How CPG brands launch, test, and learn in real time. Every December, grocery aisles and online carts transform into test markets disguised as celebrations. Shelves fill with limited-edition packaging, seasonal flavors, and giftable product bundles all designed not only to capture holiday excitement but to generate priceless data. For consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies, the holidays are no longer just the biggest sales moment of the year; they are a strategic laboratory f

Opportunity begins when children have agency abundance. This year, the Cato Institute and YouGov found that   62%  of Americans under 30 view socialism favorably. Less than a decade ago, that figure was nearly 20 percentage points lower at 43% . The median age of a first-time homebuyer today is 40 years old . A current total of $1.8 trillion in student debt has expanded balance sheets more than opportunity. “Affordability,” the political buzzword of 2025, is emblematic of our

Many of you have likely come across David Epstein’s Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World . Epstein argues that, in an era that rewards adaptability, breadth of thought, and cross-domain synthesis, generalists often find creative solutions that specialists might overlook. But in a world increasingly shaped by AI, where specialized models outperform humans in narrow domains, and expertise can be outsourced to algorithms, what happens to the generalist edge? Thi

Field notes and observations from one of the oldest societies in the world. The sun was setting on the town of Egdirbmaak as she finally walked into her new home. It had been a long and arduous journey, but she was glad to have made it through unscathed. The past summer had not been an easy one, and there were often days where she had wondered if she would be able to muster the courage to cross the Great Ocean. But here she was finally — at the hallowed gates of the Dravrah.

Reflection, politics and confessions. Reflection In War & Peace, we study significant conflicts of the past to better understand the present with the hopes of informing current decision-making at best or having a fascinating discussion while learning history at worst. This is a class where you can quote  Guns of August and Prisoners of Geography  at nauseam and in equal proportions. I love it. We began — appropriately — with definitions of strategy , war , leadership , and pe

Photo Credit: Joao Aguiar (@thejoaoaguiar) How persistence, integrity, and rigor shaped a mentor — and my path to HBS. I want to tell you Carlos Moedas’ story, the impact he’s had on me, and why he’s a useful lens as we think about life after HBS. He always told me his life didn’t follow a master plan that he drafted while walking around Aldrich. Rather, it was a series of unforeseen moments during which he had the audacity to believe in something and push past doubt — to rai

Can a divestiture satisfy U.S. national security concerns? Valuations and proposals to allow TikTok continue operations in the U.S. are underway as the platform undergoes negotiations for an estimated multi-billion-dollar divestiture deal. After a three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals handed down a unanimous ruling in December 2024, the court required the social media application to divest from ByteDance or cease operating in the U.S. President Trump granted TikTok t

AI will transform how video games are made. But what about how they’re found? In the world of media, democratization of who makes (creation) and gets to be seen (distribution) has always catalyzed evolution. In the broader conversation of what a future of mature, ubiquitous AI looks like, its impact on video games — a medium consumed by 3.2 billion players worldwide and 78% of U.S. households  — is well worth exploring. To forecast the future, it serves us to first analyze th

Humans in the loop, the new liability layer when AI does everything. It was a sweltering night when Arthur’s phone jolted him awake, its sharp buzz cutting through the stillness of his bedroom. Bleary-eyed, he fumbled for the device, the screen’s glare revealing a dire alert: “Critical Service Infrastructure Down — U.S. Region.” His pulse quickened. Flights were grounded, operations stalled, and the reputation of his company, a tech firm serving over two dozen Fortune 100 cli

When Big Sugar bore the arms of empire and why we may, too. We Americans love democracy. Our government has long paid more than lip...

If this market deflates, it could shake pensions, governments, and the very infrastructure of the internet. When the dot-com bubble burst...

A look into the growing interest in longevity and what it means for men and women’s health. The average person had a life expectancy  of...

It has signed a social contract that cannot be undone.

Why Main Street is being left behind in M&A.

How global travel is rewriting local shopping.

Cracker Barrel, HBO Max, and MS NOW prove that not every makeover is an improvement.

The rush for rare minerals is heating up.

Originally published in May 2022 Gabriel Ellsworth (MBA ’20) talks with U.S. Olympic diving champion David Boudia. David Boudia has had...

How corporate content has replaced journalism — and why we barely noticed. When OpenAI’s Sam Altman was fired and then swiftly rehired in...

Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb on business, politics, and public service. The Harbus  had the chance to sit down with Justin M. Bibb, the...