HBS Ideas and Insights: Generative AI Impacts, the Portrait Project, and More

At Harvard Business School, we educate leaders who make a difference in the world. Our Ideas and Insights newsletter includes a weekly roundup of the top research, ideas, and happenings throughout the HBS community.

In this issue:

• Learn about the impact of consumers turning to generative AI for buying recommendations.

• Read essays from the Portrait Project, an annual HBS tradition.

• Find out how consumer packaged goods firms are retooling their workforces to handle the challenges of multichannel marketing on the latest Managing the Future of Work episode.

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Ideas from the Week

An increasing number of consumers are turning to generative AI for buying recommendations. But if companies can subtly manipulate the technology to favor their own products, some businesses may gain unfair advantage, says Assistant Professor Himabindu Lakkaraju.

William C. Kirby, T.M. Chang professor of China studies at Harvard University and Spangler Family professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, is an astute observer of contemporary China. In 2020, he spoke with Harvard Magazine about China’s aspirations for global leadership in the twenty-first century. In this new interview, Kirby discusses the evolving relationship between China and the United States, focusing particularly on the impact and broader economic implications of tariffs on the clean technology sector.

Around Campus

“We can lose ourselves in joyfully caring for others—and in so doing, find our deepest purpose.” For 20 years, MBA students have participated in the Portrait Project, founded and photographed by Tony Deifell, by writing short essays answering a question from the poem "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver. You can read Angel Gonzalez’s (MBA 2024) entry, and others, on the HBS website.

Around The World

KP Balaraj (MBA 1997), founder of KPB Family Trust and a member of the South Asia Advisory Board and Harvard Global Leaders Circle, recently hosted a dinner for the incoming cohort of MBA students in Bengaluru. The event was attended by over 35 guests, including 16 incoming MBA students, and alumni. The new students appreciated the warm welcome from the HBS community, including virtual events that helped to connect them with alumni and peers.

At its 55th Annual Leadership Dinner in May, the HBS Club of New York (HBSCNY) honored four leaders whose careers and contributions to the world embody this year’s theme, “Challenging the Status Quo.”

Podcast Roundup

The latest Climate Rising episode is the fifth in our series on decarbonizing the roots of value chains, where we’re looking deep into supply chains that serve many industries. Previously we talked about green concrete, green steel, regenerative agriculture, and lab-grown cotton. Today we’re discussing palm oil – a widely used product that’s also associated with climate change due to some palm oil plantations arising from clearing and burning tropical forests, releasing carbon and destroying habitat and biodiversity. We talk with Shara Ticku, Co-founder and CEO of C16 Biosciences (and HBS alumna), which uses fermentation to produce a palm oil substitute. She describes how she and her partners built their start-up, including how they decided which products to develop, and which customers to pursue. She also shares advice for those interested in working at climate tech startup companies like hers.

As familiar brands follow their customers online, consumer packaged goods firms are retooling their workforces to handle the challenges of multichannel marketing. Digital marketing and data analytics skills are at a premium, and generative AI is high on the list of new technologies. Listen to the latest episode of the Managing the Future of Work podcast for Joseph Fuller’s conversation with Kraft Heinz EVP and Global Chief People Officer Melissa Werneck for more insight.

In this episode of the Selling the Cloud podcast, Senior Lecturer Frank Cespedes discusses the importance of clear communication of strategic choices to sales teams. Common challenges in aligning sales with strategic objectives and ways to overcome them. Integrating internal performance management factors with external market characteristics. Strategies for recruiting and developing salespeople who can execute the strategy effectively. Key considerations for developing metrics that evaluate and reward performance in line with strategic goals.

Geoff Duckworth’s story is that of a self-funded search that transformed him from being an employee at a larger firm, to CEO of an enduringly profitable small business, to seller of the company that he had run for years. It was after reading Rick and Royce’s book, HBR Guide To Buying A Small Business, that he decided to pursue the path of entrepreneurship through acquisition. On this episode of Think Big, Buy Small, Geoff shares reflections on his experiences as an acquisition entrepreneur, including why he decided to stop working for others and buy his own business, how he sourced companies that were for sale, the qualities he saw in the business he ultimately bought, how he financed the acquisition, and insights on his time spent at the company helm and beyond.

Browse the entire library of HBS podcasts and episodes here.