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The two-part case study discusses the challenges faced by the two talented professionals in their respective careers and the influence of mindfulness on their growth and development. Case A focuses on mindfulness concepts applied to help unlock talent while Case B builds on the former case of mindful career development but introduces the additional role of mindful supervision in talent management. This case also focuses on how mindfulness can support the organisation in building a talent pipeline and succeed in the 'war for talent'. In Case A, Astrid was newly promoted to the Head of Marketing in her company's head office in Spain. Moving over from Denmark, she continued to perform well in the new strategic role and was selected to the talent pool for future senior leaders. However, her straight-talking style ruffled the feathers of local co-workers. Case A explores basic questions that are relevant to career managers like: how can one use mindfulness to better unlock their talents and progress in their careers? In Case B, Munn was a young commercial analyst in Singapore who aspired to become a business leader. His track record of good work performance landed him in the talent pool for young future leaders and he was offered the option of choosing between a safe or a risky career track. Fortunately for Munn, his talent pool mentor was an experienced leader who was open to discussing his concerns and providing mindful support. Case B explores not only how mindfulness can unlock the talent of a person, but also provides insights into questions relevant to experienced leaders like: "How can leaders' mindfulness unlock the talent of their subordinates?" and "How can mindfulness help leaders build a strong talent pipeline for the organisation?"

This case asks how startup founders make scaling decisions in light of their priorities for their business and for themselves. Otto was a technology company that applied artificial intelligence technology to sales. It deployed natural language processing to find sales targets for companies, write messages for those targets, and send them over email, social media, and other means. Otto's automated sales outreach was personalized at scale and improved results for its clients. Early in 2024, its founders had to decide how to scale their business. They had three options: they could focus on business-to-business sales for individual clients, which posed the specific challenge of growing while working with large customer organizations; they could concentrate on the financial services field, in which they sourced deals for private equity companies and investment banks; or they could sell Otto to a larger sales firm.

The case traces the 25-year-long journey of SELCO (Solar Electric Light Company) from its inception in 1995 to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. SELCO's aim was initially to provide solar home lighting systems for India's impoverished rural communities. After the success of this phase, SELCO's first phase (SELCO 1.0),the organization, under founder Harish Hande's leadership, began to explore how it could better serve the communities it was helping. This led to SELCO 2.0, which focused on creating livelihood opportunities through solar-powered appliances. SELCO realized that it had the potential to do more. It evolved further, progressing to SELCO 3.0, which strove to deepen its social impact with SELCO Foundation and the development of a unique SELCO ecosystem. The case explores how for-profit social enterprises such as SELCO evolve with time, how the landscape of the field they work in changes, and how their success is often determined by multiple factors: a unique organizational culture, exceptional leadership, and an on-ground understanding of real issues. The case questions how an organization like SELCO should proceed as it tries to apply the SELCO model in new locations, and how the SELCO culture can be preserved as the leadership changes.

In June 2021, Mumbai-based WhatKnot Wedding Photography faced a critical decision between pursuing high-value celebrity weddings or maintaining their focus on mid-size clients. A potential celebrity wedding contract posed a significant opportunity for both revenue and exposure. However, this venture required extensive senior management involvement, redirection of resources, and potential strain on existing client relationships. The company's co-founders held opposing views: while one favoured consolidating their position in the mid-size market, prioritizing stability, and client relationships, the other advocated for pursuing high-value contracts to gain prominence and higher revenue. The dilemma highlighted the trade-off between pursuing high-value opportunities and maintaining existing business models. This decision would shape the company's future direction and market positioning, with implications for both short-term gains and long-term sustainability.

Phumlaphi Rita Zwane, founder of Busy Corner, a thriving Shisanyama (African barbeque) business in Thembisa, South Africa, faced a pivotal decision amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Motivated by aspirations for business expansion and the pursuit of new opportunities, Zwane established a company-owned restaurant in the Mall of Thembisa. However, insufficient consideration of crucial factors during the decision-making process led to an alarming debt of $825,971, as of February 18, 2023, posing a significant threat to the business's survival. At this juncture, Zwane grappled with the dilemma of whether to close, sell, or franchise the Thembisa Busy Corner location, underscoring the critical need for a strategic resolution to secure the future of her entrepreneurial venture.

Montecarlo Limited (MCL), a 25-year-old infrastructure and construction company in India, had invested in building effective human resources (HR) processes and a better employee experience. While it was unconventional for companies in this industry, whose outlook generally favoured production and profitability, to focus on these issues, MCL had endeavoured to create not only an effective training function, but also a culture of learning and development that empowered its employees to become better professionals and individuals. Given the nature of the industry, such efforts posed challenges in understanding and implementation. In January 2021, the company's senior vice-president of HR wondered both how this focus on employees would help MCL and whether the company should continue to invest in its people and in building a culture of learning. If it did continue, how could it adjust its training process to make the learning and development process more effective?

This case set uses the example of Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Justice Sonia Sotomayor to discuss issues of communicating identity at work and to explore possible options for impression management over the course of one's career. As a law student, attorney, and lower court judge, Sotomayor leaned into her Latina identity, often referencing it as an important part of who she was. When then President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for SCOTUS, she faced scrutiny over past comments, some identity related, that were construed to be evidence of judicial bias and that, in the eyes of some, made her unfit for the job. Sotomayor is faced with various options as to how she should respond in her nomination hearings before Congress. This case recounts Sotomayor's early life, education, and career history, as well as the controversy surrounding her nomination. Opponents were disturbed by her "wise Latina" comment, interpreted as Sotomayor advocating for individuals' past experiences to shape their judicial decisions. This case offers an overview of conversations about Sotomayor in the political, legal, and public arena leading up to her nomination hearings. This case set examines the choices that many professionals, particularly those who are underrepresented in a professional space, face at various career stages when managing their identities at work. To what extent should individuals adjust their self-presentation if they are receiving signals of disapproval? Might identity-communication strategies vary depending on one's career stage? Students have an opportunity to proactively ponder how they want to present themselves at work while uncovering the benefits and costs of trying to merge aspects of their authentic selves with expected professional standards. This case series would be appropriate in courses on gender and leadership or ones about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) more broadly. The cases could also be used in a leadership communication course to discuss how individuals communicate aspects of themselves in professional settings.

This case set uses the example of Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Justice Sonia Sotomayor to discuss issues of communicating identity at work and to explore possible options for impression management over the course of one's career. As a law student, attorney, and lower court judge, Sotomayor leaned into her Latina identity, often referencing it as an important part of who she was. When then President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for SCOTUS, she faced scrutiny over past comments, some identity related, that were construed to be evidence of judicial bias and that, in the eyes of some, made her unfit for the job. Sotomayor is faced with various options as to how she should respond in her nomination hearings before Congress. This case, a follow-up to "'A Wise Latina': Sonia Sotomayor's Journey to the Supreme Court (A)" (UVA-OB-1429), reveals how Sotomayor framed her identity to establish common ground and also how she navigated criticism about identity expression. This case set examines the choices that many professionals, particularly those who are underrepresented in a professional space, face at various career stages when managing their identities at work. To what extent should individuals adjust their self-presentation if they are receiving signals of disapproval? Might identity-communication strategies vary depending on one's career stage? Students have an opportunity to proactively ponder how they want to present themselves at work while uncovering the benefits and costs of trying to merge aspects of their authentic selves with expected professional standards. This case series would be appropriate in courses on gender and leadership or ones about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) more broadly. The cases could also be used in a leadership communication course to discuss how individuals communicate aspects of themselves in professional settings.

This case set uses the example of Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) Justice Sonia Sotomayor to discuss issues of communicating identity at work and to explore possible options for impression management over the course of one's career. As a law student, attorney, and lower court judge, Sotomayor leaned into her Latina identity, often referencing it as an important part of who she was. When then President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor for SCOTUS, she faced scrutiny over past comments, some identity related, that were construed to be evidence of judicial bias and that, in the eyes of some, made her unfit for the job. Sotomayor is faced with various options as to how she should respond in her nomination hearings before Congress. This case, a follow-up to both "'A Wise Latina': Sonia Sotomayor's Journey to the Supreme Court (A)" (UVA-OB-1429) and "'A Wise Latina': Sonia Sotomayor's Journey to the Supreme Court (B)" (UVA-OB-1430), provides a glimpse into how Sotomayor approached issues of identity and professional image after she was appointed. This case set examines the choices that many professionals, particularly those who are underrepresented in a professional space, face at various career stages when managing their identities at work. To what extent should individuals adjust their self-presentation if they are receiving signals of disapproval? Might identity-communication strategies vary depending on one's career stage? Students have an opportunity to proactively ponder how they want to present themselves at work while uncovering the benefits and costs of trying to merge aspects of their authentic selves with expected professional standards. This case series would be appropriate in courses on gender and leadership or ones about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) more broadly. The cases could also be used in a leadership communication course to discuss how individuals communicate aspects of themselves in professional settings.

Leaders who keep their distance from the hard decisions and conversations that a workforce reduction requires miss an opportunity to mitigate the damage to morale and trust that such events can engender. Sanyin Siang advises top executives to get personally involved in the process and to model a people-first, humane approach.

Companies that can move quickly to capture new opportunities don't have greater foresight than the rest. What they do have, increasingly, is modularity: They have broken apart and exposed their core capabilities via digital technologies in such a way that partners can leverage them. That is key to expanding into new markets and creating a wider range of options for growth.

Set in 2023, the case features Sanergy, a Kenya-based social enterprise founded by three MIT graduates. Sanergy's circular sanitation model comprised a not-for-profit toilet unit, which provided safe access to sanitation and waste collection, and a for-profit agriproducts unit, which treated the waste and upcycled it into saleable organic products. Ten years after Sanergy's 2011 launch, cofounders David Auerbach, Lindsay Stradley, and Ani Vallabhaneni decided to split the two business units into distinct entities--Fresh Life (the toilet unit) and Regen Organics (the agriproducts unit)--that would operate under a new umbrella platform called The Sanergy Collaborative. Both units had high growth potential, but operating under the same brand name had impeded their ability to pursue strategies suitable for their distinct business models. This split would allow each entity to scale and explore opportunities that the sanitation value chain had unlocked in related domains. Although the new structure held clear benefits, it raised concerns, too. Would the enterprise be able to strike a balance between generating profits and creating impact? Most important, would Fresh Life and Regen be able to establish credibility among key stakeholders in the industry? Should the two organizations align their missions to leverage synergies, or should they forge their own paths based on individual priorities? Through this case, students will learn about circular economy models, Maslow's hierarchy of systemic economic value, and various share of wallet (SOW) strategies that enterprises like Sanergy could adopt.

Indus Motors was a large automotive dealer and service provider in the state of Kerala (India), with a network of five zonal warehouses and 76 service centres. The company was grappling with inventory management issues, such as excess stock and procurement and distribution practices that accounted for higher costs. Although the company had recently implemented an enterprise resource planning system, the management believed that benefits accruing from the digital system and supply chain capabilities were not put to good use. The management was looking to streamline inventory management and procurement and sourcing practices, leveraging technology and analytics capabilities.

Spreadsheet supplement for case W36854

In April 2023, an issue emerged around the elevated level of sugar found in Mondelez India's nutritional beverage, Bournvita. The sequence of events began with the posting of a 90-second video by a prominent social media influencer, which rapidly gained widespread attention, accumulating more than 12 million views within a short period. The video emphasized the high amount of sugar in Bournvita and brought attention to the company's transparency procedures. Mondelez India, owner of the Bournvita brand, promptly refuted the assertions put forth by the influencer and categorized the video as "unscientific." In response to the accusations levelled against it, Mondelez India opted to issue a legal notice to the individual responsible for creating the video. The company's legal action yielded positive results, as the influencer ultimately removed the video and issued an apology to the company. Nevertheless, public opinion remained mostly unaltered, and the dispute persisted on many social media sites. The leadership team faced a series of inquiries in the following weeks on the wisdom of issuing a legal notice to the social media influencer. Did Mondelez India effectively address the crisis and utilize the appropriate communication channel? What message should Mondelez India have conveyed and what was the most effective method to do so?

Within a single year, Lebanon experienced multiple adversities, from the economic crisis in October 2019, to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the Port of Beirut explosion on August 4, 2020. Many start-ups had to shut down during this period. This case investigates the role of organizational culture in how Toters Delivery, a high-tech Lebanese-based start-up, responded to these challenges and adapted its business model to overcome adversity. Its co-founder believed that organizational culture was a key factor in its survival. The case examines questions such as: How can a start-up maintain its culture in the face of grand challenges? and What strategic changes does a start-up need to make during challenging times, and how?