HBS RC Strategy: Conversations in Strategy

This podcast is a lively wrap-up to the RC Strategy course — an energetic finale called “Strategy Across the S-Curve: Module Takeaways.” Charlotte and Marc guide listeners through how great companies sustain competitive advantage as industries evolve. They use the S-curve framework — from ferment to takeoff to maturity — to show how strategic priorities shift over time. Each stage is illustrated w...

The podcast, “Corporate Strategy Module Takeaways,” features two MBA students, Sócrates and Grace, reflecting on what they learned in their Corporate Strategy course. Using the Disney and Pixar cases as examples, they explore the central ideas of corporate strategy — the better-off test (whether being part of the same company makes business units more competitive) and the ownership test (whether c...

In this episode of Crafting Strategy Module Takeaways , Macarena and Grant explore how strategy moves from analysis to creation — from diagnosing what’s broken to building something coherent, resilient, and future-ready. They trace the module’s three-act arc: The Problem (LEGO) — A case study in what happens when a firm’s choices fail the three tests of a good strategy: external consistency , inte...

In this episode of Strategic Interaction Module Takeaways , Prim and Obinna unpack the moment strategy “clicked.” It’s not just what a firm does—it’s how every move triggers countermoves from rivals, regulators, suppliers, and customers. Through three vivid cases— Ryanair (retaliate or accommodate?), Fiber Optics (Corning vs. Alcatel in a game-theory chess match), and Keroche (competing when the r...

Welcome to Competitive Advantage Module Takeaways , where two HBS students wrap up one of the most powerful modules in the RC Strategy course: how firms actually win . In this episode, they break down four unforgettable cases — Walmart , Royal Opera House , Hurtigruten , and Hilti — to uncover what it really means to build and sustain a competitive advantage . From Walmart’s genius in stripping ou...

Welcome to Industry Attractiveness Module Takeaways , where two HBS students — Montse and Joey — relive one of the most eye-opening parts of the RC Strategy course and try to make sense of it all. In this fast-paced, caffeine-fueled episode, they travel from aluminum smelters in China to cola bottlers in America to AI labs battling for dominance in 2025 , using classic strategy tools to decode why...

Welcome to HBS RC Strategy , the podcast that kicks off your journey through one of Harvard Business School’s most iconic first-year courses. Hosted by Liza and Hiroki , two students standing right where you are — at the starting line — this series gives you an insider’s look at what’s ahead in the RC Strategy experience. From defining what strategy really means (“an integrated set of choices that...