Leading through difficult times requires agility to leverage, not react to, the turbulence around you. Here's what that means for managing your team, your network, and yourself.
This case traces the business career and philanthropic activities of George Soros. The Hungarian-born Soros made a fortune as a hedge fund investor after establishing Quantum Fund on the tax haven island of Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles in 1973 where he was largely free from regulation. He earned a notorious reputation as the "man who broke the Bank of England" in 1992 and for his role in the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Soros also became one of the most generous donors to civil society projects around the world through his Open Society Foundations. His philanthropy promoted free speech, critical thinking, the rule of law, and education as a means of liberation Soros played an important role in building civil society in post-Communist central and eastern Europe. From the 1990s he also became involved in politics in Western democracies such as the United States and Britain by funding opponents of right-wing populists. These endeavors resulted in Soros becoming the subject of conspiracy theories, and condemnation by many of the world's populist leaders. The case provides a vehicle to examine the positive and negative dimensions of the philanthropic initiatives of business leaders, to explore the origins of right wing populism especially through the lens of the transition economy of Hungary, and to debate the contested relationship between capitalism and democracy.
Dennis L. Via, was a retired four-star U.S. Army general and one of the world's foremost experts on logistics, crisis management, supply chains, and maintaining a state of readiness at all times. As he reflected back on his career and leadership experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, he considered: What are the most important leadership qualities in responding to a global pandemic? Beyond a grasp of science and logistics, how important were character traits such as empathy and integrity in the task of leading frightened populations through uncertain and dangerous times? And how could leaders-of nations, armies, businesses, families-prepare for inevitable, yet unpredictable, crises?
In mid-2019, the chief regions and markets officer of the Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) insurance company was wondering how to grow the company’s innovation culture, and how to manage resistance from other areas of the business. AGCS was part of Allianz SE, a European multinational financial services company whose core businesses were insurance and asset management. Recent changes in the global landscape had been driven by technological advancements, and market leaders would need to consider using new methods and innovation. AGCS had set up a new corporate incubator to accelerate digital innovation. However, the digital innovation incubator's journey was not without challenges and learning curve issues, especially during its initial stages. Within 18 months, the new corporate incubator was fully entrenched within AGCS. The next steps involved finding the right key stakeholders and strategic thrust to help it thrive.
In February 2016, the managing director of Astro-Vision Futuretech Private Limited (Astro-Vision), one of the leading astrology product and service providers in India, was deliberating his company’s strategic options. He had to decide on the strategic direction of his company, particularly the business verticals, products and services, and marketing and distribution channels he should focus on, given the business environment and the company’s competencies, vision, mission, value propositions, and potential for future growth.
In January 2017, Canada-based Saputo Inc. was preparing an offer to acquire the remaining shares of an Australian dairy firm, Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co. Hold. Ltd. (WCB). Saputo Inc. had previously acquired a majority of the equity, but minority shareholders prevented Saputo Inc. from delisting WCB from the Australian Securities Exchange. Although WCB was a publicly traded company, the current share price might not reflect its intrinsic value because its shares were very thinly traded, with most shares being owned by Saputo Inc. and a few minority shareholders. Saputo Inc. had to determine an appropriate offer price for the acquisition.
On October 8, 2019, Blizzard Entertainment Inc. (Blizzard), a subsidiary of one of the world's largest video game companies, banned a popular player from participating in future video game tournaments for one year and stripped him of his winnings-a response to a dramatic political statement that the player had made during a post-game interview at a Blizzard event. The immediate response was a flurry of angry fans who used social media to protest Blizzard's actions and call for a boycott of its products. Some of Blizzard's employees had staged a walkout and US politicians were accusing the company of censorship. For six days, the company said nothing. Blizzard had an upcoming product launch in days and a massive eSports convention in just two weeks, and the CEO needed to do something. He needed a crisis communications plan for the short-term to address a number of stakeholders.
In late 2019, the chief people officer at World Vision Canada was feeling overwhelmed. Eighteen months earlier, she had exited her intense and successful career in the private sector to join World Vision Canada, a leading international development charity. While she embraced the organization's mission-driven ethos of collaboration and collegiality, it had led to an excess of meetings. In just the past week, she had attended more than 100 meetings. Was it time to resurrect the organization's previous attempts to address its meeting culture? What roadblocks had prevented the success of those previous attempts? How could the chief people officer continue to be an advocate for a culture of collaboration and inclusivity while also ensuring a change to the meeting culture?
This technical note describes the problem-solving process known as A3 Thinking through the lens of an individual's weight-loss efforts. The story is easy to understand and shows how the A3 process can be integrated into one's personal life. The note details the A3 process steps of current condition, target condition, root-cause analysis, countermeasures, implementation, and standardize and sustain. It allows the student to see an easily identifiable and approachable application of the technique.
In January 2020, Jai Prakash Chaubey, the managing director of Sarva Pharmaceuticals Private Limited (Sarva), needed to decide whether or not to accept a proposal from Gursim Pharmaceutical Limited (Gursim) to market some of Sarva’s products in Cambodia. Sarva had been performing well; however, the company’s profitability in Cambodia was minimal. Should Chaubey accept Gursim’s offer? Or should he hire a new country head who could drive the sales in the country and motivate the sales team for better results? Other options included restructuring Sarva’s product portfolio or shutting down the company’s marketing arm to focus solely on distribution. What strategies should he adopt to turn around his company's performance, strengthen its presence in Cambodia, and remain on course to achieve the company’s target for 2020?
In July 2019, the uncertainty that had been surrounding Brexit since the public referendum in June 2016 had led to a crisis for Owen Barry Inc. (Owen Barry), a luxury goods manufacturing enterprise in the United Kingdom. The company’s finance and production manager had voted in favour of Brexit but was hardly prepared for the deadlock that followed. He was now weighing different options for navigating a way out of the company’s predicament. His three main concerns were: How should he deal with the exchange rate fluctuations that had been affecting the company’s revenues and margins? How should he deal with issues around sourcing and importing essential raw materials? How should he deal with problems around the recruitment and retention of the skilled workforce at the company’s manufacturing plant near London?
Originally developed for software development, Agile approaches are increasingly adopted by organizations that seek flexibility in the face of rapid change. However, little attention has been paid to the potential negative consequences of the implementation of Agile in large-scale settings. This article presents the results of a multi-site study of a multinational telecom company over five years during its implementation of Agile practices in the context of large-scale software development. The article points to six potential pitfalls of implementing such practices that may negatively influence individual learning, ideation, and exploitation capabilities. It offers advice on how to avoid these consequences in large, established firms.
Mary Guerrero was a first-generation Latina and an investment banking analyst at a top tier bank on Wall Street-Bulge Bracket Bank (BBB). She was committed to increasing representation of Latinx talent at her firm. She was already doing a lot of individual work to make this happen (e.g. reviewing candidate resumes at 2am after she had finished her assigned work). She wanted to scale her efforts and debated whether she should build a broader coalition to move the needle on Latinx talent representation despite having a demanding full-time workload.
Mary Guerrero decided to pursue the challenging road and kicked off Hispanic/Latinx Advancement and Career Engagement (HACE) at her Bulge Bracket Bank (BBB). For Mary, her larger purpose was to advance Latinx talent in the U.S. because she believed it was important for leadership at major U.S. firms to mirror the composition of the country. With Latinx representing almost 18.3% of the U.S. population but only holding 3.8% of board seats, she saw a problem that needed to be addressed. She understood what getting a job at a prestigious Bulge Bracket Bank on Wall Street meant for a Latinx. It meant not only learning hard skills like financial modeling but also earning credibility. Mary's life journey from growing up in a low-income neighborhood to earning a coveted spot on Wall Street was difficult and she wanted to make that path easier for others.
By October 2017, Procter & Gamble's skincare brand Olay has been struggling with declining sales for several years. The team has tried many remedies, but none has returned the brand to growth. As pressure grows from Olay's competitors, including hundreds of new direct-to-consumer brands catering to millennial women, North American Skin Care General Manager Chris Heiert must identify a winning marketing strategy that will appeal to women of all ages.