Levels is a highly innovative startup in the health care space. They intend to revolutionize health by linking behavior-eating, exercise, sleeping, etc.-to changes in metabolism. They believe metabolic health can be managed through careful monitoring of changes in variables like blood glucose levels using digital monitors. The company is, however, more interesting for its management model and organization structure. Founded prior to Covid, Levels is a 'native remote' company. All the management processes are designed to function without employees regularly interacting face-to-face. There is a great emphasis on information being prepared to support asynchronously. The company makes extensive use of tools that allow employees to generate effective content. It also practices radical transparency internally and externally, with the vast majority of its strategic documents, research agenda and product development agenda accessible freely to outsiders. Even more interestingly, the work process are designed to maximize employees' opportunity to engage in 'deep work.' Deep work is a concept associated with the writing of Georgetown computer scientist, Cal Newport. It is based on the premise that humans are singularly bad at context shifting and that they require extended period during which they can apply themselves to difficult tasks without interruption or distraction. The Levels management model minimizes the number of meetings (i.e., no more than two a week for most people, many of those optional), real time communities, etc. Levels adherence to a native remote/deep work model provides a fascinating basis for evaluating innovative management structures and the challenges in running a distributed workforce.
Octavian Graf Pilati, rising generation member of an Austrian princely family, prepared to sell the palace his family had held for over three hundred years. In recent years, the Pilati family lands had been leveraged as loan collateral for an international venture that had become entangled in a case of suspected management fraud. Between banks unwilling to restructure debt obligations, the complexities of multi-jurisdictional legal enforcement, and intransigent family members, Octavian found himself in the impossible position of being tasked with resolving the crisis yet with little formal power to follow through on his designated responsibilities. Realizing he and his family's centuries-long legacy was at an impasse, should the family choose to fully divest its long-held assets in the face of possible financial ruin? Could they bounce back from failure - either in this generation or future ones - or should future generations seek to start anew?
In February 2024, the world was looking to Google to see what the search giant and long-time putative technical leader in artificial intelligence (AI) would do to compete in the massively hyped technology of generative AI. Over a year ago, OpenAI released ChatGPT, a text-generating chatbot that captured widespread attention. OpenAI would offer a range of new generative AI products as both user-facing applications and developer-facing application programing interfaces (APIs). In January 2023, Microsoft and OpenAI signed a $10 billion deal extending their exclusive partnership. Microsoft would continue to supply OpenAI with seemingly unlimited computing power from its Azure cloud, and Microsoft hoped that OpenAI's technology and brand would keep Microsoft at the center of the new generative AI boom. Microsoft announced that it would soon begin deploying OpenAI's technologies throughout its suite of products, from its Microsoft 365 productivity apps to its search engine Bing. Google needed to decide how to respond to the threat posed by OpenAI and Microsoft. Google had a decade of experience developing and deploying AI and machine learning (ML) technologies in its products, but much of their AI work happened in-house and behind the scenes. Google researchers had invented the transformer architecture that made the generative breakthroughs demonstrated by GPT possible. Breakthroughs in AI had been quietly supercharging Google products like Search and Ads for years, but most of the product work was internal and little of it had penetrated the public consciousness. Until 2022, Google leadership had been deliberately cautious about revealing the extent of their AI progress and opening Google's experimental AI tools to the public.
Remote and hybrid work environments can breed distrust, or "productivity paranoia", between managers and employees or between remote and in-person colleagues. The author describes four steps managers can take to foster a culture of trust and honesty when people aren't able to interact and develop relationships with one another in person.
US-registered Emerging Markets Development Group (EMDG), a small but successful international consulting firm that provided development assistance in emerging and post-conflict regions, bet big on a project in Southeast Asia in 2008 that was financed by a Small Business Administration (SBA)-guaranteed loan issued by a local bank. The project failed, with catastrophic results. After seven years of attempting to dig themselves out of the hole, the principals were out of cash and needed to either significantly restructure the balance of EMDG's outstanding loan or shut the firm down. Complicating the situation was the possibility that a former partner, who had left the firm over nine years before, might be held liable for the current debt.
The authors propose a framework for more effective board governance related to inclusion practices: the CARE (Composition, Activation, Review & Report, Ecosystem) model. Boards can challenge themselves to diversify their own composition, activate diverse perspectives through inclusive decision-making, review and report on their progress, and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within the entire ecosystem their own workforce, the marketplace, and society.
Founded by two former Sequoia Capital partners, Columbus-Ohio-based Drive Capital's mission was to build a world-class venture capital firm in the middle of the U.S., an area historically overlooked by VCs. Drive faced early challenges of attracting investors, sourcing talent, and building entrepreneurial ecosystems, but by 2022, the firm had invested in over 90 portfolio companies and had assets under management of over $2 billion, making it the largest VC firm outside the coasts. In the Winter of 2022, cofounder and CEO Chris Olsen contemplated an investment into Forge Biologics, an Ohio-based gene therapy contract development and manufacturing company. The partnership weighed the pros and cons in the context of the fund's overall portfolio and macroeconomic headwinds facing the industry.
In September 2021, Adam Demuyakor (MBA 2017) was faced with decisions about how to launch his venture capital (VC) investment firm. His previous investment activities were a series of angel investments and special purpose vehicles alongside two part-time general partners (GPs). After hearing investor feedback that the firm was not institutional enough, Demuyakor created a successor firm on his own, Wilshire Lane Capital (WLC), and sold a GP stake to private equity firm Nile Capital to help with operational expenses, infrastructure support, and fundraising. Under WLC, Demuyakor sought to raise a $75 million fund mainly focused on Series A PropTech deals. However, he received conflicting advice on three strategic decision vectors-fund size, stage of deals, and subsector area of focus. Some potential investors were also concerned about Demuyakor running the fund as a solo GP instead of with a full-time partner. While the characteristics of the new fund were based on Demuyakor's background, preferences, and goals, he knew he had to align his strategy with the approach that would earn the confidence of investors. Thus, he had some decisions to make.
Julie Owono is a member of the Oversight Board, an outside entity with the authority to make binding decisions on tricky moderation questions for Meta's companies. She considers the Board's impact, and its future.
The fictional case is set in 2023 when Blue Bank, a rural retail bank, was set up to respond to the economic distress surfacing in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The motivation was to reduce the proportion of unbanked adults in the rural parts of the state and thereby create a primary credit supplier to businesses for economic development. The case, which focuses on solving the higher turnaround time (TAT) problem of the account opening process at Blue Bank, is presented in two parts, with Part A focusing on the process lens and Part B on the data lens. In Part A of the case, Jim Chenault reviewed the progress of the bank's performance in June 2022. The start was successful, with 40 branches opened in the rural parts of the state. However, the 48 hour promise that the bank made to customers for account opening was often violated, as the decision-making steps, handoffs, and transactional activities associated with account opening concealed process deficiencies. Chenault wondered if he could map the process to understand it end to end.
The fictional case is set in 2023 when Blue Bank, a rural retail bank, was set up to respond to the economic distress surfacing in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The motivation was to reduce the proportion of unbanked adults in the rural parts of the state and thereby create a primary credit supplier to businesses for economic development. The case, which focuses on solving the higher turnaround time (TAT) problem of the account opening process at Blue Bank, is presented in two parts, with Part A focusing on the process lens and Part B on the data lens. In Part A of the case, Jim Chenault reviewed the progress of the bank's performance in June 2022. The start was successful, with 40 branches opened in the rural parts of the state. However, the 48 hour promise that the bank made to customers for account opening was often violated, as the decision-making steps, handoffs, and transactional activities associated with account opening concealed process deficiencies. Chenault wondered if he could map the process to understand it end to end.
This case discusses the leadership succession dilemma faced by Harsh Mariwala, CEO of Marico Limited, a fast-moving consumer goods company. Harsh wishes to relinquish the post of CEO and is in search of a capable successor. The company has complex business operations within India and abroad, which requires an effective leader with a strong understanding of business strategy. Harsh has limited successor options within his family. Outside the family, Harsh is unsure whether someone from outside Marico will be a more appropriate choice than an old-timer from within the company. The choice of the successor is critical as it will determine the future of the business and that of his family.
This case discusses the dilemma faced by Harsh Mariwala, the business leader who relinquished the CEO position of Marico Limited, his family-owned fast-moving consumer goods company. Harsh had built the Marico business from scratch after a division in the senior generation of his business family. For over 30 years Marico had been an integral part of his identity and purpose of existence. Harsh is concerned about what to do after relinquishing his CEO position at Marico, which has so far defined his identity and purpose. At the same time, Harsh faces his family's pressure to ensure continued influence over Marico's business. Harsh is on a quest to carve for himself an identity that is distinct from Marico. He is facing the dilemma of how to detach from Marico and search for a larger meaning for his family business and himself. The is portrays a typical scenario of the letting-go challenge faced by family business leaders as they prepare to call it a day after a long spell of leading the business.
The case explores the journey of Tata Steel Limited (TSL), India's largest and one of the world's top steel manufacturers, to find ways of getting closer to consumers to combat commoditization. This century-old organization has weathered many disruptions from significant regulatory changes, globalization, and technology changes. The company is renowned for its high quality, operational excellence, and delivery reliability. TSL was one of the earliest steel manufacturers (as early as 2003) to recognize the need to build strong relationships with both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) customers. This case describes the efforts of the organization to continuously introduce innovative ideas into the business, including branding various company products, such as Tata Shaktee for steel roofing sheets and Tata Tiscon for thermo-mechanically treated rebars, which are mainstay products in consumer markets. Despite its efforts to reinvent itself continually, the firm faces repeated challenges of price cyclicality and commoditization, which are characteristic of the steel industry. The company faces stiff competition from both local and global players and growing pressure on profitability. To overcome these challenges, the firm is consistently seeking ways to get closer to its customers (in B2B markets) and consumers (in B2C markets). The case highlights the nuances of TSL's market-sensing efforts, spotting the idea of making steel doors that closely resemble wooden ones, taking the product to market, and the thought process of various internal divisions. The case concludes with the leadership team of TSL facing major challenges in deciding how to continue innovating in the marketplace after the early success of the Pravesh initiative.
As executives at the Steinway prepared the piano company to go public in 2022, the firm Damen Investments eyed the intriguing brand as having great potential. A new equity analyst at Damen, Vicki Xu, was tasked with determining if the Steinway brand and the company's growth prospects hit all the right notes. If it had significant growth potential, the investment likely would make sense. If not, then the investment would not work well. Damen invested only in firms with strong growth potential over a long horizon--a decade or more. The storied brand, founded in 1853 in New York City, had long since developed a reputation for crafting the ultimate in quality and gained a loyal following among top pianists and musicians. With sales in 88 countries, Steinway was a global brand and business. Asia was a vital region for growth, especially China, where sales reached $117 million in 2021. That same year, overall revenue for Steinway was $538.4 million, up by a compound annual growth rate of 6.9 percent from 2016, when sales reached $386 million. In the company's IPO filings, Steinway executives presented an optimistic outlook. According to the Steinway team, the company was a promising player in the global luxury industry. Steinway expected to benefit from market trends, and the number of high-net-worth individuals was growing worldwide--particularly in China. Additionally, the company was expanding sales of its Spirio line, focusing on wealthy buyers who could not play the piano.
The case raises the issues on diversifying the workforce in a male-dominated industry. The dilemma before the protagonist, Rahul Maitra, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) is how to meet the objective of 10% women in its workforce by 2022.This case focuses on the Indian cement sector, where women's representation in the Indian workforce has always been less than 3%. In a bid to bridge the gender gap, Ambuja Cement, the largest player in cement in India, further, faced a setback in hiring due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The CHRO, Rahul Maitra, was under pressure from the parent company, LafargeHolcim, to deliver results within 2022. While companies had taken steps to bridge the divide, gender diversity in the cement industry remained low and a concern. Achieving the target of 10% women in the workforce by end of 2022 was an uphill task for Maitra given that the factories were set in remote locations, making it unattractive for women, and the current workforce was not fully prepared to respond to an inclusive and diverse environment. Maitra had to decide what immediate actions had to be taken to reach the target within the time frame to address the diversity challenges of the company.
Stayfilm is a representative case of a Brazilian digital startup trying to compete and succeed in the global market. In 2016, Stayfilm's application (app), which customers used to convert photos and videos into films, faced a decline in the number of registered users, app downloads, and films produced. After opening some offices overseas, the partners realized that operating a global business in more stable and tech-developed countries would benefit their success; hence, they decided to move the startup headquarters to a different country. By February 2017, they were considering moving Stayfilm's headquarters to London (U.K.), Toronto (CA), or Miami (U.S.). This case asks students to select a city where the company should establish its headquarters based on information provided in the case. The story presents a successful example of an emerging market digital startup attempting to expand globally. The case provides an exciting context for studying digital startups' attributes, business models, and internationalization processes.
As an introverted leader, Susan Duffy was well aware of the misalignment between her quiet, often lead-from-behind style and society's definition of leadership (gregarious, direct, extroverted). Over her 35 years, as she progressed into increasingly senior roles, she had developed strategies to address that misalignment: flexing, managing others' perceptions, negotiating the conditions she needed to contribute. By doing so she had successfully innovated, built support for her ideas, and executed in health care, construction, nonprofits, and academia. Duffy was now considering her next career move and wanted to be strategic about it. By reviewing her career history, she planned to identify the metrics essential for that next position. Specifically, who was she as a leader; and what job elements did she need to be motivated and satisfied? The third determinant, where, was the most salient for Duffy: where would she find an organizational culture that would recognize, value, and support her quiet introverted leadership style? Finding that organizational fit would be critical in enabling her to lead and make her best contribution.
Alex Tripp was the newly hired interim Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for Synapse, a not-for-profit organization serving the Florida entrepreneurial community. Tripp learned at her first meeting with her new bosses that she had less than 80 days to execute an urgent marketing need: sell 5,000 tickets for upcoming annual event in January 2019. The goal of the yearly event was to connect the members of the innovation economy who included three targeted attendees: students, entrepreneurs, and corporations. Alex knew to launch a successful social media promotion campaign to sell tickets in a short time frame with her limited budget, she needed to determine the following: Which social media platforms should she use to reach each of her targets? How much paid social media should she incorporate? What kind of organic social media content would drive ticket purchases? How much of her $10,000 budget she should allocate for each of her target audiences?