Cold Call

Can a Social Entrepreneur End Homelessness in the U.S.?

03 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Community Solutions is a nonprofit founded in 2011 by Rosanne Haggerty, with the ambitious goal of ending chronic homelessness in America. After they ...

What Role Do Individual Leaders Play in Corporate Governance?

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From 1997 to 2012, Scott Tucker built a nationwide network of payday lending businesses, becoming a pioneer in online lending along the way. But in 20...

Transforming Deloitte’s Approach to Consulting

05 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Pixel helps facilitate open talent and crowdsourcing for Deloitte Consulting client engagements. But while some of Deloitte’s principals are avid us...

How Etsy Found Its Purpose and Crafted a Turnaround

22 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Etsy, the online seller of handmade goods, grew substantially but remained unprofitable in its first decade. But after it was almost bought out by pri...

France Telecom: Corporate Restructuring and Employee Wellbeing

08 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The France Telecom case series follows the evolution of the organization from a national telephone monopoly to a private company facing severe challen...

How to Scale a Startup Marketplace for Used Furniture

22 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

AptDeco, a peer-to-peer marketplace for used furniture in the New York City area, was growing rapidly in the massive $120 billion furniture market, de...

How to Make Venture Capital Accessible for Black Founders: An Entrepreneur’s Dilemma

15 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In May of 2021, Kevin D. Johnson had just graduated from a rigorous Executive MBA program, and he needed to decide on his next career move. Johnson wa...

What’s Next for Nigerian Production Studio EbonyLife Media?

08 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 me...

Making Diverse Leadership a Priority at Whittier College

01 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

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 stu...

How Footwear Startup Allbirds Is Decarbonizing Fashion

25 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In 2021, the footwear startup Allbirds was extending its product range into apparel and expanding beyond its online store to open more retail stores a...

Can Entrepreneurs and Governments Team Up to Solve Big Problems?

11 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Mitch Weiss and Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s CGO and co-founder, discuss the challenges entrepreneurs face when work...

How Japan’s Recruit Holdings Regained Trust after a Scandal

14 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Recruit Holdings, an advertising media, staffing, and business support conglomerate was founded in Japan in 1960 by Hiromasa Ezoe. The company was bui...

TikTok: Super App or Supernova?

30 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around the simple idea of helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on ...

Can Mass General Brigham Diversify Its Community of Innovators?

16 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In November 2019, Mass General Brigham (MGB) was the largest recipient of National Institutes of Health funding in the world. The Innovation Office, l...

Innovating in the Feminine Care Market

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Founded in 2014, Thinx, Inc. makes absorbent underwear that can be worn during menstruation. But the feminine care market had seen virtually no innova...

Should Global Beer Company Molson Coors Enter the Cannabis Beverages Business?

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 leg...

How the Clean Network Changed the Future of Global Technology Competition

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Why JPMorgan Chase Is Committed to Improving Racial Equity in Banking

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2020, JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced a $30 billion “Commitment to Advance Racial Equity.” This included investments in housing, small businesse...

How to Lead through a Merger: US Airways and American Airlines

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In February 2013, US Airways announced that it would merge with American Airlines to create the world’s largest airline. During the acquisition inte...

Why Did Pet Concierge Startup Baroo Fail?

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 raisin...

The Science of Sales Conversations with Gong’s Amit Bendov

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Gong’s business proposition is simple: provide software that automatically captures, understands, and analyzes written and spoken sales conversation...

Mixing Sports and Money: Adidas and the Commercialization of the Olympics

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Horst Dassler, the son of the founder of Adidas, cultivated relationships with athletes and national associations – with the aim of expanding his fa...

Strategies for Underdogs: How Alibaba’s Taobao Beat eBay in China

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2007, Alibaba’s Taobao became China’s leading consumer e-commerce marketplace, displacing the once dominant eBay. How did underdog Taobao do it...

Procter & Gamble’s Lean Innovation Transformation

29 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

When Kathy Fish became Procter & Gamble’s Chief Research, Development & Innovation Officer in 2014, she was concerned that the world’s leading con...

IKEA Navigates the Future While Staying True to Its Culture

15 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After years of success in providing quality furniture at affordable prices, Swedish furniture maker IKEA is challenged by the rise of online shopping ...

Running a Consumer Fintech Startup within Goldman Sachs

01 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Marcus by Goldman Sachs marked a dramatic shift for the 150-year-old financial institution, which historically had served only businesses and the weal...

How Georgia State University Increased Graduation Rates

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Georgia State University was facing a growing "summer melt" problem, where nearly 20 percent of incoming students never actually enrolled. The univers...

Reversing Brain Drain: Moving Talent to Middle America

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After decades of brain drain in rural America, Tulsa Remote is working to attract a diverse group of remote workers to live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Harvar...

What Went Wrong with the Boeing 737 Max?

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How did the evolution of Boeing’s organization and management lead to two tragic plane crashes within six months, in which a total of 346 people die...

Disrupting the Waste Management Industry with Technology

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rubicon began with a bold idea: create a cloud-based, full-service waste management platform providing efficient service anywhere in the U.S. Their mo...

Managing Future Growth at an Innovative Workforce Education Start-up

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with “education as a benefit.” The Denve...

A Family Business at a Crossroads: Scaling and Succession

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In 2000, Rohit Gera turned his family’s boutique real estate development firm in Pune, India, into a dynamic innovator in housing solutions for urba...

Can Historic Social Injustices be Addressed Through Reparations?

02 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their descendants believe historic social injustices should be addressed through reparations. Harvard Busines...

Examining Race and Mass Incarceration in the United States

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The late 20th century saw dramatic growth in incarceration rates in the United States. Of the more than 2.3 million people in U.S. prisons, jails, and...

Fostering Authenticity and Employee Engagement at John Deere

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the first Black female factory manager to lead a John Deere plant, Rosalind Fox must figure out how to build relationships with her staff, who are ...

Developing Resilience on the Path to Becoming a CEO

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As a Black female CEO, Shellye Archambeau is no stranger to adversity. Now she faces her most critical leadership decision. The software company she l...

Using Empathy and Curiosity to Overcome Differences

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Riddick, an African-American community leader and counselor, must find a way to bridge the divide between Black and white community leaders, who ...

Engaging Community to Create Proactive, Equitable Public Safety

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Melvin Carter, the mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, swept into office in 2018, promising to improve equity. In his campaign, he had spoken from experie...

Using Behavioral Science to Improve Well-Being for Social Workers

05 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For family social workers, coping with the hardships of children and parents is part of the job. But that can cause a lot of stress. Is it possible to...

Dove: Maintaining a Brand with Purpose

22 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Unilever’s Dove soap became a brand with purpose when it launched the “Campaign for Real Beauty” to combat media-driven stereotypes of female be...

Uber’s Strategy for Global Success

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As the transportation landscape evolves, can Uber adapt its business model to be successful in unique regional markets around the world? Alexander Mac...

Evaluating Innovative Health Care Solutions for Obesity

24 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

From Weight Watchers to bariatric surgery, innovations for combatting obesity abound. But which will do the most good for society and yield the best b...

The Challenges of Commercializing Fertility

10 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Entrepreneur Christy Jones is trying to create a new venture to help women preserve their eggs and postpone motherhood. But what would an egg-freezing...

Growing a Manufacturing Company with a Social Mission

27 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Nehemiah Manufacturing turned a social mission to hire convicted felons into a competitive advantage, with decreased turnover and higher staff loyalty...

Can Entrepreneurs Make Mobile Voting Easy and Secure?

13 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Making voting more accessible through technology could allow more people to take part in elections. But it also poses critical downsides, if the produ...

Employee Performance vs. Company Values: A Manager’s Dilemma

29 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As we celebrate the five-year anniversary of Cold Call, we welcome a special guest, Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria to discuss the classic c...

Is Happiness at Work Really Attainable?

15 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Simón Cohen, founder of Henco Logistics, transformed a small Mexican logistics company into a major player within the industry. Cohen credits the fir...

How to Launch a New Biosciences Product: Start Small or Dive in?

01 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

C16 Biosciences wants to replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation and climate change, with a lab-grown substitute. Should the synthetic ...

Testing New Contact Tracing Approaches in a Pandemic

18 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Singapore officials added a nationwide, Bluetooth-based contact tracing program called TraceTogether to their suite of Covid-19-fighting strategies, w...

Glossier Built a Cult Brand and a Digital Community, but What’s Next?

04 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand Glossier considers marketing strategies that move away from organic community support and toward in...

Starbucks Commits to Raising Awareness of Racial Bias

21 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

After a highly publicized act of racial discrimination by a Starbucks employee against two African American men in one of its stores in 2018, the comp...

SmileDirectClub Looks Beyond Direct-to-Consumer Marketing

07 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Len Schlesinger and RSE Ventures Co-founder Matt Higgins discuss why direct-to-consumer channel businesses, like tel...

Is It Time for Big Apple Circus to Fold the Tent?

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

By 2016, the Big Apple Circus had weathered many storms in its 38 seasons as one of the most well-known New York City nonprofits. But with ticket sale...

In a Pandemic, What’s the Best Strategy for the Global Vaccine Alliance?

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

How should the vaccine alliance, Gavi, respond to the worldwide need for a vaccine for the Covid-19 pandemic? Harvard Business School professor Tarun ...

Can the “Cummings Way” Live on After the Founder Retires?

26 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

After 50 years at the helm of Cummings Properties, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Cummings is winding down his roles at both the family business ...

Autonomous Vehicles are Ready to Disrupt Society, Business, and You

12 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The rise of autonomous vehicles has enormous implications for business and society. Harvard Business School professors Bill Kerr and Elie Ofek explore...

Is the Healthiest Building in the World Worth the Rent?

28 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Healthy buildings and superior air quality are increasingly important as people spend 90% of their lives indoors. Harvard professors John Macomber and...

Fortnite Was a Blockbuster for Epic Games, What’s the Encore?

14 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the ever-changing video games industry, Epic Games, the maker of the incredibly popular Fortnite multi-player game, considers whether it could beco...

Bringing the Case Method Online

07 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode of Cold Call, Brian Kenny speaks with Harvard Business School professor Srikant Datar about how Harvard Business School b...

Controlling the Emotion of Negotiation

31 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Two siblings, Thomas and Sally Campbell, are faced with selling their childhood home. They need to make several difficult decisions, all the while nav...

Is There a Winner in Huawei’s Digital Cold War with the U.S.?

17 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Against the backdrop of his case, “Huawei: A Global Tech Giant in the Crossfire of a Digital Cold War,” Harvard Business School professor Bill Kir...

Do Universities Need 2U to Create Digital Education?

03 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

2U, an online program management provider, believed it was the strongest partner to enable the digital transformation of universities by allowing them...

Global Ocean Trust: Protecting the Blue Planet in New Ways

18 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Following a successful career in finance, Torsten Thiele has devoted himself full-time to the challenging cause of ocean conservation and stewardship....

Why Backstage Capital Invests in “Underestimated” Entrepreneurs

04 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Laura Huang, whose new book “Edge” explores methods for turning adversity into professional advantage, is joined...

China-based Fuyao Glass Considers Manufacturing in the U.S.

21 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Not many Chinese companies open manufacturing facilities in the U.S., but automotive glass maker Fuyao is considering just that. Harvard Business Scho...

Can Capitalism Be Fixed by Making Companies More Just?

07 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professors Ethan Rouen and Charlie Wang explore whether capitalism is broken and if JUST Capital's performance evaluation rubr...

Under Pressure, OXXO Rethinks the Convenience Store

17 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Mexican convenience store chain OXXO dominated its market -- until its chief rival doubled in size almost overnight. Harvard Business School professor...

Why CalSTRS Chooses to Engage with the Gun Industry

03 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Should large institutional investors divest or engage if they have an issue with a company? Harvard Business School professor Vikram Gandhi discusses ...

Lessons from IBM in Nazi Germany

19 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Geoff Jones discusses his case, “Thomas J. Watson, IBM and Nazi Germany,” which explores the options and respons...

Can the Robin Hood Army Grow with Zero Financial Resources?

05 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In 2014, Neel Ghose (MBA 2019) created the Robin Hood Army, an entirely volunteer-based organization working to get surplus food to hungry people. Jus...

Goldman Sachs’ $500 Million Bet on Small Businesses

15 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Launched in the midst of the financial crisis, Goldman Sachs' “10,000 Small Businesses” program provided business education and access to capital ...

Can Gimlet Turn a Podcast Network Into a Disruptive Platform?

01 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professors John Deighton and Jeffrey Rayport discuss how two former public radio producers launch the Gimlet Media podcast net...

How a New Leader Broke Through a Culture of Accuse, Blame, and Criticize

17 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Children’s Hospital & Clinics COO Julie Morath sets out to change the culture there by instituting a policy of blameless reporting, which encourages...

At Booking.com, Innovation Means Constant Failure

03 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Stefan Thomke discusses how past experience and intuition can be misleading when attempting to launch an innovative ...

Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World?

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professors Rebecca Henderson and George Serafeim discuss the impact investing efforts of Hiro Mizuno, CIO of GPIF, Japan’s g...

Super Bowl Ads Sell Products, but Do They Sell Brands?

06 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Much of the advertising purchased during the Super Bowl is about selling corporate brands rather than products. Harvard Business School professor Shel...

JUUL: Leading the Vaping Revolution

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In his case, “JUUL and the Vaping Revolution,” Harvard Business School professor Mike Toffel discusses the controversy surrounding the exponential...

The Controversial History of United Fruit

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Geoffrey Jones discusses the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954 in a U.S.-backed coup in supp...

In the Platform Economy, Upwork Searches for Better Matches in the Cloud

25 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Stephane Kasriel, the CEO of Upwork, the leading platform for freelance labor, considers different pricing solutions and ways to improve the matching ...

Can Khan Academy Scale to Educate Anyone, Anywhere?

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Khan Academy is an online global education nonprofit launched by Sal Khan with the audacious mission to “provide a free world-class education for an...

Israel Turns 70: Does It Need a Rebrand?

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Israel turned 70 years old in May of 2018, but its brand image internationally was less than ideal. Market research revealed that many people associat...

If the Key to Business Success Is Focus, Why Does Amazon Work?

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta explores the infiltration of Amazon into dozens of industries including web services, grocery, online vi...

Managers: Are You Prepared to Handle Religion in the Workplace?

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Challenges related to managing religion in the workplace are on the rise, as are religious discrimination claims and monetary settlements in the U.S. ...

Would You Live in a Smart City Where Government Controls Privacy?

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Toronto is experimenting with smart city concepts envisioned by Google spin-off Sidewalk Labs. Harvard Business School professors Leslie John and Mitc...

Can Mark Zuckerberg Rebuild Trust in Facebook?

03 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced a crucible moment in 2018 after Cambridge Analytica accessed data from 87 million Facebook accounts. Harvard Busine...

Will Startup Fishbowl Become the Social Media App for Your Industry?

22 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Fishbowl's founders have built a social media platform allowing professionals to connect anonymously and with candor within their companies and indust...

How Helena Rubinstein Used Tall Tales to Turn Cosmetics into a Luxury Brand

12 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Geoff Jones examines the career of Helena Rubinstein, one of the trailblazing female entrepreneurs of the 20th centu...

Pursuing Precision Medicine at Intermountain Healthcare

26 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What happens when Intermountain Healthcare invests resources in an innovative precision medicine unit to provide life-extending, genetically targeted ...

The Delicious History of Hershey Chocolate

13 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever wondered how Hershey chocolate came to be so popular? Harvard Business School professor Nancy Koehn discusses the life and vision of Mil...

How Wegmans Became a Leader in Improving Food Safety

29 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Ray Goldberg discusses how Wegmans CEO faced a food safety issue and then helped the industry determine how it could...

Can Miguel McKelvey Build the “Culture Operating System” at WeWork?

09 Jan 2019

Contributed by Lukas

How deeply does the culture of a startup matter? Can it be shaped? Harvard Business School professor Jeffrey Rayport discusses WeWork cofounder Miguel...

Using Fintech to Disrupt Eastern Bank from Within

18 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Was Eastern Labs a huge success or an expensive mistake? Eastern Bank CEO Bob Rivers innovates from within by partnering with fintech entrepreneur Dan...

Honda Created a Civic for Very Light Jets: How High Will it Fly?

05 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After thirty years of research and development, the HondaJet is now the top selling jet in the very light jet segment of the market. Harvard Business ...

Building a Nonprofit Marketplace System to Feed America

19 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Feeding America is the third largest nonprofit in America, managing a network of more than 200 food banks nationwide. Harvard Business School professo...

Could Big Data Replace the Creative Director at the Gap?

07 Nov 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Is it time to throw out the creative director and rely on big data to predict what consumers want to wear next? Harvard Business School professor Ayel...

Vodafone’s Innovative Approach to Advanced Technologies

24 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Bill Kerr discusses how Vodafone, one of the largest companies in the telecommunications space, incorporated technol...

Baseball’s Billy Beane Shows Companies the Power of Data

10 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane brought a data driven and unconventional approach to winning baseball games. By setting strategy and art...

Did Entrepreneur Ernesto Tornquist Help or Hurt Argentina?

19 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Harvard Business School professor Geoffrey Jones examines the career of Ernesto Tornquist, a cosmopolitan financier considered to be the most signific...

Should U.S. Companies Still Care About the Paris Climate Change Agreement?

05 Sep 2018

Contributed by Lukas

American President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change just over a year ago. What does that mean for the role of Uni...

Two Million Fake Accounts: Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo

17 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Coming out of the financial crisis, Wells Fargo was one of the world’s largest and most successful banks, viewed as a role model in how to manage in...