- 20 Jun 2024
- Managing the Future of Work
Cengage Group’s Michael Hansen on the employment-ready syllabus
The ed-tech executive on shifting the discussion to emphasize the economic benefits of education, harnessing AI, skills-based hiring, employer-educator collaboration, and the public policy landscape.
Podcast →
- 19 Jun 2024
- Climate Rising
How Lab - Grown Cotton can Decarbonize Textiles
Today’s episode is the fourth in our series on decarbonizing the roots of value chains, where we’re looking deep into supply chains that serve many industries. Previously we talked about the technical products of green concrete and green steel, and agriculture through the lens of regenerative agriculture. Today we continue our focus on decarbonizing agricultural products by focusing on lab-grown cotton. Luciano Bueno, founder and CEO of GALY, joins me today to talk about how his biomaterials start-up uses sugar to feed cells and grow cotton in the lab. Luciano will share how he rebounded from a venture that failed, and then started GALY and grew it into the Series B company it is today. I’ll also ask him to share his views of the future of lab-grown fabrics and his reflections on entrepreneurship in climate tech more broadly. Host and Guest Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative (LinkedIn) Guest: Luciano Bueno, Founder and CEO at GALY (LinkedIn)
- 18 Jun 2024
- Cold Call Podcast
How Natural Winemaker Frank Cornelissen Innovated While Staying True to His Brand
In 2018, artisanal Italian vineyard Frank Cornelissen was one of the world’s leading producers of natural wine. But when weather-related conditions damaged that year’s grapes, founder Frank Cornelissen had to decide between staying true to the tenets of natural wine making or breaking with his public beliefs to save that year’s grapes by adding sulfites. Harvard Business School assistant professor Tiona Zuzul discusses the importance of staying true to your company’s principles while remaining flexible enough to welcome progress in the case, Frank Cornelissen: The Great Sulfite Debate.
- 05 Jun 2024
- Managing the Future of Work
Strada’s Stephen Moret on democratizing access to education and opportunity
The president & CEO of Strada Education Foundation on aligning post-secondary education, economic mobility, and labor market demand. How does inclusive workforce development drive economic growth and opportunity? Highlights include research on the effectiveness of state systems, policy options, and the structural challenge of underemployment among graduates.
- 05 Jun 2024
- Climate Rising
Regenerative Agriculture and “The Profiteers” with Cambridge Professor Chris Marquis
Today’s episode is the third in our series on decarbonizing the roots of value chains, where we’re looking deep into supply chains that serve many industries. Previously we talked about green concrete and steel, and today we’re turning to agriculture. Chris Marquis, a professor at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School sheds light on regenerative agriculture, a set of practices that restore farming ecosystems while having the potential to decarbonize. We’ll also talk about his new book The Profiteers, where he discusses the need to hold companies accountable for the environmental and social externalities associated with their operations and supply chains, and he describes how some companies have engaged in what he calls “corporate gaslighting” to shift the focus of responsibility onto others.
- 04 Jun 2024
- Cold Call Podcast
How One Insurtech Firm Formulated a Strategy for Climate Change
The Insurtech firm Hippo was facing two big challenges related to climate change: major loss ratios and rate hikes. The company used technologically empowered services to create its competitive edge, along with providing smart home packages, targeting risk-friendly customers, and using data-driven pricing. But now CEO and president Rick McCathron needed to determine how the firm’s underwriting model could account for the effects of high-intensity weather events. Harvard Business School professor Lauren Cohen discusses how Hippo could adjust its strategy to survive a new era of unprecedented weather catastrophes in his case, “Hippo: Weathering the Storm of the Home Insurance Crisis.”
- 22 May 2024
- Climate Rising
H2 Green Steel: Decarbonizing Steel Production with Green Hydrogen
This episode is a part of our series on decarbonizing the roots of value chains, where we’re looking deep into supply chains that serve many industries. Our prior episode explored green concrete, and today’s focuses on steel. Steel production primarily relies on coal and coke, and accounts for nearly 7% of global CO2 emissions. But new technologies are on the horizon. Maria Persson Gulda, Chief Technology Officer at H2 Green Steel, joins us to discuss an innovative solution: green steel made from green hydrogen. By harnessing renewable power, H2 Green Steel is pioneering a path to drastically reduce steel's carbon footprint. Maria will also share insights into the world’s largest green steel plant in Sweden H2 is building, the evolving technological landscape, and the pivotal role of initial adopters. Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative (LinkedIn) Guest: Maria Persson Gulda, the Chief Technology Officer at H2 Green Steel (LinkedIn)
- 21 May 2024
- Cold Call Podcast
The Importance of Trust for Managing through a Crisis
In March 2020, Twiddy & Company, a family-owned vacation rental company known for hospitality rooted in personal interactions, needed to adjust to contactless, remote customer service. With the upcoming vacation season thrown into chaos, President Clark Twiddy had a responsibility to the company’s network of homeowners who rented their homes through the company, to guests who had booked vacations, and to employees who had been recruited by Twiddy’s reputation for treating staff well. Who, if anyone, could he afford to make whole and keep happy? Harvard Business School professor Sandra Sucher, author of the book The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It, discusses how Twiddy leaned into trust to weather the COVID-19 pandemic in her case, “Twiddy & Company: Trust in a Chaotic Environment.”
- 15 May 2024
- Managing the Future of Work
Can work-based learning revive college-for-all?
Propel America CEO Chad Rountree on rethinking the high school-to-career transition to meet the needs of low-income students, colleges, and employers.
- 08 May 2024
- Climate Rising
Green Concrete: Decarbonizing Construction with Recycled Glass
The first of a series on decarbonizing the roots of value chains, where we’re looking deep into supply chains that serve many industries, this episode focuses on concrete. Concrete is one of the world’s most popular materials, and it accounts for nearly 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, most of which comes from cement– the glue that binds conventional forms of concrete. We focus on one type of green concrete produced by Urban Mining Industries that replaces half of the cement with recycled glass that makes its product much less carbon intensive. We present this story through an episode of the HBR Cold Call podcast, where host Brian Kenny interviews HBS professors Shirley Lu and Bob Kaplan. They discuss how Harvard is pilot testing the use of green concrete in its current construction projects as part of the university’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. They’ll also discuss various methods to measure carbon emissions, including the e-liability approach Bob Kaplan lays out in a recent Harvard Business Review article.
- 07 May 2024
- Cold Call Podcast
Lessons in Business Innovation from Legendary Restaurant elBulli
Ferran Adrià, chef at legendary Barcelona-based restaurant elBulli, was facing two related decisions. First, he and his team must continue to develop new and different dishes for elBulli to guarantee a continuous stream of innovation, the cornerstone of the restaurant's success. But they also need to focus on growing the restaurant’s business. Can the team balance both objectives? Professor Michael I. Norton discusses the connections between creativity, emotions, rituals, and innovation – and how they can be applied to other domains – in the case, “elBulli: The Taste of Innovation,” and his new book, The Ritual Effect.
- 01 May 2024
- Managing the Future of Work
Wharton’s Peter Cappelli on changing the talent equation
What are the consequences of treating employees as an expense rather than an asset? Cappelli argues that this “penny wise and pound foolish” practice hurts the bottom line by discouraging investments in a skilled workforce and prioritizing downsizing, irrespective of efficiency. How changes in management and reporting can realign incentives. Also, C-suite demographics and the impact of AI.
- 24 Apr 2024
- Climate Rising
Helping Companies Become More Climate Resilient
In this episode in our adaptation series, Peter Hall, Managing Director at Resonance Impact Advisory, draws upon his experience in global engineering and professional services firms to share how consulting and advisory companies can help their clients assess their risks and take actions to become more resilient to climate change. He walks through several adaptation frameworks and roadmaps recently developed by governments, civil society, and private companies to help provide clarity and guidance on the steps necessary for more resilient companies and societies. For notes and resources visit; climaterising.org
- 23 Apr 2024
- Cold Call Podcast
Amazon in Seattle: The Role of Business in Causing and Solving a Housing Crisis
In 2020, Amazon partnered with a nonprofit called Mary’s Place and used some of its own resources to build a shelter for women and families experiencing homelessness on its campus in Seattle. Yet critics argued that Amazon’s apparent charity was misplaced and that the company was actually making the problem worse. Paul Healy and Debora Spar explore the role business plays in addressing unhoused communities in the case “Hitting Home: Amazon and Mary’s Place.”
- 17 Apr 2024
- Managing the Future of Work
Western Governors University: Pursuing the network effects of competency based education
WGU President Scott Pulsipher returns to the podcast for an update on the online institution’s mission to extend the reach of skill-oriented instruction. The HBS alum argues that the focus on competency rather than credit hours democratizes college access and economic opportunity.
- 11 Apr 2024
- Managing the Future of Work
Guest Appearance: Joe Fuller on CSU's Spur of the Moment
Managing the Future of Work co-chair Joe Fuller joins Colorado State University's Jocelyn Hittle to discuss his work on the Managing the Future of Work project and the Harvard Project on Workforce and to consider broader workforce trends.
- 10 Apr 2024
- Climate Rising
How Insurance Companies are Addressing Climate Risks
This episode in our adaptation series focuses climate change’s implications on the insurance industry. Claudine Blamey, Group Director of Sustainability at Aviva, describes how climate change evokes both transition risks and physical risks for insurance companies, and affects how insurance companies are assessing and pricing risk in their underwriting process, and influences their investment strategy. Claudine also describes innovative insurance products such as parametric and catastrophe insurance that are emerging to address natural disasters that are exacerbated by climate change. For resources and other episodes visit climaterising.org
- 09 Apr 2024
- Cold Call Podcast
Sustaining a Legacy of Giving in Turkey
Özyeğin Social Investments was founded by Hüsnü Özyeğin, one of Turkey's most successful entrepreneurs, with a focus on education, health, gender equality, rural development, and disaster relief in Turkey. The company and the Özyeğin family have spent decades serving and improving communities in need. Their efforts led to the creation of one of Turkey’s top universities, the establishment of schools and rehabilitation centers, post 2023 earthquake humanitarian shelter and facilities, nationwide campaigns, and an internationally recognized educational training initiative for young children, among other achievements. Harvard Business School senior lecturer Christina Wing and Murat Özyeğin discuss how the company is a model for making a significant impact across multiple sectors of society through giving and how that legacy can be sustained in the future, in the case, “Özyeğin Social Investments: A Legacy of Giving."
- 03 Apr 2024
- Managing the Future of Work
IBM CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux on AI and the culture of skills building
As the digital economy pushes companies to prioritize continuous learning, HR strategies need to emphasize customization, flexibility, and support for diverse work-life needs.
- 27 Mar 2024
- Climate Rising
Building Climate - Resilient Cities and Infrastructure
This episode in our climate adaptation series features HBS Professor John Macomber. John discusses how companies and governments need to incorporate climate resilience as they develop and finance real estate and infrastructure to address the risks of flooding, wildfire, extreme heat, drought, and sea level rise. John describes “five R” options to address these risks—to reinforce, rebound, retreat, restrict, and rebuild—and highlights best practices from insurance companies and the governments of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Singapore. He also identifies entrepreneurial opportunities to foster adaptation and resilience. Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative Guest: John Macomber, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School. For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org
Cengage Group’s Michael Hansen on the employment-ready syllabus
The ed-tech executive on shifting the discussion to emphasize the economic benefits of education, harnessing AI, skills-based hiring, employer-educator collaboration, and the public policy landscape.