitable, and occasionally that failure can be catastrophic. Professor Amy Edmondson describes her experience writing and teaching a case on the Columbia space shuttle’s final mission, including the organizational challenges within NASA that contributed to it, and the lessons that can be taken from the tragedy. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Jan 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
The Power of Presence at the Podium
Running for office requires a lot of public speaking. But often, it’s what candidates aren’t saying that can make or break their campaigns. Take the case of Dan Silver, an experienced congressional candidate that leaves voters cold despite his eminent qualifications. With the help of KNP Communications, Silver is forced to watch himself at the podium and makes some profound discoveries. Professor Amy Cuddy delves into this fascinating case and the importance of body language, believing in your own story, and how to put your best self forward. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Jan 2016
- Cold Call Podcast
A Microchip in Your Medicine
Digitally-enabled prescription medication may sound futuristic. Thanks to Proteus, the future is now. The company has developed the technology to place microchips inside prescription pills, allowing doctors to retrieve real-time updates on everything from dosing, to vital signs, to the efficacy of different medications. However, regulating and marketing such ground-breaking technology is almost as complicated as the medical conditions it can help cure. Professor Richard Hamermesh unpacks the challenges of changing the world of medicine. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Dec 2015
- Cold Call Podcast
Designing a Great Community
Threadless has built its sizeable t-shirt retailing business by enabling its users to both design and purchase its products. But its greatest strength once presented its biggest challenge: how do you manage an online community that is 500,000-strong? Professor Karim Lakhani discusses the difficulty of hosting a city’s worth of virtual users and designers, the importance of transparency, and the lessons the Threadless case has to offer on enabling (and funding) innovation. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Dec 2015
- Cold Call Podcast
Planning Change: Lessons from the World of Retail
Ron Johnson’s career path has featured stops at some of the world’s largest and most innovative retailers, including Target, Apple, and J.C. Penney. At each stop, Johnson learned invaluable lessons like how to build on success, how to keep growing as an individual, and how to embrace missteps. Professor Das Narayandas examines Johnson’s career trajectory and discusses the importance of personal accountability and creative planning in the rapidly-changing world of retail. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Nov 2015
- Cold Call Podcast
Leadership from Below
Lessons for leaders from the heroic and selfless acts of the Taj Palace staff during the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Nov 2015
- Cold Call Podcast
A Hard Sell: Bringing Cultured Beef to Market
Tissue culture beef could revolutionize the meat industry. But how do you market against the “yuck factor?" Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Nov 2015
- Cold Call Podcast
The Long Run: the Impact of Brain Injuries on the NFL
Today’s NFL is fast-paced and hard-hitting. Though players are well-compensated, many wonder about the long-term cost of those violent collisions on the athletes, the league, and culture at large. Harvard Business School Professor Richard Hamermesh discusses those implications and his case “The National Football League and Brain Injuries” on the latest episode of Cold Call. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Oct 2015
- Cold Call Podcast
Bringing "Moneyball" to the NBA
Are people better off as a result of your presence? Leadership lessons from basketball, the ultimate team sport. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
Who Makes the Eyes for Driverless Cars?
Professor David Yoffie discusses why a company many have never heard of, Mobileye, will be a linchpin in the future of self-driving automobiles. Open for comment; 0 Comments.