Podcasts · Business

HBR On Strategy

Harvard Business Review

117 episodes

Business strategy isn’t just a plan, it’s a framework for success.

More about the show

Whether you’re building, innovating, or executing, HBR On Strategy is your destination for insights and inspiration from the world’s top experts on business strategy and innovation.

Every Wednesday, the editors at the Harvard Business Review hand-picked case studies and conversations from across HBR podcasts, videos, articles, and beyond to help you unlock new ways of doing business.

Episodes page 1 of 3

  1. An Announcement from HBR On Strategy

    · 1:05 · Bonus

    For the last two years, HBR On Strategy has been a collection of the best conversations and case studies with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. But the time…

  2. The Strategic Advantage of Tapping Freelancers

    · 30 min · Episode 116

    The rapid pace of technological change is making a big impact on hiring. Some organizations are dynamically securing freelance workers through platform apps like Upwork and Freelancer. Other companies are investing…

  3. The Promises, Pitfalls, and Trade-offs of the Circular Economy

    · 21 min · Episode 115

    Most businesses are built on a linear model: take, make, and discard. But that norm is reaching its limits, and leaders are under pressure to find smarter, more sustainable ways to operate. Weslynne Ashton is a…

  4. Sustainability Is Fueling Innovation at Ferrari

    · 31 min · Episode 114

    When Ferrari, the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer, committed to achieving carbon neutrality and to electrifying a large part of its car fleet, investors and employees applauded the new strategy. But among the…

  5. Stress Test Your Strategy Before It Fails

    · 27 min · Episode 113

    While many teams and organizations engage in scenario planning, most don’t go far enough. Arjan Singh, consultant and adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University, says a more disciplined approach, borrowed from…

  6. Rethink Your Pricing Strategies Amid Economic Uncertainty

    · 21 min · Episode 112

    Rafi Mohammed, founder of the consulting firm Culture of Profit, says a crisis or recession is not the time to panic and slash prices. He says leaders should instead reevaluate their pricing strategy—or develop one for…

  7. AMD’s Lisa Su on Experimenting with AI

    · 23 min · Episode 111

    HBR editor at large Adi Ignatius speaks with Lisa Su, CEO of leading semiconductor company AMD, about the company’s evolution toward high-performance and adaptive computing, the future of AI use in different sectors,…

  8. A Lesson on Balancing Scaling with Stability

    · 28 min · Episode 110

    In late 2013, Ryan Cohen, cofounder and then-CEO of online pet products retailer Chewy.com, was facing a decision that could determine his company’s future. Should he stay with a third-party logistics provider (3PL)…

  9. The Right Way to Launch an AI Initiative

    · 25 min · Episode 109

    Unfortunately, you can’t set up your organization’s artificial intelligence projects like just any other IT project. By their nature, AI endeavors are quite different and suffer high failure rates. But there are proven…

  10. The 6 Forces of Failure—and How to Protect Your Company from Them

    · 8:53 · Episode 108

    What can failures like Harley-Davidson Cologne or Cheetos Lip Balm teach us about success? Sean Jacobsohn, partner at Norwest Venture Partners and founder of the Failure Museum, takes us on a tour of notable product…

  11. How to Turn Your Customer Base into a Community

    · 17 min · Episode 107

    “Community” is a buzzword that gets thrown around a lot in the business world. But what does it really mean to build one—and what does it take to make it last? More importantly, how can businesses create communities…

  12. Great Strategy Starts with Experimentation

    · 23 min · Episode 106

    Stefan Thomke, professor at Harvard Business School, says running experiments can give companies tremendous value, but too often business leaders make decisions based on intuition. While A/B testing on large…

  13. Bringing Innovation to an Underserved Market

    · 27 min · Episode 105

    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…

  14. To Make Better Decisions, Think Like a Venture Capitalist

    · 25 min · Episode 104

    Venture capital firms notoriously embrace risk and take big swings, hoping that one startup will become a monster hit that pays for many other failed investments. This VC approach scares established companies, but it…

  15. How to Lead a Successful Turnaround

    · 29 min · Episode 103

    When a company, division, or product line has been struggling for some time, it can feel nearly impossible to get things back on track. But big turnarounds are possible, provided you have a team willing to work hard,…

  16. Alphabet CEO on AI as a Workplace Collaborator

    · 29 min · Episode 102

    The use of artificial intelligence—specifically generative AI—is growing rapidly, and tech giants like Google have an important role to play in how that technology gets adopted and developed. Sundar Pichai is the CEO…

  17. How to Push for Change in a Large Organization

    · 27 min · Episode 101

    Getting a big, bureaucratic organization to innovate or adopt new technologies is hard. That’s why Harvard Business School professor Maria Roche wrote a case study about U.S. Air Force Major Victor “SALSA” Lopez. He…

  18. The Right Way to Make Data-Driven Decisions

    · 27 min · Episode 100

    Fueled by the promise of concrete insights, organizations are increasingly prioritizing data in their decision-making processes. But that process can easily go wrong. Many leaders don’t understand that their decisions…

  19. To Grow Profitably, Take It Slow

    · 30 min · Episode 99

    Many companies, especially in the tech world, have come to embrace the idea of growth at all costs. But according to research from Gary Pisano, professor at Harvard Business School, most firms fail to consistently…

  20. Turn Your Supply Chain into an Innovation Engine

    · 25 min · Episode 98

    Imagine a company that, in a matter of weeks, can develop, prototype, build, and deliver innovative products. That’s exactly what Haier, one of the world’s largest home appliance manufacturers, achieved in 2019. When…

  21. Using New Tech to Compete in an Old Industry

    · 27 min · Episode 97

    The insurance industry is centuries old and has historically been dominated by a few large incumbents. But the industry is experiencing disruption from smaller tech-driven companies—known as insurtechs—that are…

  22. The Key to Sustaining an Enduring Competitive Advantage

    · 19 min · Episode 96

    It’s a holy grail for many businesses—the search for sustainable competitive advantage. But Chris Zook points out that it’s elusive for most companies. He notes that less than one in 10 companies even achieve a modest…

  23. A Restaurant Innovator’s Recipe for Strategic Growth

    · 32 min · Episode 95

    For a long time in the restaurant industry, there were two types of dining experiences: fast food or table service. But Ron Shaich, founder and former chairman and CEO of Panera Bread, managed to create an entirely new…

  24. A Middle Manager’s Guide to Executing Strategy

    · 47 min · Episode 94

    Imagine this scenario: Your company’s executive team has just announced their new master plan for growing the business. Now it’s your job, as a mid-level manager, to put it into practice. So where do you start? In…

  25. Competitive Strategy Lessons from the LIV Golf and PGA Tour Merger

    · 28 min · Episode 93

    In June 2022, the first ever LIV Golf event teed off outside of London. Offering players larger prizes and more flexibility, LIV Golf aimed to disrupt the sport. In response, the PGA Tour suspended all players who…

  26. Strategies for Managing Talent Amid Uncertainty and Competition

    · 21 min · Episode 92

    In the last half century, relationships between employers and their employees have evolved away from being rooted in long-term loyalty to a new paradigm of short-term alliances driven by uncertainty and competition.…

  27. How McKinsey Resisted Disruption

    · 29 min · Episode 91

    The consulting firm McKinsey has helped its clients navigate disruption in a wide range of industries. But what can we learn from how McKinsey itself responded to disruption in the management consulting industry in the…

  28. What It Takes to Thrive During a Crisis

    · 24 min · Episode 90

    Why did some companies thrive during the Covid-19 pandemic while others struggled? Keith Ferrazzi, founder of the consulting firm Ferrazzi Greenlight, surveyed more than 2,000 executives to learn how they changed…

  29. How Glossier Maintained Brand Integrity While Scaling

    · 29 min · Episode 89

    Glossier launched in 2014 as an e-commerce, direct-to-consumer makeup and skincare brand aimed at millennial women. From the start, Glossier’s founder Emily Weiss built a strong digital community around the brand. But…

  30. How to Build Long-Term Social Value

    · 16 min · Episode 88

    What does it take to succeed as a business while doing well by your employees? Harvard Business School professor emeritus Michael Beer has studied companies who invest in building long-term social value, and he says…

  31. Strategies for Competing with a Tech-Driven Insurgent

    · 30 min · Episode 87

    Looking at business news over the past decade (including a few HBR articles), you might assume that just about every traditional company has fallen — or will soon fall — to competitors from the tech industry. But…

  32. Scaling a Startup in Emerging Markets

    · 16 min · Episode 86

    If you’re a fast-growing company in an emerging economy, you need a strategy for competing in your home market in the short term. But you also need a longer-term strategy that will help you grow beyond that initial…

  33. Khan Academy: A Case Study in Scaling a Start-Up

    · 31 min · Episode 85

    Khan Academy, the online global education nonprofit, launched in 2006 when founder Sal Khan created a few videos to help his cousin with her math homework. After a decade of growth brought Khan Academy’s user base to…

  34. How to Navigate a Leadership Transition

    · 11 min · Episode 84

    Leadership transitions are challenging for both organizations and the leaders who must directly navigate them. But Michael Watkins says they’re also a time of incredible opportunity — especially for those leaders who…

  35. How Globalization Has Changed Strategic Planning

    · 28 min · Episode 83

    In 1992, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. signed NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the global business landscape began transforming. Pankaj Ghemawat, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business,…

  36. Innovation Doesn’t Have to Be Disruptive

    · 24 min · Episode 82

    Disruptive innovation has proven to be such a powerful idea that the word “innovation” is often equated with the broader idea of market disruption. But that’s not always the case. INSEAD strategy professor Renée…

  37. How a Coal Polluter’s New Strategy for Sustainability Transformed Its Business

    · 22 min · Episode 81

    Enel, Italy’s state-owned power company founded in 1962, was one of Europe’s largest coal users and polluters. Now it is recognized as a leader in renewable energy services and has integrated sustainability into its…

  38. Don’t Just Create Value. Capture It.

    · 13 min · Episode 80

    IMD professor Stefan Michel says that many businesses don’t actually know how. “Many companies spend a lot of time on innovating, in a sense that they create more value for customers,” he argues. “What they often miss…

  39. Lessons in Climate Change Strategy from the U.S. Navy

    · 23 min · Episode 79

    Climate change is causing severe weather, dangerously elevated temperatures, and water shortages around the world. Meanwhile, firms are struggling to reduce their carbon emissions while adapting their operations to…

  40. How to Get Forecasting Right

    · 16 min · Episode 78

    Do you know the difference between accurate forecasting and effective forecasting? Technology forecaster Paul Saffo says accurate forecasting is nearly impossible to do. But if you aim for effective forecasting, he…

  41. How Startups Can Turn Failure into Success

    · 26 min · Episode 77

    AptDeco, a peer-to-peer marketplace for used furniture, launched in New York City in 2014. Despite its complexity and high costs, the company grew quickly. Co-founders Reham Fagiri and Kalam Dennis considered several…

  42. To Set a Great Strategy, Start by Imagining the Future You Want

    · 26 min · Episode 76

    Some managers develop strategy by focusing on problems in the present, and that’s especially true during a crisis. But Mark Johnson, co-founder of the innovation consulting firm Innosight, argues that leaders should…

  43. 3 Signs It’s Time to Transform Your Core Business

    · 19 min · Episode 75

    Is your company’s existing growth formula finally reaching its limit? Bain & Company partner Chris Zook says you may need to redefine your core business if you want to power new growth. Zook was co-head of Bain’s…

  44. 24 Steps to Launch a Start-Up

    · 29 min · Episode 74

    Many people aspire to entrepreneurship. But Bill Aulet, who has advised founders for decades, warns that it remains a high-risk endeavor. In this episode, he outlines concrete steps anyone can take to get a new…

  45. Brand Strategy Lessons from Super Bowl Ads

    · 33 min · Episode 73

    The Super Bowl isn’t just American football’s championship game. It’s also one of the world’s biggest stages for brand messaging. In 2024, the average 30-second Super Bowl ad cost $7 million —and that doesn’t even…

  46. How to Incorporate Influencers into Your Marketing Strategy

    · 33 min · Episode 72

    Online influencers are an increasingly important way for companies to find new customers and drive sales. But if you’re a marketer hoping to target consumers, it’s important to understand how the social media industry…

  47. How to Build a Dynamic-Pricing Strategy That Works

    · 28 min · Episode 71

    More and more companies are turning to pricing algorithms to maximize profits. But many are unaware of a big downside. Marco Bertini, a marketing professor at Esade Business School in Barcelona, says constant price…

  48. How Rakuten’s Shift to English Transformed Its Culture

    · 20 min · Episode 70

    In 2010, Japan’s largest e-commerce platform Rakuten was rapidly expanding into global markets when CEO Hiroshi Mikitani made a surprising announcement: Rakuten’s internal language would be changing to English. That…

  49. How to Scale a Start-Up

    · 28 min · Episode 69

    Managing rapid growth is a huge challenge for young businesses. Even start-ups with glowing reviews and skyrocketing sales can fail. That’s because new ventures and corporate initiatives alike must sustain…

  50. Innovating Around an Existing Core Product or Service

    · 25 min · Episode 68

    What do LEGO, GoPro, and CarMax have in common? Wharton professor David Robertson says they all have a similar strategy for growth that involves building families of complementary innovations around a core product or…

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