In 2019, Parker Hannifin, one of the world's largest manufacturers of motion and control technologies, did something unusual for an industrial company: it created a purpose statement. Even though it already had a clear business strategy and longstanding culture of empowering its employees, creating a nine-word purpose statement proved transformational. This was particularly true during the pandemic, when Parker's purpose-Enabling Engineering Breakthroughs that Lead to a Better Tomorrow-came to life as team members built parts for lifesaving ventilators and designed a filtration system that enabled the mass-production of vaccines. Now Parker's new CEO must determine how to bring Parker's purpose fully to life, using it to inspire team members, connect with customers, and guide the company as it navigates clean energy technologies and other challenges.

When he became CEO, facing limited growth prospects, a low valuation, and therefore a stagnating share price, Menegaux and his team launched a set of initiatives to reposition Michelin. These included (1) articulating a clear purpose ("We care about giving people a better way forward"), (2) formulating a strategic vision-the "Michelin in Motion" strategy aiming to generate 20%-30% of revenue from non-tire activities by 2030, a significant leap from less than 5% in 2020, (3) introducing a new leadership model-I CARE-and reshaping the company's values around the idea of respect for all its stakeholders, and (4) introducing the dream for Michelin to be recognized by 2050 as a critical innovation leader that helped humanity conquer new frontiers. The overall plan centered on driving performance across profit, people, and the planet. Despite challenges, by 2024, these changes had begun to show results, with the company's share price rising by 23% since the beginning of his tenure, although Menegaux believes this does not fully reflect the company's potential.

In 2022, AXA and its CEO Thomas Buberl faced new types of challenges, including systemic risks such as climate change, geopolitical instability, public health crises, and social tensions caused by economic risks. AXA was one of the world's largest insurers. Since becoming CEO in 2016, Buberl had led a transformation to rebalance its portfolio toward property and casualty (P&C) insurance, reducing its exposure to financial-market risk. At a September 2022 Management Committee offsite, Buberl focused management's attention on AXA's "S" strategy-i.e., its social and societal role. The case includes a history of AXA's growth and transformation prior to and under Buberl's leadership, including its adoption of the purpose: "to act for human progress by protecting what matters" and the vision "to transform AXA's value proposition 'from payer to partner.'" Also covered are AXA's green business strategy to mitigate and adapt to the risks posed by climate change, new innovations, such as data platforms in commercial and health insurance, and AXA's attempts to extend coverage to customers in emerging markets and low-income customers in developed markets.

This case provides brief descriptions of 18 examples of corporate leaders confronting questions of whether and how to engage with societal issues, including social, political, and environmental issues. Social issues include COVID-19; social and racial justice; discrimination and prejudice; gender, sex, and sexual orientation; and humanitarian crises. Political issues included voting rights, abortion rights, and geopolitical conflict and rivalry. Environmental issues included climate change. The examples took place between 2014 and 2022. The examples are: 1. Delta Airlines/Ed Bastian: Vaccine Mandates (2021) 2. Racial Justice: Starbucks/Howard Schultz: "Race Together" (2015) 3. Merck/Ken Frazier: Charlottesville, President Trump, and Race (2017) 4. Starbucks/Kevin Johnson: Philadelphia Incident (2018) 5. OneTen Initiative: Living Wage Jobs for Black Americans (2020) 6. Tech Leaders: Oppose the Trump Travel Ban (2017) 7. Delta Airlines/Ed Bastian: Rescinding NRA Discounts after the Parkland Shooting (2018) 8. Corporate Leaders: Responding to Anti-Asian Hate (2021) 9. Salesforce.com/Marc Benioff: Indiana Boycott for Religious Freedom Restoration Act (2015) 10. Target/Brian Cornell: North Carolina "Bathroom Bill" (2016) 11. Disney/Bob Chapek: The Florida "Don't Say Gay" Bill (2022) 12. H&M/Helena Helmersson: China, Uighurs, and Human Rights (2020) 13. Corporate Leaders: Voting Rights and Election Bills (2021) 14. Corporate Leaders: Texas Abortion Ban (2021) 15. Unilever/Alan Jope: Ben & Jerry's, Israel, and Occupied Palestinian Territory (2021) 16. Google: Ceasing Search in China (2018) 17. Apple/Tim Cook: Data Privacy in China (2021) 18. Amazon/Jeff Bezos: Co-Founding Climate Pledge (2019)

In May 2022, streaming entertainment company Netflix lost customers for the first time in more than 10 years. Once a first mover in the streaming landscape, Netflix was facing competition from Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, and others. A key component of Netflix's prior success was its unique "freedom and responsibility" culture, in which the company eschewed hierarchical decision-making, performance reviews, and vacation and expense policies. Employees were expected to maintain high performance or else get cut from the "dream team." While some employees reported appreciation for Netflix's culture, others described it as "cutthroat." Given the company's performance in spring 2022, was Netflix's "no rules rules" culture still an asset or was it now a liability?