For Immediate Release: June 5, 2006
Contact:  Julie Devoll, jdevoll@hbsp.harvard.edu, (617) 783-7471

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING LAUNCHES HBR IDEACAST

New podcast features interviews with leading management thinkers, bringing premier business ideas to popular audio format

HBR IdeaCast

BOSTON - Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP), the highly regarded publisher of premier management content, is proud to announce the launch of the HBR IdeaCast, a new bi-weekly podcast featuring breakthrough management ideas and commentary from the authors and editors of Harvard Business School Publishing. The free podcast is available for download on Harvard Business Online, the Web site of HBSP; iTunes; and through many other podcast aggregators and distributors.

Hosted by Paul Michelman, Executive Editor in HBSP’s New Publishing Ventures group, HBR IdeaCasts are designed to bring timely business topics to today’s managers, in a format that suits their busy schedules. Each HBR IdeaCast is approximately twenty minutes in length and is usually comprised of two segments. The ideas covered in HBR IdeaCasts are inspired by the various publishing lines at Harvard Business School Publishing including Harvard Business Review articles, HBS Press books, and HBSP Conferences and Newsletters.

“Podcasts have quickly become yet another way people want to receive information,” said Michelman. “We hope the HBR IdeaCast will not only serve the needs of our current readers and customers, but also will help introduce the ideas and content we publish to a new generation of managers worldwide.”

During the first month of the product’s release, the HBR IdeaCast quickly become one of the most downloaded business podcasts on iTunes, signaling the popularity of its accessible format and the relevance of the content to what’s going on in the business world today. The next show, airing on June 1, will feature the following segments:

Marketing to Avatars: Companies spend vast sums of money trying to segment, reach, and influence potential customers – but they should think about targeting those customers' online alter egos as well. HBR IdeaCast will explore the strange and potentially lucrative domain of online games and “worlds.”

How to Live in to Your New Promotion: Many companies are much better at promoting people to new jobs than they are at helping them transition out of their old jobs. HBR IdeaCast will provide advice on how to make an effective transition into a new role within the same organization.

Previous IdeaCasts have included segments on How to Manage the Alpha Male; Harnessing the Strategic Power of Trust; and What Every Organization Needs to Know about the Avian Flu. Future HBR IdeaCasts will include an interview with HBR senior editor Gardiner Morse on the art of making deliberate mistakes; Tamara Erickson’s take on the new ‘Middlescence’ phenomenon; and a discussion with loyalty guru Fred Reichheld about his new book, The Ultimate Question.

“HBSP collaborates to create products and services in the media that best serve our customers: individuals and organizations who believe in the power of ideas,” said Michelman. “HBR IdeaCast is just another channel for us to offer our listeners unparalleled access to the newest ideas and to the best thinkers in management.”

About Harvard Business School Publishing
Harvard Business School Publishing was founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard University. Its mission is to improve the practice of management in a changing world. HBSP does this by serving as a bridge between academia and enterprise, and individual managers. HBSP has approximately 250 employees, primarily based in Boston, with an office in New York City. Its business units are Harvard Business Review magazine and article reprints, Harvard Business School Press books, Harvard Business School Publishing Newsletters, Harvard Business School Publishing Conferences, Harvard Business School Publishing Higher Education, and Harvard Business School Publishing Corporate Learning.
www.harvardbusinessonline.com

About Harvard Business School
Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School www.hbs.edu is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 200 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as more than 40 Executive Education programs. For almost a century, HBS faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching to educate leaders who have shaped the practice of business around the globe.