- 29 Sep 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Employee Performance vs. Company Values: A Manager’s Dilemma
The Cold Call podcast celebrate its five-year anniversary with a classic case study. Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria discusses the dilemma of how to treat a brilliant individual performer who can't work with colleagues.
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- 25 Sep 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
MFW guest appearance: Joe Fuller on Braintrust's "The Way Work Should Work"
What's in store for the gig economy and how will Covid-19 change the nature of work? Managing the Future of Work project co-chair and podcast co-host Joe Fuller was the inaugural guest on The Way Work Should Work, the new podcast produced by Braintrust. We present the "away" half of the home-and-away pair of episodes that saw Joe interview the freelance platform's co-founders, Adam Jackson and Gabriel Luna-Ostaseski, in Episode 18.
- 23 Sep 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
How brain games and AI can improve HR
Can neuroscience and AI improve on traditional approaches to hiring and evaluating workers? Pymetrics’ co-founder and CEO, Frida Polli, argues that the combination is necessary to overcome inherently biased human judgement and to bring empirical rigor to the task of matching talent to fast-changing job categories. The neuroscientist-turned-Harvard MBA shares her journey and explains how her company helps the likes of Unilever, LinkedIn, and Accenture factor workers’ cognitive, social, and emotional aptitudes in their personnel decisions.
- 18 Sep 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
MFW guest appearance: Joe Fuller on Behind Bundle
Managing the Future of Work co-chair and podcast co-host, Joe Fuller, is a close observer of the care economy. He recently appeared as a guest on Behind Bundle, the podcast produced by employee benefits startup Bundle. The concierge service, which combines care and education coverage, was founded by HBS graduate Kayla Lebovits. Fittingly, we’re posting this episode the week of National Working Parents Day.
- 16 Sep 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
How Covid and BLM strengthen the case for shoring up historically Black colleges
Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement have focused attention on disparities in economic opportunity between Black and white America. This has added urgency to efforts to bolster Black students' access to higher education. It's a pivotal moment for UNCF, founded at the end of WWII as the United Negro College Fund. The organization supports historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). President and CEO, Dr. Michael Lomax, discusses the role of HBCUs in fostering economic opportunity and civic engagement and how changes in philanthropic activity and public policy can make a difference.
- 15 Sep 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Is Happiness at Work Really Attainable?
Francesca Gino discuss whether Henco Logistics' focus on employee happiness can endure through the Mexican company's rapid growth and leadership transition. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 09 Sep 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
MFW Dispatch: Jeff Ray
The pandemic has unsurprisingly produced a sustained surge in streaming video, with consumer and enterprise use doubling year-over-year during the second quarter of 2020. Viewing on mobile devices has skyrocketed. Brightcove’s software platform is a key component of the online video infrastructure. CEO Jeff Ray discusses video’s “evolutionary moment,” as remote work and virtual events become the norm and organizations build their video talent capacity internally and externally. He also notes the overall jump in school use, where the digital divide persists and threatens to widen achievement gaps.
- 02 Sep 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
MFW Dispatch: Marissa Andrada
While adapting to the limitations imposed by the pandemic, fast food chain Chipotle is looking to emerge stronger by maintaining commitments to its workforce. As Chipotle’s chief diversity, inclusion, and people officer, Marissa Andrada, explains, the company anticipates long-term returns on its investment in employee education benefits and its flexible scheduling for shift workers.
- 01 Sep 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
How to Launch a New Biosciences Product: Start Small or Dive in?
C16 Biosciences wants to replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation, with a lab-grown substitute. But CEO Shara Ticku faces a tough decision in bringing the product to market. Jeff Bussgang discusses his case study. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 27 Aug 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
Braintrust takes aim at the gig platform middleman
Braintrust’s gig model gives freelancers the opportunity to keep more of what they earn and to have a say in running the platform. The not-for-profit aims to upend the status quo by replacing the typical gig middleman and assigning governing rights to users. The marketplace, which connects highly skilled tech talent with enterprise clients, uses blockchain tokens to grant users who help build the platform voting rights in strategy and policy decisions. Co-founders Adam Jackson and Gabriel Luna-Ostaseski discuss their experiment in realigning incentives.
- 25 Aug 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
Cybersecurity for the post-Covid new normal of work
Covid-19 and the 2020 election stack up as unprecedented infrastructure challenges. And both raise the stakes for cybersecurity. The skills shortage in this area—estimated in the millions of workers—demands a strategic rethink by organizations relying on remote work and governments seeking to secure voting and coordinate responses to the pandemic. Telecom veteran and cybersecurity expert Bill Conner discusses emerging threats and new approaches.
- 20 Aug 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
Tulsa Remote: Live here, work anywhere
Will Covid-19 empty superstar cities? While it’s too soon to say, metros outside the top tier are now in a better position to compete for talent. This plays to the strengths of programs like Tulsa Remote, which helps professionals who work remotely relocate to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Launched in 2018 by the George Kaiser Family Foundation, the highly selective program emphasizes diversity and community building. Founding Executive Director, Aaron Bolzle, discusses the importance of moving beyond the transactional aspects of such programs, and the keys to successful remote work.
- 18 Aug 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
Google expands college-alternative tech skills training
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the shortage of workers with up-to-date digital skills. Tech titans like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have responded with training and certification programs of their own. In July, Google added certificates in data analytics, user experience design, and project management to its Grow with Google program. The company says these low-cost, platform-agnostic three- to six-month courses put job candidates lacking a post-secondary degree on par with college grads. Google’s VP of Global Marketing, Lisa Gevelber, and Product Lead Natalie Van Kleef Conley discuss the alternative route to in-demand jobs.
- 18 Aug 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Is a Pandemic the Best Time To Try Out a New Idea?
Singapore's new nationwide, Bluetooth-based contact tracing program TraceTogether must overcome privacy issues to be effective. Would Singaporeans adopt TraceTogether? Professor Mitch Weiss discusses his new case study. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Aug 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
How Guild democratizes employer-sponsored education benefits
For many workers, company-sponsored education benefits are a perk that’s hard to translate from employee handbook to reality. Guild Education bridges this gap by aligning incentives— matching students with appropriate programs, having employers profitably front costs, coaching and supporting students, and only collecting a portion of tuition when students complete a term. The rare billion-dollar B Corp also works to foster resilient careers for workers displaced by automation, the pandemic, or other causes.
- 11 Aug 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
Covid-19 Dispatch: Todd Oldham
Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York, is a leader in workforce development, combining original economic research, employer partnerships, and pragmatic programs for reaching its student population. Recognized for its worker training acumen by the Aspen Institute, Monroe continues to innovate in the delivery of marketable skills. Todd Oldham, VP of Economic Development, Workforce, and Career Technical Education, has spearheaded the colleges’ efforts in this area for the past decade. He discusses Monroe’s responses to the unprecedented challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and how the college is helping to shape the future of technical education.
- 06 Aug 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
Unilever’s workforce transformation: hard truths and help with change
Unilever is several years into a company-wide plan to revolutionize its workforce. Faced with the challenge of selling its employees on change as opportunity, the multinational offers job counseling, retraining, and assistance with career moves—within the company or elsewhere. Executive vice president of HR business transformation, Nick Dalton, discusses what it takes to be transparent about coming changes and work with employees, unions, governments, and others to identify mutually beneficial transitions.
- 04 Aug 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
Covid-19 Dispatch: Tim Rowe
The start-stop nature of business during the coronavirus pandemic demands flexibility and innovation. This is especially true for physical places of work. CIC maintains offices, shared workspace, and labs. It specializes in building hives of creative and productive activity and fostering entrepreneurial communities. Founder and CEO, Tim Rowe, explains how Covid-19 has spurred CIC to find inventive solutions to the challenge of working safely amid a viral outbreak and to extend its networking events online.
- 04 Aug 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Glossier Built a Cult-Brand and a Digital Community, but What’s Next?
Glossier, the digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand considers shifting its strategy toward influencer marketing and paid media. Professor Jill Avery discusses her case study. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 30 Jul 2020
- Managing the Future of Work
Covid-19 Dispatch: Louis Gagnon
The Covid-19 pandemic is triggering widespread anxiety, depression, and addiction—deepening what many have identified as a mental health crisis. A recent study suggests that at least a quarter of American adults are experiencing pandemic-attributed, high emotional distress. Louis Gagnon, CEO of the Total Brain online mental health platform, discusses the benefits of preventative care delivered through self-monitoring apps and how analytics based on the resulting data can help companies improve wellbeing and productivity in the workplace.
Employee Performance vs. Company Values: A Manager’s Dilemma
The Cold Call podcast celebrate its five-year anniversary with a classic case study. Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria discusses the dilemma of how to treat a brilliant individual performer who can't work with colleagues. Open for comment; 0 Comments.