Cameron (Cam) Barker, CEO and Founder of Blake Sports Apparel, sat in his office at his company's headquarters in Birmingham, England, feeling stunned and disappointed. Only a few minutes prior, he had wrapped up a meeting with CFO James Ryan, a highly-respected star executive who had just abruptly given Barker his notice of resignation. When Barker hired Ryan in November 2020, he had asked Ryan not to take the position unless he intended to stay for at least five years, which Ryan agreed was his plan. Yet, here Barker was just eighteen months later and Ryan was ready to walk out the door, citing Barker's leadership style as one factor in his decision to leave. After years of struggling to find the right executive team structure and size and to fill the positions with the right people, Barker thought he had finally gotten it right. The executive team had proved that they were capable of communicating, collaborating and making smart decisions in ways that put the organization's priorities ahead of their own. Furthermore, Ryan had proven himself to be just the kind of CFO the growing company needed. Baker knew his departure was a loss. Why did Ryan resign? What issues had he taken with Barker's leadership? Should Barker take Ryan's feedback to heart, or was it simply a case of conflicting styles? After years of managing dysfunctional executive teams, did Barker need to change the way he managed his reports now that his executive team was collaborative and high-performing? If so, how?

On June 6, 1944, nearly 5,000 ships, 11,000 planes, and 160,000 infantrymen under an Allied joint-command of American, British, and Canadian leaders were sent across the English Channel, with hopes of re-establishing a foothold in Nazi-occupied France. Known as D-Day, June 6 marked a definitive turning point in World War II and was viewed by many as the most significant military campaign in history. It was also one of the riskiest. Code named Operation Overlord, the invasion required years of diligent planning and countless hours of labor from Allied soldiers and citizens. Before they could attempt a successful invasion of continental Europe, British and American leadership recognized large scale preparatory efforts must take place: the establishment of a leadership team and organizational structure, the arrival of Allied troops in England and subsequent training sessions, the containment of German air superiority over Europe as well as its supply lines, and finally, the development and use of innovative information sources in planning the attack.

In January 2021, Byte co-founders Scott Cohen and Blake Johnson reflected on how far their Los Angeles-based direct-to-consumer (DTC) orthodontics company had come since launching its clear aligners just a little over two years earlier. Cohen and Johnson were both serial entrepreneurs who had guided several companies to successful exits. They had planned to take the same approach with Byte, preparing for an exit by focusing on profitability and stable growth and forgoing dilutive venture capital (VC) funding. Neither of them had expected Byte to grow as quickly as it had, but the market opportunity had unexpectedly expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many consumers sought at-home treatment options. Cohen and Johnson thought about what their next move should be. Given Byte's rapid growth, the founders considered whether they should instead consider other options, such as a strategic acquisition or an eventual initial public offering (IPO). Either option would help position Byte for global expansion, which the founders felt would be a promising growth opportunity for the company.

Buddy Valastro, celebrity baker and business owner, inherited his father's bakery-Carlo's Bake Shop of Hoboken, New Jersey-at the age of seventeen. He had willed the shop to survive and gone on to fame through his television show, "Cake Boss"-the name most people now called him. Its popularity allowed Valastro to launch many additional ventures in the worlds of TV and food, including additional locations of Carlo's Bake Shop. Valastro's businesses had remained profitable throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and he and has team had learned a great deal while managing through the crisis. Valastro felt like he was at a turning point and could build upon the lessons of the pandemic to scale his business. Moving into the future, how could Buddy leverage data and digital offerings? Did he even need brick-and-mortar bakeries? Did he have the infrastructure and team necessary to operate his company now and realize his vision for the future? Was Valastro overextended? How important was Valastro to the brand and to the company? Could they outlast him in the long-run?

This case profiles the career of Ghana-based chef and entrepreneur, Selassie Atadika. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she faced many questions about the future, such as: How could she convince Ghanaian consumers to view their native cuisine in a fresh, compelling way? How could she sustain the fine dining arm of Midunu, Atadika's food and lifestyle company, in a nation where the average annual income hovered at USD5,000? Should she expand her chocolate business internationally? As Atadika became an important player on the culinary world stage, what were the best ways to promote her business and capitalize on her increasingly high international profile?

Executive Chris Ernst uses a unique personal strategy to define his six life roles (spiritual explorer, natural being, development pioneer, global/local citizen, thriving family, true friend) and achieve harmony among them.

Chef Joan Roca, sommelier Josep Roca and pastry chef Jordi Roca were three brothers based in Girona, Spain whose complementary skills, collective ability, and relentless drive for innovation had brought worldwide fame and awards to their restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca. In 2020, their innovation skills were tested as they strategized ways to manage their restaurant and a growing list of other projects in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

For Siba Mtongana, South African celebrity chef, the year 2020 was fraught with challenges and unknowns. Her brand was strong and she was certain it would survive. But as she fine-tuned her growth and innovation strategy in a shaky, unpredictable economy in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, how should she plan for the future, in both the short-term and long-term?

Dennis L. Via, was a retired four-star U.S. Army general and one of the world's foremost experts on logistics, crisis management, supply chains, and maintaining a state of readiness at all times. As he reflected back on his career and leadership experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, he considered: What are the most important leadership qualities in responding to a global pandemic? Beyond a grasp of science and logistics, how important were character traits such as empathy and integrity in the task of leading frightened populations through uncertain and dangerous times? And how could leaders-of nations, armies, businesses, families-prepare for inevitable, yet unpredictable, crises?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook had begun to wonder whether it might be time to rethink their opportunistic approach to the expansion of their small restaurant empire in Philadelphia, CooknSolo. The pandemic, however, caused an abrupt and intense change of focus-the goal was no longer expansion, but survival. Solomonov had overcome much in his life, including addiction and the death of his younger brother; these experiences had given him the perspective to take on great challenges in his career, the COVID-19 pandemic being the greatest challenge yet. As the economy cautiously started to reopen in June 2020, how should Solomonov and Cook proceed? How should they think about their business in terms of survival through the duration of the pandemic and set themselves up to come back even stronger in the post-pandemic world?

In this fictional case, the CEO of a sports apparel manufacturer must figure out how to handle an ongoing conflict between two of his top executives. His head of sales and CFO are constantly at each other's throats, and the tension is having a bad ripple effect on their teams and the rest of the organization. Should he change the company's compensation scheme to encourage better collaboration, get the executives coaching, or do more team-building activities? Or should he fire one or both of the warring executives? This fictional case study by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden features expert commentary by Scott Salmirs and Dale Winston.

In this fictional case, the CEO of a sports apparel manufacturer must figure out how to handle an ongoing conflict between two of his top executives. His head of sales and CFO are constantly at each other's throats, and the tension is having a bad ripple effect on their teams and the rest of the organization. Should he change the company's compensation scheme to encourage better collaboration, get the executives coaching, or do more team-building activities? Or should he fire one or both of the warring executives? This fictional case study by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden features expert commentary by Scott Salmirs and Dale Winston.

In this fictional case, the CEO of a sports apparel manufacturer must figure out how to handle an ongoing conflict between two of his top executives. His head of sales and CFO are constantly at each other's throats, and the tension is having a bad ripple effect on their teams and the rest of the organization. Should he change the company's compensation scheme to encourage better collaboration, get the executives coaching, or do more team-building activities? Or should he fire one or both of the warring executives? This fictional case study by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden features expert commentary by Scott Salmirs and Dale Winston.

Manish Goel was the CEO of TrustSphere, a seven-year-old company in the data analytics industry that focused squarely on relationship analytics, a space in which TrustSphere was pioneering a unique technology and solutions in the areas of sales, risk, and people analytics. Essentially, TrustSphere's technology allowed its customers to view the patterns of digital communication captured on the organization's communication infrastructure among internal and external players. With this information, TrustSphere could help customers infer where relationships existed and the strength of those relationships, information that could be leveraged to address a number of business challenges and opportunities. Based in Singapore, but operating globally, TrustSphere was trying to get its footing and establish its technology and solutions as a "must-have" for prospective customers, all the while trying to navigate the relatively unchartered waters of relationship analytics.

In April 2017, Victoria Sopik and Jennifer Nashmi, CEO and CFO (respectively) of Kids & Company, a Canadian childcare provider that they had co-founded in the early 2000s and developed into a nearly 100-unit enterprise, are discussing how the company should proceed with its planned U.S. expansion. Kids & Company already has five U.S. childcare centers in and around Chicago, Illinois, and one under construction in Boston, Massachusetts, but before going any further, the two leaders plan to discuss what they have learned so far from their U.S. experience, and how that should inform their strategic growth decisions moving forward. Unlike Canada, the U.S. already has other large, for-profit childcare providers, so Kids & Co. will have to grow in a more mature market, albeit one where Kids & Company's leaders still see substantial opportunity. Company leaders also believe that the company's "boutique" childcare centers, which maintain a strict focus on customer service and flexible childcare options, would be well-received by U.S. consumers, and help it stand out from the existing, more-standardized options. The question now is how, and how fast, to grow. Should it just replicate the exact model it has developed in Canada-which has proven somewhat challenging thus far in the few years it has operated in the U.S.-or adjust elements of its model? Should it look to acquire established providers, or possibly even franchise the brand?

Cameron (Cam) Barker, founder and CEO of Blake Sports Apparel and Switch Activewear, manufacturers and distributers of sports apparel and accessories, was facing a challenge with his executive team. Their inability to work together on seemingly simple issues was a chronic problem. Although they were a competent group of executives, most of whom had been with Barker for a number of years and had played an integral role in the growth of his company, the team's dynamics were dysfunctional. Lack of communication, mistrust, and refusal to collaborate were some of their biggest challenges. Barker had had enough and was ready to take action, but what action should he take? How could he teach the executive team to work together? Did he have the right people in the right roles? Was the team appropriately structured and managed? How could Barker bring his executive team together in order to maximize performance and face the challenges and opportunities that would be presenting themselves to his young company in the months and years ahead?