- 10 Jan 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
Can Miguel McKelvey Build the ‘Culture Operating System’ at WeWork?
How deeply does the culture of a startup matter? Can it be shaped? Professor Jeffrey Rayport discusses WeWork cofounder Miguel McKelvey’s innovative role in building a company culture to support rapid growth.
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- 20 Dec 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Using Fintech to Disrupt Eastern Bank from Within
When Eastern Bank decided to battle a threat from new competitors, it hired a fintech executive to set up Eastern Labs and start innovating. Karen Mills discusses her case study on what happened next. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Dec 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
Passion, purpose, and plan: Guiding students toward success at work
The largest charter school network in the US, KIPP, is preparing young people, K–12, to lead what CEO Richard Barth calls “choice-filled lives.” This starts with teaching both academic skills and “soft skills” that are crucial for success at work and continues with proper guidance about the different paths towards a successful career. Hear why Barth is bullish on how the future of schools is gearing up to connect students to employers and a lifetime of employment. Link to transcript.
- 06 Dec 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Honda Created a Civic for Very Light Jets. How High Will It Fly?
After thirty years of research and development, HondaJet is finally in the air and winning its market. Gary Pisano discusses how Honda moved from cars and lawn mowers to multimillion-dollar private aircraft. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Dec 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
Larry Summers: Urban-rural inequality and the importance of work
Examining the realities of rural America, Larry Summers concludes that the problem is not just one of providing people with incomes—it’s about the very basic human connection between work and satisfaction. Speaking with Bill, Summers advocates “employer subsidies” to encourage hiring in depressed regions, as opposed to measures like Universal Basic Income, which “send a message that it’s fine not to work.” Link to transcript.
- 20 Nov 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
Retraining road-trip: New skills for older workers
From South Carolina, to Appalachia, to Wisconsin, Professor Willy Shih set out across the country to understand the plight of older workers coping with the changing nature of jobs. His conclusion: the challenges are enormous, but finally, a grassroots movement is taking shape to retrain workers across communities in America. Professor Shih, who has a background in American manufacturing, shares his road-trip findings with Bill in this podcast as well as an HBR article.
- 20 Nov 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Building a Nonprofit Marketplace to Feed America
Feeding America manages a network of more than 200 food banks nationwide. Scott Duke Kominers and Canice Prendergast discuss how the organization designed a fair and efficient marketplace for food distribution. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 08 Nov 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Could Big Data Replace the Creative Director at the Gap?
Is it time to throw out the creative director and rely on big data to predict what consumers want to wear next? Assistant Professor Ayelet Israeli discusses how Gap CEO Art Peck considers a bold idea to boost sales. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Nov 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
Bridging the employer-educator divide
America’s skills ecosystem is broken. Employers are confounded by workforce development institutions. Middle skills employees can’t get the training they need. Educators aren’t held accountable for outcomes. Now, innovative providers are aligning stakeholders around a common cause: creating a pipeline of workers with 21st century skills. Joe quizzes Frank Britt, CEO of Penn Foster, one of the oldest non-traditional educators in the U.S., on how the new skills ecosystem must be radically redesigned.
- 25 Oct 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
How advanced technology is lifting the business of cranes
Panu Routila, the CEO of Konecranes, which makes port cranes and industrial lifting equipment, discusses how technology is transforming the business of moving many of the things we buy every day. Technologies such as data analytics and virtual reality are not only improving maintenance and revolutionizing employee training, but are leading to a constant evolution of business models. For a CEO like Panu, predicting the future has never been more important. What do you think he sees when he looks ahead?
- 25 Oct 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Vodafone’s Innovative Approach to Advanced Technologies
William Kerr discusses how telecom giant Vodafone incorporated big data, automation, and artificial intelligence to improve productivity while ensuring new opportunities were created for the next generation of workers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Oct 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
How Vodafone’s CEO is using AI to transform the way the company works (rebroadcast)
In a re-release of our first episode, Vittorio Colao, who stepped-down as CEO of Vodafone in October of 2018, discusses the sweeping changes technology is bringing across his organization, from call centers to senior executives. If you like this episode, listen to HBS Cold Call to hear Bill Kerr discuss the HBS case on Vodafone’s transformation.
- 11 Oct 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Baseball’s Billy Beane Shows Companies the Power of Data
With a relatively small payroll, the Oakland A's baseball team remains competitive by being smarter about data. Srikant Datar discusses the "Moneyball" strategy and how it can be applied in business. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Oct 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
Ep 14: The gift of global talent: Why talented people are the world’s most precious resource
In a special episode, Professor Bill Kerr talks with co-host Professor Joe Fuller about his new book on global talent. Talent, Bill argues, is the world’s most precious resource. It is the most important factor in driving innovation – critical in today’s knowledge economy. Though the US is the world leader in attracting global talent – a key driver of its phenomenal growth – the world around it is catching up. Can the US retain its edge or will it allow other countries to rise to the top?
- 20 Sep 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
Ep 13: Work without borders: How digital platforms are transforming the way firms get things done
As the world gets smaller, the talent pools available to firms are getting much, much bigger. By bringing employers and workers together and solving key challenges of contracting at a distance, digital labor platforms are changing the way work is done. Professor Chris Stanton, who has studied them for over a decade, discusses the ins and outs of tapping into these labor sources, how workers on these marketplaces compete, and how platforms are disrupting management. Are physical offices a thing of the past?
- 20 Sep 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Did Entrepreneur Ernesto Tornquist Help or Hurt Argentina?
Geoffrey Jones examines the career of Ernesto Tornquist, a cosmopolitan financier considered to be the most significant entrepreneur in Argentina at the end of the 19th century. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Sep 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
Ep 12: Why employers should care about care
As demographics change, caregiving responsibilities have become an increasingly integral part of employees' lives. Joe speaks with Care.com CEO Sheila Marcelo about how her experience of being “sandwiched” by care responsibilities led her to found her company. Caregiving benefits, she argues, are not only perks, but are critical to competitiveness for employers and the overall economy. And our current model is broken. Is Care.com the solution?
- 06 Sep 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Should US Companies Still Care About the Paris Climate Change Agreement?
American President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change one year ago. Vincent Pons discusses what it means for US business leaders in confronting environmental challenges. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Aug 2018
- Managing the Future of Work
Ep 11: High school to JP Morgan in seven seconds: How businesses gain an edge by providing ladders of opportunity
There is a deep chasm separating the millions of Americans with limited access to college degrees from professional life. Gerald Chertavian, founder and CEO of Year Up, describes how his organization steps into this void, erecting ladders of opportunity to well-paying jobs while supplying leading businesses like Microsoft and JP Morgan with talent that would otherwise go overlooked. Where will one of their graduates end up this fall? No spoilers here.
- 09 Aug 2018
- Cold Call Podcast
Two Million Fake Accounts: Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo
Coming out of the financial crisis, Wells Fargo was one of the world’s most successful banks. But then its sales culture went wild, opening more than 2 million fake accounts. Suraj Srinivasan discusses what went wrong. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
Can Miguel McKelvey Build the ‘Culture Operating System’ at WeWork?
How deeply does the culture of a startup matter? Can it be shaped? Professor Jeffrey Rayport discusses WeWork cofounder Miguel McKelvey’s innovative role in building a company culture to support rapid growth. Open for comment; 0 Comments.