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In the pre-dawn hours of August 2, 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ordered his army to invade the neighboring, oil-rich state of Kuwait; within two days, Iraq had largely overcome organized military resistance and occupied its neighbor. A near-total financial and trade embargo imposed on Iraq failed to persuade it to leave Kuwait and in January 1991, U.S.-led coalition forces launched "Operation Desert Storm" with an air offensive against Iraq. On the night of January 18, Iraq fired ten Scud missiles at two of Israel's major cities-the first air attack on an Israeli city since 1948. Israel withheld from responding publicly but secretly began crafting and testing a plan to assassinate Saddam Hussein. This case details the planning process, the trial run, and the massive failure that led the assassination plan to be aborted.

Case Supplement for Case OM39A

The sharing economy promised independent workers flexibility and decent pay, but it often falls short on both fronts as platform companies put growth and profit targets first. Worker-owned cooperatives provide a model for more equitable digital business.

The case describes a fictitious family office (FO), Merlion Investments, and the efforts of a junior family member, Leong Yew Kong, to convince his uncle and his grandfather to make an allocation to collectible assets. Similar to many family offices, Merlion Investments pursues a relatively conservative investment strategy; only 20% of its assets are allocated to riskier opportunities designed to grow the family's wealth. Yew Kong, who has worked diligently under his uncle's guidance for years, wants more responsibility. After doing his own research, Yew Kong believes he has identified an opportunity to carve out his own niche in the portfolio by investing in collectibles. The case is constructed to illustrate the real-world challenge of investing in non-traditional assets, in this instance, collectibles. Background information on five different collectible assets is provided in the case that students can use to discuss a) whether his uncle, Tan Chee Keong, and Merlion Investments should agree to Yew Kong's suggestion, b) which collectibles to invest in and through what vehicle, c) how much capital to allocate, and d) what kind of skills or expertise the team would need to successfully manage these investments.

This case describes how Laura Franklin and William Colt conducted their entrepreneurial acquisition process. After the duo honed their method for contacting potential sellers, they found a company they were excited to close a deal with. Over the course of many months of diligence, and overcoming a large mistake, the duo were prepared to acquire their ideal company - then COVID-19 hit, leading them to consider pausing the deal.

By the end of 2019 the adidas Group was solidly the world's second largest multinational in the sportswear manufacturing industry. Following the successful implementation of a digital transformation initiated in 2015, the company enjoyed years of sustained growth and high profitability in the 2016-2019 period, strengthening its brand desirability and increasing sales volumes, especially in the online space. It ended fiscal year 2019 stronger than ever and its chief executive officer (CEO), Kasper Rørsted, was very optimistic about what the future would hold. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 radically changed the business landscape. adidas was severely hit by the lockdowns imposed by governments. The new measures of social distancing were expected to have a lasting impact on consumer habits and consequently on the operations of companies such as adidas. Thus, unimaginable only few months before, the company's first earnings call of 2020 led by Rørsted focused on the negative results obtained in the preceding few months and the high degree of uncertainty looking forward. Aware of the many challenges facing the company, Rørsted had to decide which strategic initiatives he should prioritize to future-proof the company and keep it on a steady growth trajectory in a post-COVID-19 world.

Licensed foreign telecom operators in Myanmar were required to also provide mobile financial services (MFS). Due to a lack of trust in the banking sector, the government believed the adoption of MFS would boost financial inclusion in the country by enabling seamless money transfers, bill payments, and more. As they entered the MFS market, foreign telecom operators Ooredoo and Telenor grappled with fundamental questions that would determine their launch and customer acquisition strategies.

This technical note discusses how a high-potential start-up entrepreneur should use equity in building and growing a new venture. One of the most crucial things for entrepreneurs to understand is equity: Most high-growth ventures grow through equity partnerships, but most new ventures fail because relationships between founding partners and other equity partners become conflicted and impossible to repair. You need to share equity to build an enduring high-growth venture. But sharing equity without understanding how increases the probability for the venture breaking up and failing. The note addresses multiple topics regarding equity, including compensation, profit sharing, decision rights, and cap tables.

In 2016, the general manager of Stone Rock Golf & Country Club (SRGCC) in Ainslie, Ontario, was considering an opportunity to grow the club's weddings and special events business. SRGCC, a popular 18-hole golf course in a small town, was owned and operated by four local families, who ran the business according to their family values and their sense of loyalty and pride in their community. Since the golf industry had recently experienced a significant decline, the manager believed that increased investment in the weddings and special events business would help to strengthen and diversify SRGCC's revenues. He was considering three different options, from modest to quite substantial: (1) focus on the immediate capital need of renovating the outdated maintenance facility; (2) make a large investment that included adding a new space for weddings and special events, expanded parking, and a new maintenance facility; or (3) do nothing and maintain the status quo. To complete the entire renovation, the club would require an investment of close to $1 million as well as approval from the four families. How could he build a case to increase SRGCC's revenues and convince both his banker and the board of directors to accept his choice?

The sole owner of the Gusto 54 Restaurant Group (Gusto 54), which owned and operated nine restaurant concepts in Toronto and Los Angeles, had grown the restaurant group into a huge success story. In a competitive, low-margin industry, Gusto 54 outperformed its peers and consistently achieved its desired profit margins. Gusto 54's strategy was grounded in innovative growth, the use of technology, and empowerment of all employees to take an entrepreneurial approach to their roles. The owner had grown the company strategically, making business decisions based on her belief that her most valuable resource was having the right employees. She focused on building culture, hiring employees who fit the culture, and investing in the employee experience to retain them. She also made efforts to keep the leadership team lean and to include all members in decision-making. While Gusto 54's strategy had fuelled its present growth, in 2020, the owner was concerned about the impacts of rapid expansion. She wondered how to balance growth plans with the need to hire and retain top talent and maintain an engaged, motivated workforce. How could she scale up without losing the family-style culture her employees valued?

Customers ultimately want to pay for meaningful outcomes, not the products and services that presumably deliver them. Today, companies can be increasingly accountable for those outcomes with three kinds of technologically enhanced revenue models. Adopt one to better align your company's success with your customers satisfaction.

One of the most influential management thinkers of our time, Harvard Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, shares insights from her latest book. In an increasingly interconnected world, she describes the importance of recognizing that businesses are dependent upon the communities in which they operate. As a result, thinking 'outside the building' is a new leadership imperative-during and after COVID-19.

As businesses navigate the reopening of the economy during a global pandemic, a lot will be different. Many executives have expressed a desire to 'do the right thing'. But what is the right thing? The authors argue that the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals can serve as guidelines. The 17 'SDGs' range from affordable and clean energy to climate action to partnerships to achieve the goals. One thing is certain, they say: Leading a company after COVID will require dealing sensitively with the pain, loss and financial consequences of the pandemic for stakeholders across the board.

In the midst of the global pandemic, the Outthinker Strategy Network and Thinkers50 assembled some of the world's foremost management thinkers (virtually, of course) to share their thoughts on leading in times of unprecedented uncertainty. In this compilation of highlights from six of the speakers, topics range from the effects of psychological safety on innovation (Edmondson) to the role of fear in human behavior (Lindstrom) to tips for innovating in times of crisis (Anthony).

One key lesson from the global pandemic crisis is that funding for medical research is woefully inadequate. The author argues that we must do better. The problem is, traditional innovation incentives such as research grants won't cut it. What is needed are Advanced Market Commitments (AMCs). The author defines the term and shows how AMCs work. The funding for innovation for medical research is a fraction of that devoted to other threats - notably national security. As the author indicates, our experience in 2020 suggests that our attention has been misfocussed.

Much has been written about the importance of embracing corporate social responsibility (CSR), but the author presents the findings to date about its evil cousin: corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR). She shows how unrealistic performance expectations, a pressure-cooker culture and stress are just some of the factors that lead to irresponsible workplace behaviour. She then advises what leaders can do to eradiate CSiR, including increasing diversity and ensuring that espoused values are enacted. She also discusses the role of the board and indicates how regulation can help.

Leaders are facing unprecedented uncertainty. But history clearly shows that no matter how stark the crisis, there are always opportunities to innovate and grow. The authors present four 'lenses' and ten questions that leaders can use to enable innovation. The lenses include a future-back strategy; jobs to be done; and encouraging innovation habits. Ultimately, they show that using the four lenses and asking 10 particular questions helps to bring clarity in the midst of a crisis by cutting through the fog of massive uncertainty.

Individuals in health systems around the world are unambiguously committed to meeting the challenges of COVID-19. An uncountable number of people are working tirelessly, often at risk of their own health and lives. But success requires far more than individual effort. The authors argue that organizations throughout the health system must systematically split up the burden of response in order to deal effectively with immediate needs - as well as those lurking around the corner. The authors argue for four distinct teams: an immediate challenges team; a remote services team; an external coordination team; and a scenario planning team. They describe each in detail and show that embracing this model will lay down a base for longer- term gains, both in healthcare and in health itself.

In an excerpt from his latest book, the author argues that the outsized success of a few outlier companies points to four steps that every business can take to contribute positively to the future of democratic capitalism: turn your back on reductionism; recognize that slack is not the enemy; guard against surrogation with multiple measurements; and realize that monopolization is not a sustainable goal. It won't be easy for executives to get started on this agenda, because it will mean unlearning ideas and beliefs that are deeply embedded. But as he shows, the unique results and competitive differentiation will be well worth the effort.

In 2013 the genetic testing firm 23andMe received a cease-and-desist letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration forbidding it from selling its spit-in-a-tube DNA test to consumers. Since its founding, six years earlier, 23andMe had operated in a murky space: Previously, genetic tests were ordered only by doctors, and it was unclear whether the device the company sold to consumers to facilitate testing constituted a "medical device." Over the next two years, while it continued to sell tests giving consumers information about their ancestry and ethnic origins, 23andMe had to work with the FDA to gain regulatory approval for its consumer health product. This required the company to prove not only that the test was valid but also that test results could be understood by untrained consumers. CEO Anne Wojcicki writes that the process helped her recognize an element of Silicon Valley arrogance in how the company had previously dealt with regulators, and helped 23andMe improve its product and become more resilient.