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In May 2011, the Public Bike System Company, based in Montreal, Canada, was preparing to answer a request for proposal by New York City to create a financially self-sustaining public bike-sharing system. Three years earlier, the company, owned by the Montreal Transit Authority, had created Bixi, a service that made bikes available to members through docking stations, powered by solar energy, spread across the city. Although its financial structure was still unproven, it was a promising solution that aimed to revolutionize urban transportation. In partnership with other private bike-sharing organizations, the company had successfully expanded to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Washington D.C. but had experienced problems with its implementations in Melbourne, London and Boston. Furthermore, the system in Montreal could not provide evidence of profitability, forcing the city government to step in by guaranteeing loans and providing additional cash flow. It also did not have a clear business plan as to how, when and where its international expansion should take place. Now, news of its problems in Montreal had made headlines in New York, putting the future of its expansion ambitions in doubt.

In July 2014, nine months after they had developed a collaborative workplace for independent video game developers in Phoenix, Arizona, the two founders of the Game CoLab were discussing how to move the business forward. Using the Lean Startup method, they had designed their business model and opened a coworking space where they could also hold meetings, competitions and games showcases. However, they now face two challenges — declining membership and the need to move to new premises — and an exciting opportunity to work with corporate and educational organizations who are looking to “gamify” their digital offerings. The founders have four choices: (1) continue to maintain the coworking space concept, which has generated limited revenues so far; (2) pivot their business model to focus more on building the local and virtual community with events and cheaper, more flexible memberships; (3) pursue corporate business for customized game development while either continuing or abandoning the coworking space business; and (4) pursue a more major pivot whereby the company would become a start-up incubator.

Discussions of "world-class" universities have become an academic cottage industry in the 21st century, and definitions of the term are complex and at times contradictory. This background note traces the origins of university ranking systems and their evolution from a by-product of lists of great men in the United States to a global phenomenon that has a strong influence on the development of higher education. Then, it examines commonalities across various conceptions of "world-class", including productive faculty, excellent students, flexible administration, plentiful funding, and international engagement.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. A survey of top business executives from major international organizations found that 79% said it was extremely important to have leaders who act on behalf of the entire organization, not just their units. The rest said it was very important. Nearly 65% said they expected at least half of their senior and midlevel managers to behave as enterprise leaders -that is, executives who are as successful at serving the needs of the enterprise as they are at growing the units they head. The expectation that managers will know what's happening elsewhere in the enterprise is rising, authors Douglas A. Ready and M. Ellen Peebles write, but few organizations have been set up to support the development of such enterprise leaders. So how are managers learning to become effective enterprise leaders, and how can organizations encourage their development? The authors surveyed and interviewed scores of executives from the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and focused on three companies: Pfizer, Li & Fung, and Unilever. They found that regardless of the business or the location, enterprise leaders developed their capabilities in similar ways -through a combination of deliberate personal development, high-level mentoring, and opportunities afforded by their work that enabled strong unit performers to become even more effective as enterprise leaders. According to the authors, the essence of enterprise leadership lies in combining two often incompatible roles -those of builder and broker. That means executives need to build their unit's vision and integrate it into the wider corporate vision, clarifying where the enterprise is going and how their teams can best contribute, both within and beyond unit boundaries. They must build unit capabilities and share resources and business know-how across units to contribute to enterprisewide organizational capability.

The authors conducted two surveys, yielding responses from more than 1,200 young professionals, and had 18 in-depth interviews to examine the work behaviors and experiences of early-career, highly skilled employees. They found that young professionals have short average tenures at organizations. Ninety-two percent of them are on the lookout for other job opportunities while employed, and their job search continues even if they seem engaged in their current job. They consider jobs with high stakes, top management support, and ample formal training the most valuable and important for their career development, and they want more coaching, mentoring, and formal training from employers than is currently given to them. The authors organize their conclusions around three themes: the rewards of job change, the job-search behaviors of this footloose group of professionals, and the management-development practices that may keep them with employers. The researchers note that their findings on the relationship between employer changes and promotions represent a radical departure from both previous empirical research and past conventional wisdom about job hopping and career success. A decade ago, it was generally believed that promotions accompanied with a disproportionately large increase in responsibility were more likely to be given to insiders than outsiders. This advantage seems to have eroded: The authors found no marked differences between the promotion patterns of job hoppers and those who stayed with the same employer during the early stage of their career. Young professionals have marked and ambitious career goals that are often not linked to any particular organization, and they don't see frequent jumps across employers in a negative light. In fact, this relentless job search is not necessarily driven by dissatisfaction with the job and the intention to leave the organization, as traditional models of job search and turnover might assume.

A prototypical high-road company the author cites is Southwest Airlines Co., which has been the most profitable airline in the U.S. over the past 30 years and has also often been rated as one of the best places in the U.S. to work. Also mentioned is Market Basket, a family-owned grocery store chain headquartered in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. In the summer of 2014, Market Basket's legacy of low prices, good customer service, and good-quality jobs was highlighted when a family feud broke out among members of its board of directors and the family member who had been serving as CEO and was popular among employees was fired. After a six-week "strike"by nonunion employees and managers that had broad community and media support (it caused an astounding 92% reduction in the company's revenues), the board agreed to sell the business to the ousted CEO, whose reinstatement employees had sought. Standard economics argues that the higher labor costs are as a proportion of total costs, the more important it is to control these costs. However, the author explains, high-road companies take another view, relying heavily on practices including screening employees for their strong technical, problem-solving, and collaborative skills; investment in training and development of the full workforce; compensation systems that align employee and company interests through profit sharing and/or payment for attaining higher levels of skills; and labor-management partnerships.

However, he writes, there is an important third dimension: the detection lead time. This is the amount of warning time during which a company can prepare for the disruption and mitigate its effects. As the author explains, some disruptions involve long-term trends that are widely discussed in the media (for example, aging populations in the Western world, China, and Japan) or are prescheduled events (such as new regulations or labor union contract deadlines; some (for instance, hurricanes) occur after a short warning of a few days; while others such as fires, earthquakes, or power outages occur without warning. Still other disruptions (such as product contaminations or design defects) may not be discovered until well after they've occurred or may never be recognized (for example, industrial espionage or cyberattacks). Drawing on examples from companies including Dow Chemical, Ikea, BNSF Railway, Walgreen's, Cisco Systems, UPS, and FedEx, the article presents nine data sources that leading companies use to improve their ability to detect potential disruptions early: monitoring the weather; tracking the news; using data from sensors; monitoring the supply base; visiting suppliers; being on the alert for deception; developing traceability capabilities; monitoring social media; and tracking regulatory developments. The article then discusses four ways companies can improve their abilities to both detect and respond to disruptions: (1) mapping the supply chain to determine the locations of their suppliers to assess supplier risks, (2) assessing global events to identify potential disruptions that could affect production or revenues, (3) creating supply chain control towers with technology, people, and processes that capture and use supply chain data to enable better short- and long-term decision making, and (4) improving response time through data and analysis.

People in creative roles may seem immune to others' input. The authors, who studied populations from toy developers to R&D scientists, say that creative types sometimes react in this way not so much because of ego but, rather, a sense of identity as an artist. The authors explore the particular characteristics of the "artist identity" and suggest four tactics for working with artists: (1) Offer broad suggestions. Artists may see specific, fully formed ideas as attempts to wrest creative control. Plant just the seed of a concept, and you inspire continued engagement. (2) Temper your enthusiasm. If you're too invested in your idea, you may imply that the artist can't contribute much. A dispassionate demeanor works better. (3) Delay decision making. Expect initial resistance, and give the artist ample time to consider your ideas on their merits. (4) Show respect and like-mindedness. Acknowledging an artist's prior thinking and work will reassure him or her that your ideas are not off-base.

The tennis star talks about his legendary comeback, managing his emotions on the court, and what makes a great coach.

Rocket Internet, a unique technology incubator based in Germany, invests in and develops startups in Europe and emerging markets that are versions of successful technology firms primarily located in the United States, such as eBay, Zappos, Amazon and Groupon. Fundamentally, the company seeks to reduce the uncertainty of entrepreneurial startup ventures by imitating proven business models and replicating them in other geographic regions. Rocket Internet has recently begun to expand into emerging markets more aggressively, and its chief executive officer must now decide on the best strategy to continue the firm's global expansion.

Jack Swain, the newly appointed CEO of Starling Systems, a call center software solutions company, had a problem. Swain had recently hired in a new VP of operations, Felicia Shaw, and while she had instituted a number of much-needed changes within the organization, she had not been well-received by the tight-knit customer service team. Specifically, Starling System's top performing customer service representative, Judith Fenton, was not happy and her productivity had dropped sharply as a result. Jack had a brief discussion with Judith at the coffee bar one morning, where she revealed her discontent with Felicia's "hovering" and "harping," declaring that she could not work with her any more. The vignette ends with Jack getting ready to plan his conversation with Felicia.

Initially, the dilemma seemed to be centered on how to respond to the bad news about delayed building renovations due to government red tape, which would continue to have a negative impact on the museum. However, this was a mere symptom of the real dilema of how to further develop an institution within a society lacking institutions or with very weak institutions. The case then proceeds to outline the major periods in the museum's institutional development: Building a Past: 1954-1968 The museum was founded within a specific social and historical context which served as the foundation from which later developments emerged. Its mission was identified, a network of trustees was established, the building was secured, and perhaps most importantly, its permanent collection was acquired. Storm and Stress: 1968-1993 Major benefactors suffered economically, left the country, or both. In the 1980s, political violence and economic instability added to the challenges. During this time, the museum adapted itself to the context. Starving for revenues, it offered art classes, which contributed to its economic survival (at worst), and enabled it to achieve a modicum of self-sufficiency (at best). MALI´s Rise and Institutional Questioning: 1993-2002 The museum began to emerge in fuller form in the 1990s under the leadership of Walter Piazza, drawing support from a younger generation. In parallel with the country's rising fortunes, the museum began to broaden its support and diversify its revenues. In addition, foreign companies joined in to sponsor activities. Institutional Strengthening and the Next Five Years: 2003-2013 New activities were started and the museum gradually revived, culminating in its rebranding as MALI. However, this institutionalization process occurred within a healthy economic context. With a slowdown on the horizon and its potential subsequent pressures, would MALI as an institution be able to withstand the strain?

Excel spreadsheet for students.

EcoWash is an all-in-one system that can be used to clean the interior and exterior of a vehicle in an environmentally friendly manner. A soon-to-be business school graduate has been approached by the inventor of EcoWash to embark on a partnership and to market the product. The opportunity looks promising, but a careful examination of the product and the market place - specifically through the lens of the lean start-up methodology - is needed before a final decision can be made.

EcoWash is an all-in-one system that can be used to clean the interior and exterior of a vehicle in an environmentally friendly manner. A soon-to-be business school graduate has been approached by the inventor of EcoWash to embark on a partnership and to market the product. The opportunity looks promising, but a careful examination of the product and the market place — specifically through the lens of the lean start-up methodology — is needed before a final decision can be made.

In 2009, a former engineering student set out with some like-minded friends to create a unique fast food service in Bangalore. Hungry Hogs Private Limited adapted a classic western favourite - hot dogs - to the local palate. The company went on to experience substantial success with revenues in excess of INR 7 million in 2013. The founding partner who set the business in motion must decide between expanding his successful business through franchising options or through the continued establishment of company-owned stores. He is concerned about maintaining the integrity of his products, keeping control over his business and maintaining the brand's favourable image.

In 2009, a former engineering student set out with some like-minded friends to create a unique fast food service in Bangalore. Hungry Hogs Private Limited adapted a classic western favourite — hot dogs — to the local palate. The company went on to experience substantial success with revenues in excess of INR 7 million in 2013. The founding partner who set the business in motion must decide between expanding his successful business through franchising options or through the continued establishment of company-owned stores. He is concerned about maintaining the integrity of his products, keeping control over his business and maintaining the brand's favourable image.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania were interested in whether exposure to light early in life might affect eye growth and lead to an increased risk of myopia (nearsightedness). Eyes grew rapidly after birth, but myopia usually did not develop until later in life and arose from excessive postnatal eye growth. They knew that the duration of daily light had been shown to increase eye growth in chicks and wondered whether the same might be true for humans. The results startled researchers and might explain the increase in myopia rates over the last two centuries. The B case gives the results of a follow-on study conducted by the Ohio State University.