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Managing Customers for Growth (MCG) is a 14-session elective course for second-year MBA students at Harvard Business School. It is designed for business professionals engaged in roles centered on customer-driven growth activities. The course explores the dynamics of customer acquisition, retention, and development, aiming to assist managers in achieving sustainable customer growth. MCG focuses on examining the complexities of managing customer relationships in an environment characterized by increasing data availability and rapid technological advancements. The course blends case studies and practical exercises/workshops, aiming to provide comprehensive insights into customer management strategies, key frameworks, and tools for enhanced decision-making. It also highlights the challenges that today's managers face, especially regarding the ethical and responsible use of data to protect consumer privacy and prevent algorithmic bias. The interactive workshops enable students to engage with various forms of customer data, which will be analyzed to inform strategic decisions. The aim of these workshops is to hone students' quantitative intuition and to improve their ability to effectively collaborate with data science teams, thereby enhancing their data-driven decision-making capabilities. This note outlines the course objectives, the key questions, and the core ideas explored throughout the course.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 224001.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 224023.

Maria took a final glance at the company accounts, then closed her laptop. On New Year's Eve of 2022, she had mixed emotions reflecting on the journey of the past two years. In just fifteen days, it would be Merafuture's two year anniversary as a registered company. 2020 and 2021 were anything but normal for the world, and it was no different for Merafuture. In August 2021, after struggling for the first year and a half, the company began to show progress by picking up sales when schools and colleges reopened across Pakistan. Yet, still operating at a loss, she wondered if the company could afford to stay afloat for another year while waiting to make a profit.

Niraj Sharma, Director of Marketing at Airtel, located in India, and his team prepared to launch India's first telecom convergence product - a single telecom plan that provided mobile, paid TV, and WiFi services under one bill plan. Telecom convergence was expected to be the next big battle against the deep-pocket competitor Jio Telecom. In January 2023, there were three branding options on the table: positioning this convergence plan as a premium offering under the current Airtel brand; using the Airtel Xstream brand; or launching an entirely new brand - Airtel Black that encompassed Airtel mobile and Airtel Xstream services. The company wanted to drive its business growth across different products, including the proposed convergence.

What does a university owe to the community where it is based? The idea of an anchor institution reflects the relational dynamics between a large entity and the often-lower-income community where it is located or does a significant portion of its business. This field-based case examines the social responsibility of the University of Virginia (UVA), a public university founded in 1819 in Charlottesville by the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. UVA's significant growth has led to shortages in affordable housing, as UVA has purchased large swaths of land for its use and UVA students occupy much of the remaining lower-cost rentals near the university. As a result, local residents often find themselves pushed to outlying areas and lacking the public transportation necessary to commute to work. In the Charlottesville community, many have been calling on UVA to remedy the situation for over a decade. This issue is particularly salient in an environment where the president and board chair at the University of Pennsylvania was forced to step down for decisions related to sociopolitical issues beyond the campus. The case presents three different frameworks for considering social responsibility: as an anchor institution, as an entity exempt from property and income taxes, and as a public university subsidized by the state. The case guides students to policies underlying current socioeconomic conditions, the ethics of disproportionate use of limited resources, the obligations of tax exemptions, and the responsibilities of anchor institutions. It provides rich data for students to consider questions including the following: Is it fair for universities to enroll students without supplying housing for them? Does a public university have responsibilities that would not apply to a private university? Are UVA's actions aligned with its culture and, by extension, the Jeffersonian ideal upon which it was founded?

This article analyzes the connection between gamification and business success, focusing on customer retention, new customer acquisition, and transforming user perceptions. Based on a qualitative comparative analysis of 40 high-profile gamification projects, it shows that a combination of three key features-virtualization, social comparison, and tangible rewards-explain the various pathways to success. Each pathway requires the presence-and sometimes absence-of different design features, and firms do best when they focus on one or two objectives rather than all three at once. The article presents a framework for designing and implementing gamification more strategically and effectively, noting the ethical questions that arise.

New research shows that the way many organizations conduct innovation contests needs to be improved. The biggest takeaway: Leaders need to design their contests to match their organization’s hoped-for outcomes. Choices like the number of prizes and the identity of judges, for example, will affect the number and diversity of participants, the time they invest, and the quality of their ideas. Here’s how to choose among the possible approaches based on your organization’s goals.

In February 2021, Scott Sheffield, the CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources (an independent oil and gas company based in Texas), was considering the possibility of enhancing the firm's capital return strategy by introducing a variable dividend tied to cash flows in addition to the firm's base dividend as a way to distribute more cash to shareholders when performance was good and cash flows were high. Although oil prices had fallen precipitously to less than $20 per barrel in early 2020 due to the recession caused by the Covid pandemic, they had rebounded to more than $60 per barrel in February 2021. As a result, exploration and production (E&P) companies including Pioneer were expected to generate significantly higher profits in 2021, prompting many firms to consider ways to distribute excess cash to shareholders. Sheffield had to decide whether to adopt a new "base plus variable" dividend policy. As part of that decision, he had to decide whether it was materially different from and better than a policy with a growing base dividend supplemented with periodic share repurchases. And if he did decide to recommend a new policy to the board of directors, he had to determine the magnitude and the frequency of the variable dividend.

The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 1 introduces the concept of agile businesses and explains how most organizations are not agile because of the difficulty of developing cohesion between the various teams, such as the marketing, engineering, and human resources teams. To become agile, businesses must first examine various executives' differing goals and measures for success; customer satisfaction is ultimately the common objective among leaders. Agile companies are able to recognize when they are not addressing their customers' problems well and are then able to pivot; companies that are unable to do this will face growth issues even after being a successful startup. Change in processes, culture, and personnel may need to happen to increase company agility. Managers should create processes to fit the business's needs.

The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 2 outlines the Agile Manifesto and its main principles, which offers a new approach to software development. Differing from the popular Waterfall approach, the Agile approach to delivering working software focuses on communication and collaboration with other programmers and customers over a cycle of documentation and written specifications. However, this does not mean that process should be eliminated; it simply means that process should be balanced with communication. Different Agile methodologies are described, including Scrum and XP. Each methodology has its own strengths and weaknesses, and teams can use the aspects of each method that work best for them. Simply implementing an Agile methodology is more important than the chosen methodology itself.

The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 3 describes how Agile can be applied to departments other than software development. Some Agile methodologies, such as XP, cannot cross over to nontechnical use, but Scrum can be used by nontechnical teams. A case study using an Agile approach to hiring is offered. One main aspect of Agile is chunking work into smaller tasks that are able to be accomplished quickly; this allows for the concept of failing fast-if an idea does not work out in a short timespan, it does not cause too much pain, and there is still the capacity to change direction. Teams should avoid focusing too much on Agile methodologies and focus on Agile principles instead. Transitioning to an Agile mentality will require senior management support; leaders should work with teams to create processes that best fit their needs.

The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 4 explores a few practical challenges of Agile. The most common challenge is starting a sprint without adequately understanding the targeted stories. These sprints are not shortcuts to building better software in a short amount of time; rather, successful sprints need discovery. Sprints tend to fail when teams underestimate the complexity of stories. While Agile has surpassed the Waterfall approach, there are still aspects of the Waterfall approach that businesses can learn from, such as how the upfront study considers every aspect of the system. Exploration teams are needed to research potential projects; these teams must have senior-level employees who are typically in high demand, so funding for a permanent exploration team is ideal.

The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 5 discusses Agile obstacles in depth. In order to achieve agility, companies must first recognize and address the problems that prevent heads-down work in the business; this may include the danger of multitasking. Tactical emergencies might force teams to change direction mid-sprint, which could make the sprint immeasureable and cause cognitive overload. For smaller companies, fires-such as server failures or technical breaches-are typically all-consuming events; however, this response to fires derails progress and is ultimately unsustainable. Managers should strive to discover the cause of fires and determine whether or not they actually stem from previous problems that were not addressed properly. While fixing the root cause of a problem can be very expensive, more fires will occur if root causes are not dealt with.

The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 6 looks at measuring success in agile companies. Story point is an Agile Scrum approach to sizing work items; it is not a fair way to evaluate a team's or an individual's effectiveness, but upper management may use it as a measure simply because team managers do not offer other useful metrics. Quantitative measurement of businesses, teams, and employees is encouraged in current management theory; OKRs are a compromise between quantitative measurements and potentially creativity-stifling metrics. Two types of OKRs are described: committed must-do OKRs and aspirational OKRs. OKRs need to be measurable, unambiguous, and significant, and its key results need to be numeric. Ultimately, OKRs are an improvement on the concept of MBO.

The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 7 discusses Agile and effectively implementing organizational change. Agile will not solve all of a company's problems; rather, obstacles to success need to be identified and addressed before Agile practices can be useful. Plateauing is when a company stalls in a growth phase and is one of the most common problems businesses face. To facilitate company growth, processes and practices may need to be improved, new personnel with specific skillsets may need to be hired, and a culture of learning may need to be fostered. Outside consultants can provide valuable help to organizations for myriad problems, such as missed sales targets or managerial squabbles. Tips on how to successfully work with consultants are offered.

The Agile Manifesto offered a philosophy for accomplishing technical work efficiently; The Agile Enterprise builds on the previous text and outlines how to apply Agile concepts throughout an organization. Filled with real-world examples, this book will show students how to break large problems down into smaller, manageable ones; assist managers in finding their value with self-managing teams; and help executives track and recognize success in their businesses. Several methodologies are outlined to help teams operationalize Agile ideas. Organizations should adapt these methodologies to their own circumstances and remember that, with Agile, individuals and interactions are the key, not tools and processes. Chapter 8 offers advice on how to address the challenge of breaking large issues into smaller pieces, which is vital in the Agile approach. Having small, multidisciplinary discovery teams can lead to a matrix-managed business structure, but matrix management can be challenging if employees answer to multiple managers. Exploratory mindsets need preconceptions to be left at the door and customers to be actively heard. The Agile practice of time-boxing and its benefits are described. Managers can develop agility by eliminating unnecessary meetings and making sure the meetings they keep are run efficiently. A four-quadrant framework for identifying short- and long-term problems is provided. Ultimately, Agile is not easy, but by fostering certain habits, it can be developed.

Brandix Group (Brandix), an apparel manufacturing firm with facilities in Sri Lanka, India, and Bangladesh, began its sustainability journey in the early 2000s, much before there were established practices in the apparel manufacturing industry, in an effort to combat and adapt to the challenges of climate change. The company had worked across all of the group's establishments to ensure waste minimization, material efficiency, energy efficiency, and eco-efficiency in operations. Ashroff Omar, chief executive officer of Brandix, felt the time had come for Brandix to review its sustainability efforts and assess whether its sustainability strategy could be continued. He was planning to expand the scope of sustainability practices beyond firm boundaries, and explore the impact of possible changes in regulations, technology, and challenges from competitors.

In April 2023, the iconic Florida-based company Tupperware Brands Corporation (Tupperware), announced that it would have to close shop if it did not receive immediate investment. The company continued to consult with financial advisors about its future, possibilities of gathering funds, slashing jobs, and selling property in its attempts to survive and effect a turnaround. As Tupperware stared at liquidation, should it ditch or tweak its traditional yet iconic strategies of premium pricing and house-party direct selling to retain old customers and attract new ones? Or should it consider new products, a new brand, or new selling strategies to make itself cooler to the young demographic?