Cold Call show

Cold Call

Summary: Cold Call distills Harvard Business School's legendary case studies into podcast form. Hosted by Brian Kenny, the podcast airs every two weeks and features Harvard Business School faculty discussing cases they've written and the lessons they impart.

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  • Artist: HBR Presents / Brian Kenny
  • Copyright: Copyright 2024 President and Fellows of Harvard College

Podcasts:

 What’s Next for Nigerian Production Studio EbonyLife Media? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1561

After more than 20 years in the media industry in the UK and Nigeria, EbonyLife Media CEO Mo Abudu is considering several strategic changes for her media company’s future. Will her mission to tell authentic African stories to the world be advanced by distributing films and TV shows direct to customers? Or should EbonyLife instead distribute its content through third-party streaming services, like Netflix?

 Making Diverse Leadership a Priority at Whittier College | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1858

In 2018, Linda Oubré was selected as the president of Whittier College in Los Angeles County – the first Black woman to serve in that role. The student body had been slowly evolving to represent the growing diversity of the surrounding area, but the college’s leadership remained largely white and male. Harvard Business School professor Debora Spar and Oubré discuss how she galvanized support among the college’s constituents, while working to diversify the college’s staff, administration, and board of trustees.

 How Footwear Startup Allbirds Is Decarbonizing Fashion | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1909

In 2021, the footwear startup Allbirds was extending its product range into apparel and expanding beyond its online store to open more retail stores around the world. Harvard Business School professor Mike Toffel and Allbirds co-founder and co-CEO Joey Zwillinger discuss the growing environmental impact of the fashion industry and how the company managed the tension between advancing its mission to decarbonize fashion and staying ahead of competitors.

 Can Entrepreneurs and Governments Team Up to Solve Big Problems? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1342

Harvard Business School professor Mitch Weiss and Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s CGO and co-founder, discuss the challenges entrepreneurs face when working with the public sector, and how investing in new ideas can enable entrepreneurs and governments to join forces to solve big problems.

 How Japan’s Recruit Holdings Regained Trust after a Scandal | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1426

Recruit Holdings, an advertising media, staffing, and business support conglomerate was founded in Japan in 1960 by Hiromasa Ezoe. The company was built on the principle that the company should add value to society. But in 1988, Recruit hit rough waters when Ezoe sold 2.8 million shares in a subsidiary before it went public to 76 Japanese leaders in politics, business, and media. The "Recruit Scandal," as it was called, resulted in the resignation of Japan’s prime minister and his entire cabinet. Thirty years later, Recruit has become a global conglomerate, with $16 billion in sales in 2017. How did the company not only survive, but thrive after its insider trading scandal?

 TikTok: Super App or Supernova? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1685

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around the simple idea of helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. By May 2020, TikTok operated in 155 countries and had roughly one billion monthly active users, placing it in the top ranks of digital platforms globally. But the app had drawn the attention of competitors, regulators, and politicians -- especially in the U.S., where commercial success was critical to its long-term enterprise value. Would TikTok become the first “Super App” with a global footprint, or did it run the risk of becoming a supernova that shone brightly only for a passing moment?

 Can Mass General Brigham Diversify Its Community of Innovators? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1329

In November 2019, Mass General Brigham (MGB) was the largest recipient of National Institutes of Health funding in the world. The Innovation Office, led by Chief Innovation Officer Chris Coburn, sought to capitalize on that funding – with the goal of commercializing research done at the hospital to generate revenue and improve patient care. But CEO Anne Klibanski and other key stakeholders had a serious concern: although women comprised approximately 40 percent of the medical researchers and physicians at MGB, the percentage of women participating in innovation activities lagged behind. Can the leadership team identify the main sources of the disparities and find the right strategy to expand and diversify MGB’s community of innovators?

 Innovating in the Feminine Care Market | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1590

Founded in 2014, Thinx, Inc. makes absorbent underwear that can be worn during menstruation. But the feminine care market had seen virtually no innovation in half a century because of the taboo against discussing the topic of menstruation. As a result, the startup was competing against large incumbents like Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson. Can CEO Maria Molland lead a marketing strategy that confronts those taboos in order to bring innovation to the feminine care market?

 Should Global Beer Company Molson Coors Enter the Cannabis Beverages Business? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1552

In early 2019, global beer company Molson Coors was exploring how to enter the cannabis beverages business. At the time, cannabis had not yet been legalized in Canada. Initially the company had planned to test a few products in a small geography in Canada to see if there might be a viable market opportunity. But the team charged with developing an entry strategy recommended a more aggressive move: pulling forward $65 million to build a facility in Canada to produce cannabis beverages and seize first-mover advantage. That sudden change in direction gave then-CEO Mark Hunter pause. Should he approve the request, or push the team back to the original, more conservative plan?

 How the Clean Network Changed the Future of Global Technology Competition | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1837

The Chinese telecom giant Huawei and other Chinese telecom firms, like ZTE, had been poised to lead the globe in 5G technology—until the U.S. State Department embarked on a global campaign to challenge the market dominance of Chinese firms with the Clean Network program. Did that initiative create a new era of multilateral, democratic governance of the internet, or a “splinternet” forcing participants to choose between the U.S. and China?

 Why JPMorgan Chase Is Committed to Improving Racial Equity in Banking | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1604

In 2020, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced a $30 billion “Commitment to Advance Racial Equity.” This included investments in housing, small businesses, and financial literacy across the U.S., as well as in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the bank. Harvard Business School professor emeritus Joe Bower and Alice Rodriguez, head of community impact, managing director at JPMorgan Chase, discuss the implementation of that commitment and how it aligns with the bank’s longer-term growth strategy.

 How to Lead through a Merger: US Airways and American Airlines | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1586

In February 2013, US Airways announced that it would merge with American Airlines to create the world’s largest airline. During the acquisition integration process, CEO Doug Parker had to determine how best to combine the two airlines’ core systems, operating processes, and leadership teams, as well as the appropriate scope and speed of strategic changes. Harvard Business School senior lecturer David Fubini discusses how Parker approached those decisions in the case, “Merging American Airlines and US Airways.”

 Why Did Pet Concierge Startup Baroo Fail? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1717

In August 2017, Baroo Pet Care founder and CEO Lindsay Hyde wanted to continue expanding her pet services startup to new cities. In addition to raising venture capital, she needed to consider her growth strategy. Should she continue focusing on the needs of her early adopters or start tailoring Baroo’s services to more mainstream customers? And how fast is too fast to grow? Hyde (MBA 2014) joins Harvard Business School entrepreneurship Professor Tom Eisenmann to discuss how an early false positive signal from investors set an unsustainable course for her startup.

 The Science of Sales Conversations with Gong’s Amit Bendov | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1647

Gong’s business proposition is simple: provide software that automatically captures, understands, and analyzes written and spoken sales conversations to help sales teams sell more effectively. But can technology that leverages conversational insights make a measurable impact on a company's bottom line?

 Mixing Sports and Money: Adidas and the Commercialization of the Olympics | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1406

Horst Dassler, the son of the founder of Adidas, cultivated relationships with athletes and national associations – with the aim of expanding his family’s sports apparel business. In doing so, he created the first sports sponsorships for the Olympics, and ultimately became a key force behind the commercialization of sports today. Harvard Business School professor Geoffrey Jones explores the pros and cons of the globalization and commercialization of sport in his case, spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s, “Horst Dassler, Adidas, and the Commercialization of Sport.”

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