- 03 Oct 2023
- HBS Case
Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff
Many companies are quick to reduce headcount when economic headwinds appear, but they risk weakening their businesses. A case study by Sandra Sucher explores the hidden costs of layoffs.
- 27 Sep 2023
- Climate Rising
How Boards Can Drive Climate Performance
As part of our 2023 back-to-business school series, this episode features a session from Harvard’s Climate Action Week in May 2023. Moderated by HBS Prof. George Serafeim, the panel includes Carter Roberts, President & CEO of World Wildlife Fund, HBS professor Deb Spar, Bonita Stewart, Board Partner at Gradient Ventures, and Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Cofounder & Managing Partner of Impactive Capital. They discuss how companies and their boards can use accountability and transparency to drive climate performance. For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative Moderator/Panelists: ● George Serafeim, Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School ● Carter Roberts, President & CEO, World Wildlife Fund ● Debora L. Spar, Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration; Senior Associate Dean for Business and Global Society; Board Director, Thermo Fisher Scientific ● Bonita Stewart, Board Partner, Gradient Ventures ● Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Cofounder & Managing Partner, Impactive Capital
- 26 Sep 2023
- Cold Call Podcast
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf Merger: Competition vs. Cooperation
On June 9, 2022, the first LIV Golf event teed off outside of London. The new tour offered players larger prizes, more flexibility, and ambitions to attract new fans to the sport. Immediately following the official start of that tournament, the PGA Tour announced that all 17 PGA Tour players participating in the LIV Golf event were suspended and ineligible to compete in PGA Tour events. Tensions between the two golf entities continued to rise, as more players “defected” to LIV. Eventually LIV Golf filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing the PGA Tour of anticompetitive practices, and the Department of Justice launched an investigation. Then, in a dramatic turn of events, LIV Golf and the PGA Tour announced that they were merging. Harvard Business School assistant professor Alexander MacKay discusses the competitive, antitrust, and regulatory issues at stake and whether or not the PGA Tour took the right actions in response to LIV Golf’s entry in his case, “LIV Golf.”
- 26 Sep 2023
- Research & Ideas
Unpacking That Icky Feeling of 'Shopping' for Diverse Job Candidates
Many companies want to bring a wider variety of lived experiences to their workforces. However, research by Summer Jackson shows how hiring managers' fears of seeming transactional can ultimately undermine their diversity goals.
- 26 Sep 2023
- Book
Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target
Digital strategy demands significant organizational energy at many companies. By the time teams have adapted to newly implemented technology, another platform has emerged to replace it. A book coedited by Feng Zhu offers a guide for executives trying to manage the chaos.
- 20 Sep 2023
- Managing the Future of Work
The EEOC’s Keith Sonderling on job fairness in the age of AI
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has a broad mandate, policing discrimination in all aspects of employment. How does artificial intelligence (AI) change the equation? Commissioner Keith Sonderling discusses the role AI is already playing in employment and what’s next, in terms of policy, technology, and market adoption.
- 19 Sep 2023
- Research & Ideas
What Chandrayaan-3 Says About India's Entrepreneurial Approach to Space
India reached an unexplored part of the moon despite its limited R&D funding compared with NASA and SpaceX. Tarun Khanna discusses the significance of the landing, and the country's advancements in data and digital technology.
- 19 Sep 2023
- HBS Case
How Will the Tech Titans Behind ChatGPT, Bard, and LLaMA Make Money?
It seems like anything is possible with generative AI right now. But how will companies profit from those big ideas? Andy Wu breaks down the potentially painful tradeoffs that tech firms might face as artificial intelligence enters its next phase.
- 14 Sep 2023
- Research & Ideas
Working Moms Are Mostly Thriving Again. Can We Finally Achieve Gender Parity?
The pandemic didn't destroy the workplace advancements moms had achieved. However, not all of the positive changes forced by the crisis and remote work have stuck, says research by Kathleen McGinn and Alexandra Feldberg.
- 13 Sep 2023
- Climate Rising
How Arcos Dorados is Addressing Climate Change in Latin America
Today’s episode is the first in our 2023 back-to-business school series. The episode features Gabriel Serber, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainable Development, Arcos Dorados, the largest McDonald’s franchise in the world. He discusses how Arcos Dorados designs and implements climate solutions across the 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries where they operate, the vast cultural diversity across the region, and how his work fits into the larger McDonald’s corporate climate goals For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative Guest: Gabriel Serber, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainable Development, Arcos Dorados
- 12 Sep 2023
- Cold Call Podcast
Can Remote Surgeries Digitally Transform Operating Rooms?
Launched in 2016, Proximie was a platform that enabled clinicians, proctors, and medical device company personnel to be virtually present in operating rooms, where they would use mixed reality and digital audio and visual tools to communicate with, mentor, assist, and observe those performing medical procedures. The goal was to improve patient outcomes. The company had grown quickly, and its technology had been used in tens of thousands of procedures in more than 50 countries and 500 hospitals. It had raised close to $50 million in equity financing and was now entering strategic partnerships to broaden its reach. Nadine Hachach-Haram, founder and CEO of Proximie, aspired for Proximie to become a platform that powered every operating room in the world, but she had to carefully consider the company’s partnership and data strategies in order to scale. What approach would position the company best for the next stage of growth? Harvard Business School associate professor Ariel Stern discusses creating value in health care through a digital transformation of operating rooms in her case, “Proximie: Using XR Technology to Create Borderless Operating Rooms.”
- 12 Sep 2023
- What Do You Think?
Who Gets the Loudest Voice in DEI Decisions?
Business leaders are wrestling with how to manage their organizations' commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. If you were a CEO, which constituency would you consider most: your employees, customers, or investors? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Sep 2023
- Book
Successful, But Still Feel Empty? A Happiness Scholar and Oprah Have Advice for You
So many executives spend decades reaching the pinnacles of their careers only to find themselves unfulfilled at the top. In the book Build the Life You Want, Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey offer high achievers a guide to becoming better leaders—of their lives.
- 12 Sep 2023
- Research & Ideas
How Can Financial Advisors Thrive in Shifting Markets? Diversify, Diversify, Diversify
Financial planners must find new ways to market to tech-savvy millennials and gen Z investors or risk irrelevancy. Research by Marco Di Maggio probes the generational challenges that advisory firms face as baby boomers retire. What will it take to compete in a fintech and crypto world?
- 06 Sep 2023
- Managing the Future of Work
Chike Aguh on government innovation in workforce development
How can government boost competitiveness and spur the creation of good jobs while protecting worker rights and promoting equity? The former Chief Innovation Officer in the U.S. Department of Labor discusses the talent implications of U.S. industrial policy, cross-sector collaboration, rethinking the delivery of benefits and services, and more.
- 05 Sep 2023
- Book
Thriving After Failing: How to Turn Your Setbacks Into Triumphs
When we slip up, we are often filled with shame, and our instinct is to hide. Instead, people and businesses should applaud smart risk-taking, even when things don't work out, and closely examine their failures to learn from them, says Amy Edmondson.
- 05 Sep 2023
- Book
Failing Well: How Your ‘Intelligent Failure’ Unlocks Your Full Potential
We tend to avoid failure at all costs. But our smarter missteps are worthwhile because they can force us to take a different path that points us toward personal and professional success, says Amy Edmondson.
- 30 Aug 2023
- Climate Rising
An Investor’s Perspective on Corporate Climate Action
Today’s episode in our corporate net zero climate series features Paul Bodnar, Director of Sustainable Finance, Industry, and Diplomacy, Bezos Earth Fund, and former Global Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock. Paul discusses how investors approach the complex web of weighing climate priorities with fiduciary responsibilities. He also talks about his career in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors and where he thinks the next big climate-related investment priorities will be. For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative Guest: Paul Bodnar, Director of Sustainable Finance, Industry, and Diplomacy, Bezos Earth Fund
- 29 Aug 2023
- Cold Call Podcast
As Social Networks Get More Competitive, Which Ones Will Survive?
In early 2023, TikTok reached close to 1 billion users globally, placing it fourth behind the leading social networks: Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Meanwhile, competition in the market for videos had intensified. Can all four networks continue to attract audiences and creators? Felix Oberholzer-Gee discusses competition and imitation among social networks in his case “Hey, Insta & YouTube, Are You Watching TikTok?”
Build the Life You Want: Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey Share Happiness Tips
"Happiness is not a destination. It's a direction." In this video, Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey reflect on mistakes, emotions, and contentment, sharing lessons from their new book.