Optimism - Publications - Faculty & Research

10 Jun 2013
Research & Ideas

How Numbers Talk to People

the agents for the leads, but the value per lead was not enough in the view of executives. Chloe Harford, a Zillow executive who heads product management and strategy, was particularly focused on figuring out the right model for increasing lead value and View Details

22 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 22

in a Systems Business J. Bruce HarreldHarvard Business School Case 810-071 This short case describes the tensions that often arise between finance executives attempting to curtail unproductive activities and strategy executives trying to View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

Can AI Save Physicians from Burnout?

searching, reasoning, and learning. In health care, AI assists doctors in diagnosing diseases, prescribing optimal treatment plans, and enhancing patient engagement with personalized approaches. Additionally, AI can handle administrative... View Details

Keywords: by Susanna Gallani, Lidia Moura, and Katie Sonnefeldt; Health

15 Feb 2022
Blog Post

Health Is Wealth | The Path To Creating A Venture

levels. Collectively, Rachel and Wallerstofer saw an opportunity to build a precision nutrition brand that was more data driven, science backed, and truly personalized. “We came together on this mission to empower individuals to leverage their data to achieve View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Health Care

20 Mar 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: Illuminating India’s Solar Future: Reflections on Tata Solar Manufacturing Plant Visit

inputs such as silicon wafers, automated equipment, and skilled labor. This reliance poses a significant risk to Tata Solar’s long-term scalability and self-reliance. Facility optimization is another area of focus. The Bangalore facility,... View Details

Web

Climate Symposium 2024: Confronting Reality, Celebrating Innovation - Blog - Business & Environment

Blog Blog Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author HBS Faculty Author HBS Staff Author Staff Author Students Topics Topics Accelerating Climate Solutions Conference 2023 Alumni Alumni Programs Alumni in Climate Networking Series Business... View Details

19 Aug 2021
News

A Letter to My White Friends and Colleagues

of optimism, I look and see are whites willing to share their personal wealth, and/or implore the government to use wealth to help the Black community? And yesterday, for example, one of the great things that happened that gave me a high level of View Details

25 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

China’s Economic System has Difficult Road Overcoming its Political System

One need only look as far as the bookshelf to see the optimism attached to China's ascension as a world economic and political power. Titles like The Dragon Awakes; The Rise of China; and When China Rules the World predict an inevitable,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

15 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding the Design of Livable Cities

transit, can maximize the return on investment by optimizing natural resource use. For cash-strapped cities the private sector can fill the gap in providing critical funds and designing structures, including public housing and municipal... View Details

Keywords: by Lisa Chase; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

03 Dec 2008
What Do You Think?

Can Housing and Credit be “Nudged” Back to Health?

books, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, maintains that too much economic theory, formed by "Econs," is based on the behavior of homo economicus (economic man, someone with the knowledge and inclination to optimize solutions... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

19 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Wrapping Your Alliances In a World Wide Web

chain management and advanced planning and scheduling software embed more advanced algorithms than their predecessors and offer the possibility of optimizing decisions across an entire supply chain, as opposed to within single firms. 52... View Details

Keywords: by Andrew McAfee

06 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Circularity in Denmark

learned how Danes sort waste into 10 different streams at their homes, which enables more efficient recycling and waste-to-energy processes down the line. In general, we were inspired by the high level of ambition regarding sustainability goals as well as a high level... View Details

16 Mar 2023
Blog Post

HySynergy and Crossbridge Energy

source of capital. Crossbridge Energy purchased the Shell refinery with a two-part investment thesis that would optimize the current “dirty” refinery to maximize profits in order to use those funds to finance their “green” transition.... View Details

Web

3 Technologies that Will Change the World - Course Catalog

well as specialized companies like Videa Health, Metaphysic and Instadeep that are applying AI to more specific problems (Dentistry, Movie/TV production, Route optimization etc.) We also look at the power of algorithms to shape consumer... View Details

01 Jun 2022
News

Making It Count

the tech revolution coming, will be left in the cold. The shift is already under way, Cohen explains, pointing to the fact that Tesla arrived at a trillion-dollar valuation in 20 years by optimizing on three dimensions—what Cohen calls... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

27 Jul 2019
Op-Ed

Does Facebook's Business Model Threaten Our Elections?

election. Facebook has many issues, but making money isn’t one of them. I’m a bit of a skeptic about the ability of the purported changes to drive fundamental impact, given the incentives of their business model. They’ve been trying to View Details

Keywords: by George Riedel

22 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 23

the North American subsidiary of Germany-based Webasto Group, limped into 2014 in poor financial and operational shape. The company's early optimism emerging from the financial downturn had proven naive, and now, five years later, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Apr 2015
Op-Ed

Reforming Greece: Myths and Truths

recession are not part of an optimal economic policy, this view is deeply naïve because it ignores the political realities of Greece. The track record of Greek politicians is one of populism, corruption, and fiscal irresponsibility. (See... View Details

Keywords: by George Serafeim

19 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 19

major lawsuits and actions by NGOs. The case describes those challenges and raises questions about what is the optimal response on the part of the company in order to ensure future growth and profitability, and how those challenges are... View Details