Harvard Business School Introduces Case Method Podcast

Last week, Harvard Business School announced the launch of a new online series called Cold Call, which takes the school’s legendary case method and distills it into podcast form.

The podcast takes its name from the HBS tradition of beginning each class with a “cold call,” where with no previous warning, the professor selects one student to lay out the facts of the case and begin the discussion. It’s a nerve-wracking moment that binds HBS graduates across generations.

Host and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Brian Kenny will invite an HBS professor twice a month to take listeners behind the scenes of a case he or she has written, probing what inspired the case, exploring how it relates to management practice, and delving into interesting anecdotes that come from researching the case and teaching it in the classroom.

Cold Call will feature a wide variety of cases covering world-class brands, innovative start-ups, social enterprises, and even entire nations. The series kicked off the week of September 9— Fashion Week in New York City— with a case on fashion mogul Stella McCartney and how she built a global brand that represents both luxury and sustainability.

In 10-12 minutes, Cold Call will animate HBS faculty research and bring their lessons straight to listeners. According to the announcement from the school, it should be on the playlist of prospective MBA students and seasoned business practitioners alike.

You can subscribe to Cold Call on iTunes and iTunesU or follow along on SoundCloud.

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