Cold Call

Singapore officials added a nationwide, Bluetooth-based contact tracing program called TraceTogether to their suite of Covid-19-fighting strategies, which already included human-led tracing. The new digital program’s success would rely on mitigating privacy issues. Would Singaporeans adopt TraceTogether? As Singapore’s government opened up the technology to the world, would you? Harvard Business School professor Mitch Weiss discusses his new case, “TraceTogether.”

The digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand Glossier considers marketing strategies that move away from organic community support and toward influencer marketing and paid media. But what does that mean for its loyal digital community? Harvard Business School professor Jill Avery discusses the debate in her case, “Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community.”

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 company closed its 8,000 U.S. coffee shops for a day of unconscious bias training. The company also revised store policies and employee training practices. Harvard Business School professors Francesca Gino and Katherine Coffman discuss what we can learn about unconscious bias in corporate culture from Starbucks’ reaction to that incident in their case, “Starbucks: Reaffirming Commitment to the Third Place Ideal.”

Harvard Business School professor Len Schlesinger and RSE Ventures Co-founder Matt Higgins discuss why direct-to-consumer channel businesses, like teledentistry company SmileDirectClub, must implement a strategy that moves them beyond DTC in order to thrive – and how to make that change. This episode is based on the Harvard Business School case, “SmileDirectClub: Better is Better.”

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 sales and charitable giving in steep decline, the future for this beloved circus and its Clown Care program is uncertain. Harvard Business School professor David Fubini discusses his case, “Big Apple Circus: Time to Fold the Tent?”

How should the vaccine alliance, Gavi, respond to the worldwide need for a vaccine for the Covid-19 pandemic? Harvard Business School professor Tarun Khanna discusses how experimentation, judicious risk taking, and entrepreneurship in finance and capital markets could enable the way forward and unlock the science in his case, “Gavi and Covid-19: Pandemic of the Century.”

After 50 years at the helm of Cummings Properties, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Cummings is winding down his roles at both the family business and foundation that he built. How should the management team move the company forward? Harvard Business School professor Christina Wing and protagonist Bill Cummings discuss the case, “Bill Cummings: The Cummings Way.”

The rise of autonomous vehicles has enormous implications for business and society. Harvard Business School professors Bill Kerr and Elie Ofek explore the factors influencing development and commercialization, as well as future success and consumer adoption in their cases: “Autonomous Vehicles: The Rubber Hits the Road… but When?” and “Autonomous Vehicles: Smooth or Bumpy Ride Ahead?”

Healthy buildings and superior air quality are increasingly important as people spend 90% of their lives indoors. Harvard professors John Macomber and Joseph Allen discuss their case, “A Tower for the People: 425 Park Avenue,” their new book, “Healthy Buildings,” and how their learnings extend to a post-COVID world.

In the ever-changing video games industry, Epic Games, the maker of the incredibly popular Fortnite multi-player game, considers whether it could become a PC-games distribution platform. Harvard Business School’s Andy Wu discusses his case, “Epic Games.”