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In late 2015, the chief executive officer of Shaw Communications was considering whether to reduce or divest the company's media assets. Shaw Communications had been founded as a cable television provider and, over the years, had grown its consumer connectivity businesses to include Internet services, satellite television, landline telephony, and, most recently, cellular network services. Similar to most other major Canadian telecommunications companies, Shaw Communications had acquired media assets, including the Global Television Network and specialty channels such as History and Treehouse. Selling all or, some, of these media assets would strengthen the company's balance sheet and help finance the expansion of its cellular network. The company's chief executive officer needed decide how important media assets were to the company's core strategy.

Alsea was a Mexican-based, family-founded conglomerate operating in six countries in Latin America and Spain. It was a master franchiser for such well-known brands as Starbucks, Domino’s, and Burger King. In late 2016, after years of dramatic growth, Alsea appointed its first chief executive officer (CEO) who was not a family member or had not been involved with the company’s founding or early development. However, family members continued to occupy senior executive roles, serve on the company’s board, and hold significant shares in the company. In March 2017, the new CEO needed to decide on Alsea’s corporate strategy. He also needed to build trust with the founding family, which held a controlling interest in the firm. How should he engage the current executives in building a world-class senior management team? How could he best demonstrate his value to Alsea's board?

Alsea was a Mexican-based, family-founded conglomerate operating in six countries in Latin America and Spain. It was a master franchiser for such well-known brands as Starbucks, Domino's, and Burger King. In late 2016, after years of dramatic growth, Alsea appointed its first chief executive officer (CEO) who was not a family member or had not been involved with the company's founding or early development. However, family members continued to occupy senior executive roles, serve on the company's board, and hold significant shares in the company. In March 2017, the new CEO needed to decide on Alsea's corporate strategy. He also needed to build trust with the founding family, which held a controlling interest in the firm. How should he engage the current executives in building a world-class senior management team? How could he best demonstrate his value to Alsea's board?

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Founded by an entrepreneur in 2007, Hillberg & Berk was a successful Canadian company in the affordable designer jewellery industry. After being funded through the Dragons' Den television show in 2009, the entrepreneur and her team grew the company to achieving more than $10 million in annual sales. The company had focused its growth in its home province of Saskatchewan and into the neighbouring province of Alberta, but in late 2016, it faced a turning point. The entrepreneur wanted to capitalize on the success of the company's signature Sparkle Collection and grow its other product lines by building customer loyalty. As Hillberg & Berk was no longer a small company and not yet a large company, the entrepreneur knew that how she managed her company's strategy would have significant implications for its ability to maintain sustainable growth.

CompuSoluciones was a value-added distributor of information technology hardware, software, and services based in Guadalajara, Mexico. In 2016, the firm’s chief executive officer was aware that the company faced the threat of disintermediation as some of its vendors looked to sell directly to end-users. The industry in which CompuSoluciones competed was known for its rapid technological changes, which affected the design, supply, and price of products, and even the structure of the industry. As an intermediary in the business, CompuSoluciones was threatened by disintermediation, which was enabled by two new technologies: cloud computing and software as a service. If software vendors could interact directly with end-users, they would not need to pay intermediaries (resellers or wholesalers such as CompuSoluciones) to distribute their products. <br>CompuSoluciones’s chief executive officer needed to consider what the company could do in the next few months to prevent or slow the process of disintermediation or to participate in the industry in a different way. The decision would have significant implications for the firm’s business model.

CompuSoluciones, based in Guadalajara, Mexico, was a value-added distributor of information technology hardware, software, and services that grew from its origins as a reseller for Hewlett-Packard to become the second-largest distributor in Mexico. The company was best described as a collection of team-based businesses. It had 18 independent business units—each of which managed its own supply chain and produced its own profit-and-loss statements—and over 415 employees spread out over three offices. It was also governed by multiple consultative and representative boards. The company relied on the advice, insights, and experiences of these key advisory groups to improve the quality of its decision making and inform strategic decisions. At the same time, it had a policy to achieve consensus on major strategic decisions. In January 2017, the chairman of CompuSoluciones was reviewing his company’s corporate governance policies and practices. Given the independent nature of the individual business units, he wondered whether a consensus-based model of management was still the best way to lead the firm forward and whether the current corporate governance structure was optimal for managing this particular business.

CompuSoluciones was a value-added distributor of information technology hardware, software, and services based in Guadalajara, Mexico. In 2016, the firm's chief executive officer was aware that the company faced the threat of disintermediation as some of its vendors looked to sell directly to end-users. The industry in which CompuSoluciones competed was known for its rapid technological changes, which affected the design, supply, and price of products, and even the structure of the industry. As an intermediary in the business, CompuSoluciones was threatened by disintermediation, which was enabled by two new technologies: cloud computing and software as a service. If software vendors could interact directly with end-users, they would not need to pay intermediaries (resellers or wholesalers such as CompuSoluciones) to distribute their products. CompuSoluciones's chief executive officer needed to consider what the company could do in the next few months to prevent or slow the process of disintermediation or to participate in the industry in a different way. The decision would have significant implications for the firm's business model.

CompuSoluciones, based in Guadalajara, Mexico, was a value-added distributor of information technology hardware, software, and services that grew from its origins as a reseller for Hewlett-Packard to become the second-largest distributor in Mexico. The company was best described as a collection of team-based businesses. It had 18 independent business units-each of which managed its own supply chain and produced its own profit-and-loss statements-and over 415 employees spread out over three offices. It was also governed by multiple consultative and representative boards. The company relied on the advice, insights, and experiences of these key advisory groups to improve the quality of its decision making and inform strategic decisions. At the same time, it had a policy to achieve consensus on major strategic decisions. In January 2017, the chairman of CompuSoluciones was reviewing his company's corporate governance policies and practices. Given the independent nature of the individual business units, he wondered whether a consensus-based model of management was still the best way to lead the firm forward and whether the current corporate governance structure was optimal for managing this particular business.

Over its 30-year history, Onex Corporation, a Canadian investment firm, had derived much of its success from the private equity sector. It did so by acquiring attractive portfolio companies, adding value to them by improving their financial and operational performance, and then selling them several years later at an attractive return. However, given the market conditions in 2015, Onex Corporation faced difficulty in successfully acquiring target companies, which was further exacerbated by the large amounts of cash on its balance sheet. As a result, the firm was forced to actively seek growth in other sectors, primarily credit-oriented investment strategies. Given Onex Corporation’s growth targets, the chief executive officer and his management team needed to reconsider the lines of business their company should be involved in. How could they effectively position the company’s corporate structure, internal processes, and expertise to take advantage of credit-oriented investment strategies?

Over its 30-year history, Onex Corporation, a Canadian investment firm, had derived much of its success from the private equity sector. It did so by acquiring attractive portfolio companies, adding value to them by improving their financial and operational performance, and then selling them several years later at an attractive return. However, given the market conditions in 2015, Onex Corporation faced difficulty in successfully acquiring target companies, which was further exacerbated by the large amounts of cash on its balance sheet. As a result, the firm was forced to actively seek growth in other sectors, primarily credit-oriented investment strategies. Given Onex Corporation's growth targets, the chief executive officer and his management team needed to reconsider the lines of business their company should be involved in. How could they effectively position the company's corporate structure, internal processes, and expertise to take advantage of credit-oriented investment strategies?

By late 2015, the chief executive officer of Devonian Coast Wineries in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia had invested in the business and had broadened the distribution of the wines he produced. His chief concern was growing sales beyond Nova Scotia’s provincial borders. Selling wines in other provinces was difficult because it required approaching the various provincial liquor control boards. He had three options: continue to engage with each provincial liquor board’s buyers, lobby for greater retail access, or pursue the removal of provincial barriers to wine trade within the Atlantic provinces. If all interprovincial barriers were removed, he would need to compete with other provinces’ larger wine producers, and they would likely gain market share at the expense of local wineries. What was the best strategy to expand Devonian Coast Wineries’ distribution beyond Nova Scotia?

By late 2015, the chief executive officer of Devonian Coast Wineries in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia had invested in the business and had broadened the distribution of the wines he produced. His chief concern was growing sales beyond Nova Scotia's provincial borders. Selling wines in other provinces was difficult because it required approaching the various provincial liquor control boards. He had three options: continue to engage with each provincial liquor board's buyers, lobby for greater retail access, or pursue the removal of provincial barriers to wine trade within the Atlantic provinces. If all interprovincial barriers were removed, he would need to compete with other provinces' larger wine producers, and they would likely gain market share at the expense of local wineries. What was the best strategy to expand Devonian Coast Wineries' distribution beyond Nova Scotia?

Me to We was a Canadian social enterprise created in 2008 to provide a stable source of funds to finance Free the Children, a non-profit organization that partnered with villages in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to provide clean water, sanitation, health care, food security, and alternative income in exchange for the commitment that all village children would attend school. The ultimate aim was to reduce child labour and exploitation, which was rooted in families who were living in poverty and unable to support themselves. In 2015, as Me to We continued to grow, the co-founders realized that its product portfolio could benefit from items that would increase the frequency of the organization's contact and interactions with customers. Should Me to We move towards the fast consumables market to reach as many people as possible?

Today’s business leaders are scrutinized like never before, and not just for their ability to lead organizations to financial success. The pressure is on for CEOs to adhere to accepted values. Thanks to social media, leadership behaviour is constantly monitored by a public ready to share news of transgressions. As a result, the price for departing from expected behaviour is steep for both leaders and organizations. But does following the standard of what is considered good as a CEO really lead to sustainable business with higher profits? Or do nice people finish last? <br><br> This article explores these questions by looking back in time and highlighting the findings of a study that examined the impact of ethical leadership on the kingdom of Judah. After using a common ethical standard to review 19 kings between 931 BC and 586 BC, it was posited that organizations with ethical senior management have better long-term performance. Modern examples of how senior executives influence their organizations support this conclusion. As a result, firms should seek leaders who demonstrate normatively acceptable conduct. That means leaders who are concerned with how numbers are achieved as well as the organization’s impact on employees and the environment. It means leaders who are credible and possess leadership character. And it means leaders who ensure that subordinates follow their example. For organizations that do this, ethical leadership will likely result in a scandal-free reputation, increased morale, job satisfaction and performance — and a positive bottom line.

After having virtually created the yoga-wear segment more than a decade earlier and having become a stock-market darling, Lululemon Athletica finds itself at a critical point in its development. After a series of missteps and a first-quarter profit drop of 60 per cent, the yoga-wear retailer’s founder, Chip Wilson, prepares to go into battle, meeting with banks and private equity firms to mount a buyout and take the company private. Similar to other highly successful entrepreneurial companies and their leaders, Lululemon, Wilson and the company executives face fundamental struggles in their attempts to balance an ambition to grow with the need to preserve core elements of the brand as the firm evolves.

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Despite spending US$50 million to land one of the most respected coaches in National Hockey League (NHL) history, the Toronto Maple Leafs — an iconic team with abysmal performance — are once again setting fans up for disappointment. If the goal is to increase compensation levels for the fraternity of hockey coaches, then the Leafs have succeeded. But if the objective is to bring the Stanley Cup back to Toronto, the data does not support importing a proven winner. In fact, if Babcock wants to add another Cup to his impressive record, the odds say he should have stayed with the Detroit Red Wings. It is easy to be seduced by the glitter of a Stanley Cup ring and to argue for the proven-winner theory. But as this article explains, the Leafs have had proven winners with former coaches Burke and Carlyle and have failed to achieve the desired results.

After having virtually created the yoga-wear segment more than a decade earlier and having become a stock-market darling, Lululemon Athletica finds itself at a critical point in its development. After a series of missteps and a first-quarter profit drop of 60 per cent, the yoga-wear retailer's founder, Chip Wilson, prepares to go into battle, meeting with banks and private equity firms to mount a buyout and take the company private. Similar to other highly successful entrepreneurial companies and their leaders, Lululemon, Wilson and the company executives face fundamental struggles in their attempts to balance an ambition to grow with the need to preserve core elements of the brand as the firm evolves.

The director of Planning and Development Services for the City of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, is evaluating various models of regional economic development. He needs to recommend to the Economic Development Committee whether an in-house, arm's-length or blended model would be best for the City of Prince Albert and its surrounding region. He also needs to provide direction on the strategic planning process that should follow the formation of a new regional body. Although the director is optimistic about the possibilities, he knows that some stakeholders perceive the City of Prince Albert as fostering an attitude counter to inclusiveness. Gaining buy-in from these stakeholders is critical to success, regardless of the model he proposes.