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An executive has just joined adult entertainment producer Private Media Group Inc. (PMG) as a strategy consultant. Despite being a highly controversial industry, adult entertainment has been credited with furthering the widespread adoption of major technologies such as the VCR, Internet and digital transmissions over hand-held devices. In preparing for his first meeting with PMG's president, the executive wonders if he should recommend pursuing larger productions with higher costs and higher sales versus the current mixture of large productions ($100,000 or more in production costs), medium productions ($75,000) and small productions ($5,000). He also believes there is an opportunity to increase PMG's brand awareness through licensing. Finally, the executive knows that the adult entertainment industry is quick to adopt new technologies so he wants to prepare PMG for the inevitable demise of DVDs. See the supplement to this case.

Most business activities can be understood as progressions from insight to outcome - getting from the original spark of an idea to the actual realization of financial and strategic results. And yet, leaders and companies fail to master this progression all the time, in the headline-grabbing, large scale transformative initiatives we read about, as well in the rest of iceberg - the core business processes and the non-routine initiatives and projects that collectively can have a defining impact on a company's performance. In this teaching note, we argue that senior executives can, in fact, systematically ensure their organizations' ability to progress effectively from insight to outcome, and we discuss three critical behaviors that they need to embrace to make this happen: managing the insight to outcome sequence as an integrated, end-to-end process; recognizing and overcoming the challenges of the degree of difficulty curve; and mastering the complex calculus of strategic inflection points.

In July 2013 Tom Perez became the United States' 26th Secretary of Labor. Perez took the helm of the Department of Labor at a critical juncture. In recent years, the US economy was marred by historically high rates of unemployment, fueled by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Although the economy had begun a slow recovery in 2010, there were only lackluster gains in private sector jobs. By 2013, more than 11 million Americans remained out of jobs and-in a competitive global marketplace-faced disheartening employment prospects. The Department of Labor was besieged by a sharp rise in demand for its worker development and protection services, but hobbled by fierce budget cuts. At a time when Americans faced stagnant wages and rising income inequality, could Perez's leadership help revive America's "ladder of opportunity?" The case provides a comprehensive review of the U.S. Department of Labor. The case explores the challenges Perez faces in his first year as Secretary of Labor and questions what his priorities should be even as millions of Americans struggle to make a decent living. Case number 2031.0

This case describes the evolution of a tech startup, WebTracker, and focuses on the decision of two aspiring entrepreneurs (Julie Stern and Mark Foster) who have just received offers for Venture Capital (VC) financing for the company. These offers, or term sheets, are similar in some respects and different in others. The two firms offering financing are also different. The heart of the case involves comparing these term sheets and determining the "best deal" for them and for their company. The "deal" ultimately cut will parse the economic rewards of success and implement control and governance provisions that are designed to reduce risk for the VC. The term sheet is a great place to see these complex tools and tradeoffs play out.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 915543.

On December 8th 2013, as Dr. David Keith was leaving the set of the Colbert Show, he couldn't help but replay the interview over and over in his mind. Did he actually get his point of view on solar geoengineering across or had he just added to the stereotype that he was more of a 'mad scientist' than a scholar? Science knew, beyond doubt, that volcanoes cooled the planet by forcing sulfates high into the stratosphere. This cooling effect had been recorded in history over and over again. The question that Keith and many other climate scientists wanted to answer was: could humanity learn how to design, deploy, and manage similar cooling effects to manage the threats from climate change?

Equality of opportunity is endorsed universally even though, or more likely because, it can mean such different things to different people. What definition of equality of opportunity ought to figure into policy decisions? How close, or far, is the United States from providing equal opportunity? Instructors may also obtain a Teaching Note, written by this case's author, that provides suggestions for using this case effectively in the classroom.

This note provides an overview of the U.S. health care system as it stood in 2014, including an overview of hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, and other health care providers. It also discusses the major political actions on health care in the 20th century, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the early planning process for the Affordable Care Act at the beginning of the Obama presidency.

In 2012, Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, cofounders of the Hövding company, reflect on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. Since 2005, Haupt and Alstin had been working on a new type of bicycle helmet-an "airbag for cyclists". What had begun as a thesis had grown into a seven-year journey of research and development, including raising over $5 million of venture capital. The product had been granted Europe's CE certification in 2011 and had been launched simultaneously in Sweden and Norway. Yet, a year later, the company had still not reached the breakeven point. To help them establish a commercialization strategy, the Hövding board had prevailed upon the founders to hire a professional CEO. But surrendering management control was an emotional process for Haupt and Alstin, while the CEO struggled to assert his leadership and build the company's commercial capabilities. Should Haupt and Alstin collaborate with their CEO despite their misgivings or should they step away from the company they had dedicated seven years to building?

Ratchtar Karasuddhi, the head of business development for general trade at Unilever, has an idea to assist a flood stricken owner of a local neighbourhood convenience store. He believed that with some upgrading and better visibility, the shop could be revived and become an alternative to the nearby modern trade convenience store. What started out as a simple wish to help a single distressed shop owner soon spawned into a viable business idea that would benefit the local community and the company. The number of Star Stores, or Platinum Stores as they were called within Unilever, expanded rapidly - the first outlet was inaugurated in March 2012 and there were 7,800 Platinum Stores by July 2014. The frenetic growth in the number of stores eventually affected business execution, as the operations side struggled to cope with the openings of four to five new outlets daily. Each store required the full engagement and cooperation of the shop owner, a customised planogram, and training and capability building of the shop owner. What is necessary for the sustained success of Platinum Stores in Thailand?

This case study set in 2013 discusses the critical career decisions that Matthew Tan, a young university graduate from National University of Singapore, has to make. The case is in three parts. In Part A, Matthew inspired by his childhood experiences is toying with the idea of leaving his job at Ernst & Young (E &Y) and opening a hotel that would help under-privileged youths. It is a risky decision as he has no experience in the hotel business and no capital to start it with.

In Part B, Matthew quits E&Y and to gain experience first works at a Vietnamese hotel as a bell boy for three months and then at a hotel in Singapore as a management trainee for another three months. This gives him confidence about the hotel business but the financial pressure of not having a stable job is getting tougher by the day. He faces the dilemma of whether or not to return to the corporate world.

In Part C, Matthew identifies a plot of land to develop the hotel and raises a significant part of the capital required from his friends and acquaintances. He and his wife also start a side business to bring in some financial respite, while Matthew continues to raise capital for his dream project - building a hotel in Vietnam.

Established in 1971, DePaul Industries was a social venture operated as one organization (and for short called DePaul Industries) but legally registered as two 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organizations (DePaul Industries and DePaul Services). DePaul's mission was to generate employment opportunities for people with disabilities. DePaul operated in three industries that shared three characteristics: they were employment intensive, had paper-thin margins, and were cash-thirsty. DePaul derived most of the funds to finance its operations from revenue from these businesses but had yet to turn a profit. In the past, banks had been willing to provide DePaul with financing (mortgages, credit lines, and factoring loans), but it had always been challenging and it appeared to be increasingly so. Dave Shaffer, DePaul's CEO, had begun to explore other options, namely social investors, but with little success so far. Considering DePaul's increasing difficulties to identify suitable financing, Shaffer had begun wondering whether these difficulties were, as in the past, rooted in financiers' lack of understanding and sympathy towards DePaul's social venture nature or whether there was something else-the eroding of DePaul's net assets connected with recent business losses (largely derived from its contract packaging business).

Social entrepreneur Kohl Gill founded LaborVoices in 2010 with the goal of using mobile phone technology to bring transparency to the global supply chain. Gill's vision was to build a company that would allow workers in supplier factories for major brand companies-initially in Bangalore, India, and later in other locations-to use their mobile phones to report and share information about factory conditions. This information could potentially be useful to a variety of groups: the workers themselves, nongovernmental organizations and unions that sought to improve working conditions in the global supply chain, factory managers who wished to attract and retain high-quality workers, monitoring and auditing organizations that wished to improve their information sources, and international brand companies that sought to assure compliance with their codes of conduct and to protect against reputational risk. The case describes the experiences and thought processes that led to Gill's business concept. It also provides information on labor conditions and supply chain dynamics in the textile and garment industry in southern India. At the end of the case, Gill is reviewing various business models and considering how to launch his social enterprise successfully.

"MuMaté Tool: Evaluating Financing Alternatives" walks students through the considerations in allocating equity amongst the members of a startup's founding team. This exercise is designed to be used in conjunction with Shikhar Ghosh, Joseph B. Fuller, Thomas E. Eisenmann, Alex Godden, and Adrew Sandoe "MuMaté: Funding Growth," HBS No. 814-063

By 2009, Crucell had become the largest biopharma company in the Netherlands and a symbol of national pride. The case traces the evolution of the company from a University spin-off into a fully-integrated company. Crucell's success, particularly in the vaccine space, had begun to attract the attention of much larger pharmaceutical companies. While there was much appeal to working with these companies, these relationships could also challenge Crucell's independence. This issue is highlighted by the decision whether to partner with companies that wanted ownership of 10-20% of Crucell as part of the business development deals.

First National Bank (FNB), one of South Africa's "Big Four" banks, has, under the stewardship of its CEO, invested in a strategy of innovation to grow its market presence in South Africa, other emerging-market African countries, and India. In line with its strategy to lead digital banking in South Africa, FNB has invested in building a social media strategy to enable the brand to strengthen its relationships with customers, through building customer knowledge and stickiness and humanizing its brand.<br><br>In 2012, FNB's head of digital marketing and media sees a tweet from Standard Bank stating that it has instructed its attorneys to lodge a complaint against what it alleges to be FNB's misleading advertising. She wonders whether Standard Bank's use of Twitter to communicate this competitive action is related to FNB's extensive and well-publicized use of the micro-blogging service. She knows that the debate on Twitter will be a significant indicator of whether her social media strategy has been successful. How can FNB continue to differentiate itself and alleviate the pressure on non-interest revenues?

Supplement case for W14684.