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Global players in search of double-digit growth are running out of opportunities. Emerging-market giants such as Brazil, Russia, and China are experiencing an economic slowdown. They are increasingly expensive as a base for operations, and it's harder to export to and import from these countries than it used to be. As a result, multinationals are paying more attention to low-income, high-risk countries both as new markets for selling goods and services and as platforms from which to export them elsewhere. Even in industries where competition is skewed by government manipulation, foreign players that target the right sectors with the right strategies can prosper. The first step in identifying opportunities in a frontier economy is to assess the competitive environment of its industries along two dimensions: (1) the degree to which profitability is determined by competition between firms and not by government policies and actions and (2) whether the industry is focused primarily on domestic sales or on exports. Industries will fall into one of four categories. Each category is associated with a distinct strategy, ranging from the conventional (leverage existing capabilities, adapt to local tastes) to the unfamiliar (make yourself indispensable to powerful local players). In this article, the authors offer companies a framework to help figure out whether and where to play and how to win in the spaces in which they choose to compete.

When it comes to selecting a new CEO, judgment really matters. The choice may devastate a company or create enormous value. In his work advising companies, Charan has observed that some board members are especially great at succession decisions. In this article he describes how they go about picking the right candidate. Directors who excel at selection zero in on the two or three distinct capabilities that a CEO will need to thrive at the firm in question. (Charan calls this the "pivot" because the succession decision turns on it.) For example, when IBM was conducting a CEO search in 1993, many thought it should hire a technologist, but two directors saw that what the company really needed was an executive with business acumen, a customer orientation, and execution skills. At their urging, the board brought in Lou Gerstner, who quickly turned IBM's $8 billion loss into a $3 billion profit. Astute directors also keep an open mind about where the best candidate will come from; they shed assumptions about insiders and outsiders and may even consider a leader a few levels below the CEO. They go deep to understand which person is the best fit with the pivot, doing their own due diligence. Finally, they allow for the imperfections in the chosen candidate, figuring out which gaps can be filled by other executives or corrected with coaching.

A startling percentage of new CEOs fail within their first 18 months, according to many estimates--whether they come from outside or are promoted from within. Sometimes the new leader makes poor strategic moves, and sometimes the board makes an imperfect choice, overestimating a candidate's abilities or hiring someone whose skill set doesn't fit the context. But when succession fails, the responsibility is almost always shared. New leaders may be unable to read the political situation clearly or achieve the cultural changes their strategic and operational agendas require. Boards and key executives may not grasp the complex nature of CEO succession or consider the likely political and cultural challenges the new leader will face. A CEO transition is not the same as onboarding, which is a formal, short-term, agenda-driven orientation program of briefings and meetings. It is a longer process of interactions both formal and informal, planned and impromptu; it should begin when the board's choice accepts the position and last for months after he or she arrives. The outgoing CEO, the chief human resources officer, and the board all have key roles to play in the process, writes the author, who describes best practices for each. The article includes an interview with Mark Thompson, CEO of The New York Times Company, about his own succession process in 2012.

While every organization inevitably must replace its CEO, most firms are ill-prepared for succession. In this article, HBR senior editor Eben Harrell reviews the most salient studies of succession planning and offers context from the experts. Some key takeaways: (1) Though turnover among CEOs is rising, only 54% of boards are grooming a specific successor, and 39% have no viable internal candidate. The consequences of poor planning are serious: Companies that scramble to find replacements forgo an average of $1.8 billion in shareholder value. (2) Grooming leaders takes years but pays off: Chief executives who have gone through executive development at "CEO factories" like GE deliver superior operating performance. But directors need to get more involved. The majority don't understand the capabilities of the executives below the CEO, and only about a quarter participate in their evaluations. (3) The trend toward external hires is growing, and outsiders command higher median pay. But studies suggest that on the whole, insider CEOs deliver better returns. (4) More researchers are studying the traits of the ideal CEO. So far they're finding that younger CEOs outperform their older counterparts, that execution matters more than interpersonal strengths, and that a military background makes leaders more honest, but this line of inquiry is in its early days, and the jury is still out.

The U.S. health care system is inefficient, unreliable, and crushingly expensive. There is no shortage of proposed solutions, but central to the best of them is the idea that health care needs more competition. In other sectors, competition improves quality and efficiency, spurs innovation, and drives down costs. Health care should be no exception. Yet providers and payers continue to try to stymie competition. Many are actively pursuing consolidation, buying up market share and increasing their bargaining power. In this article, the authors argue that health care payers and providers must stop fighting the emergence of a competitive health care marketplace and make competing on value central to their strategy. All stakeholders in the health care industry--regulators, providers, insurers, employers, and patients themselves--have roles to play in creating real competition and positive change. In particular, five catalysts will accelerate progress: Put patients at the center of care, create choice, stop rewarding volume, standardize value-based methods of payment, and make data on outcomes transparent.

Online marketplaces such as eBay, Uber, and Airbnb have the potential to reduce racial, gender, and other forms of bias that affect the off-line world. And in the early days of internet commerce, the relative anonymity of transactions did make it harder for participants to discriminate. But as listings began to include photos, names, and other means of identification, bias emerged in areas ranging from labor markets to credit applications to housing--sometimes made worse by a lack of regulation, the absence of in-person interactions, and the use of automation and big data. How can companies reverse the tide? The key lies in more-intentional platform design, say the authors, who offer a framework for creating a thriving marketplace while minimizing the risk of discrimination. For starters, they say, companies must track and report on potential problems and carefully test choices that may influence the extent of discrimination. And they should thoroughly examine four design decisions, asking themselves: (1) Are we providing too much information? In many cases, the simplest, most effective change a platform can make is to withhold information such as race and gender until after a transaction has been agreed to. (2) Could we further automate the process? Features such as "instant book," allowing a buyer to sign up for a rental, say, without the seller's prior approval, can reduce discrimination while increasing convenience. (3) Can we make discrimination policies more top-of-mind? Presenting them during the actual transaction process, rather than burying them in fine print, makes them less likely to be broken. (4) Should we make our algorithms discrimination-aware? To ensure fairness, designers need to track how race or gender affects the user experience and set explicit objectives.

At least half of all employees have quit a job at some point because of their supervisor. People complain of bosses who bully them, micromanage, steal credit, hoard information, and otherwise make them unhappy--which threatens their productivity and the organization's success. But don't despair if you don't get along with your boss. This article lays out steps you can take to improve the situation: (1) Practice empathy. Behavioral research and neuroscience suggest that being mindful of the pressures on your boss and responding empathetically can trigger reciprocal support. (2) Examine your role. Consider how you might be contributing to a negative dynamic, and seek training or advice to help you change your behavior. (3) Talk to your boss. Start by asking how you can improve your performance and the relationship. If that isn't fruitful, launch a frank conversation about the dysfunction in your interactions. (4) Go to HR. As a last resort--and only if you have evidence to show that your boss is unfit--file a formal complaint. (5) Leave. If you see no potential for change, it's probably time to start job hunting.

Two years ago Ram Kapur's most valuable employee quit and decamped to a rival firm. Now he wants his job back. In this fictional case study, Kapur, the founder and CEO of a sustainable living and design firm based in Gurgaon, India, contemplates whether he should rehire his former star. After the unexpected departure, Kapur had struggled to keep the business afloat, but now he was on strong footing again. Two of his remaining staff had stepped up and filled the void and he was considering expanding into the Middle East. Having his top performer back would make growing the business easier--but was it the right move? Could he get over his hurt and anger? And could the rest of the staff?

One of the founding members of the Beach Boys discusses innovation, collaboration, and overcoming obstacles ranging from stage fright to mental illness.

Two years ago Ram Kapur's most valuable employee quit and decamped to a rival firm. Now he wants his job back. In this fictional case study, Kapur, the founder and CEO of a sustainable living and design firm based in Gurgaon, India, contemplates whether he should rehire his former star. After the unexpected departure, Kapur had struggled to keep the business afloat, but now he was on strong footing again. Two of his remaining staff had stepped up and filled the void and he was considering expanding into the Middle East. Having his top performer back would make growing the business easier--but was it the right move? Could he get over his hurt and anger? And could the rest of the staff?

Two years ago Ram Kapur's most valuable employee quit and decamped to a rival firm. Now he wants his job back. In this fictional case study, Kapur, the founder and CEO of a sustainable living and design firm based in Gurgaon, India, contemplates whether he should rehire his former star. After the unexpected departure, Kapur had struggled to keep the business afloat, but now he was on strong footing again. Two of his remaining staff had stepped up and filled the void and he was considering expanding into the Middle East. Having his top performer back would make growing the business easier--but was it the right move? Could he get over his hurt and anger? And could the rest of the staff?

Chocolate Remedies tells the story of an African American couple working together to build their own retail business specializing in sales of high-quality, hand-made, chocolate truffles. The case follows their path as they launch two coffee shops that fail after five years of slow growth and limited revenue, leaving them in debt. The couple returns to corporate positions and rebuilds their financial security. Next, they decide to invest their savings to develop a retail chocolate business. They establish a retail location but watch sales plummet after the first year, leading them to move to a new location and seek a business model that will bring them success. The case addresses the following topics. • The factors involved, personal as well as financial, in the decision to build rather than buy a business. • The relationship linking market research and analysis, to their choice of location, as it impacts the success of a retail business. • The importance of product lines, sales channels, and accurate financial monitoring in crafting a business model that produces revenues and profits.

SIGFOX is a provider of infrastructure services to the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) industry. The company has a homegrown solution to the problem of high energy consumption networks. Their low power consumption wide area network (LPWAN) will unleash the IoT industry by allowing companies to build viable solutions using IoT. Just as with operating systems, an infrastructure is only as valuable as the solutions that are available on them. A basic challenge needing to be overcome before gaining traction within IoT is that their infrastructure must become widely available. In one approach, the company can get third parties to buy their technology and use it to provide coverage. In the second approach, SIGFOX has to raise capital and do its own expansion of the infrastructure. In addition, they have also chosen a mixed approach: to deploy and operate by themselves in a minority of countries (France, Germany, US) and to deploy/operate via partners (SIGFOX Network Operators) in the rest of the world.

This case captures the roller-coaster ride of India's first multinational pharmaceutical company that after winning several accolades lost its way only to eventually plead guilty for the unethical practices it had resorted to in fulfilling its growth aspirations. Tracing the strategic choices of the company since its inception until it ceased to exist, the case covers the reign of several different CEOs. It enables examination of the drivers of a firm's strategic choices at the point of decision making, and serves to illustrate the dynamic aspects of leadership. Among others, it highlights the role of aspirations as a driver of firm's choices and the difficult tradeoffs that are inherent to aspiration-driven strategies. Demonstrating the negative repercussions of an aspiration-led strategy as well as the challenges a firm's leadership faces as they seek to re-define the aspirations, it serves as an intriguing story of the dark side of aspirations. The teaching note provides a set of discussion questions and pre-reads that can be assigned to the class, and suggests a detailed teaching plan that is divided into five pastures.

The case tells the story of Familitet, a small social enterprise in Ryazan, Russia, and its CEO, Tatiana Gschwend. In the post-Soviet world, where institutions are still very traditional, Familitet fills certain gaps. By offering classes in family and perinatal yoga, speech therapy, and social skills; organizing workshops on marital and parental psychology, breastfeeding, and anthropology; and offering the support of a midwife, Familitet has made its mark as a trail blazer. The case describes events that took place in 2015, when Familitet was experiencing the impact of the economic crisis caused by Western sanctions. That same year, the company had been approached by a Kazakh company wishing to explore the possibility of opening a franchise - an opportunity that could be advantageous to Familitet both during the crisis and over the long term. Tatiana and her team had to decide how to respond to the crisis by adapting their business model in Ryazan and choosing the optimal business model for the Kazakh market.

As it approaches its 20th anniversary, Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, has the wind in its sails. Whether it's new TV deals, the massive hiring of European and South American stars, or club and stadium expansions, the league is seeking to build momentum to compete with the major European and Mexican leagues as well as with rivals in the other professional sports leagues in North America, where the market is undergoing a radical demographic shift. However, MLS still has a long way to go to fulfill its ambitions: there is a high level of competition, the league's financial situation is shaky, its governance structure is complex, and the quality of play remains inferior to that of the major soccer leagues. This case traces the evolution of the league since its creation and draws a portrait of the business context within which MLS is seeking to make its mark.

New research shows that companies really are failing faster than they used to: In particular, digital companies are far more vulnerable to quick imitation than are companies that own factories, products, and supply chains. Vijay Govindarajan and Anup Srivastava, of Dartmouth's Tuck School, offer three strategies for firms looking to boost their longevity: First, companies could incorporate both technology and physical products into their business models. Second, they could strive for models that include strong network effects (think of Facebook's 1 billion users and the hassle that jumping to a rival platform would create for them, because of all the "reconnecting" they'd have to do). Third, they could increase their focus on continuous innovation--attending to the long term so that they'll still be around after the short term.

When researchers tracked the performance of 444 celebrated U.S. CEOs, they discovered that companies run by MBAs underperformed the rest. The reason? The MBAs were more likely to engage in risky strategies. And while those strategies led to temporary gains, which increased the CEOs' compensation, they hurt the companies in the long run.

Near the end of 2008, Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie enrolled in an entrepreneurship course at Brown University. During the class, they refined the business plan for Runa, a beverage company that would make drinks from guayusa, a little-known leaf that grew in the Amazon. Beyond the potential of the business to make money, the two believed in Runa's social mission―respecting the cultural traditions of Ecuadorian Kichwa communities, providing sustainable income streams to small farmers, and helping the Amazon rainforest thrive. Just months after delivering their final classroom presentation for Runa, Gage and MacCombie found themselves in Ecuador, pursuing the idea full time. "Runa: Driving Social Change through Passion and Profit" explores Gage and MacCombie's journey from class project to a fast-growing start-up. More specifically, the case explores the myriad challenges Gage and MacCombie faced in building Runa: raising money to launch the venture; establishing successful partnerships and overcoming deep-seated skepticism among Ecuadorian communities; building a supply chain from scratch; developing a successful go-to-market strategy; and maintaining their focus on social impact while simultaneously generating financial returns.

In September 2013, Sanjit "Bunker" Roy was honoured with an award for his vision and leadership in addressing global problems through his novel organization, Barefoot College (Barefoot). Barefoot's mission was to improve the lives of impoverished rural residents by upgrading their existing skills with training so the villages and their residents were self-sufficient. When he started the college in the state of Rajasthan, India, in 1972, Roy never dreamed that Barefoot would be able to affect the lives of millions of people in 24 countries. Barefoot's global footprint was spreading at a rapid pace with requests for even more locations. Roy wondered whether he should freeze the organization in its present state or continue to increase its presence with a centralized headquarters. Alternatively, he could replicate the autonomous model on a smaller scale, still adherent to the beliefs, values, and assumptions that were the foundation of Barefoot College. This case won second prize at the ISB-Ivey Global Case Competition 2016 in the overall category.