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Mid-2015, hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the Near East sought asylum in the European Union. At the spike of the influx, over 4,000 asylum seekers, most from war-torn Syria, were landing in the Netherlands each week. The Dutch Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers was overwhelmed: it had to create dozens of reception centers from scratch, sometimes within just 48 hours, and sought to provide beds to all those entering. Anthony Slinkert, one of the agency's regional managers, was charged with finding locations for new centers in the eastern part of the country. His work on the ground was directly impacted by tense political debates in the European Union, in national and local governments, as well as by the ongoing debates in media and in towns across his region, since the arrival of the asylum seeker evoked unrest in local communities- exactly where Slinkert had to carry out his job.

In 2013, the edible bird's nest industry outfaced chaotic market competition, poor customer awareness, a lack of trust, and a lack of strong branding during its infancy, thereby resulting in development opportunities for new categories and brands. Xiaoxiandun Freshly Stewed Edible Bird's Nest ("XXD") foresaw the strategic direction and emerged into prominence in the industry within less than six years. Moreover, XXD solved the pain points of the industry and consumers, developed the category of "freshly stewed bird's nests," introduced a customer-to-manufacturer (C2M) model, and directly reached consumers from the factory through value creation. Furthermore, XXD achieved rapid growth and became a leader in the industry through its innovative business model. However, XXD, which began with online sales, faced back-and-forth attacks from competitors. Traditional bird's nest giants launched online sales, intensifying online traffic and competition. Accordingly, XXD considered opening brick-and-mortar stores to further expand the brand's influence and increase its competitiveness, which would require a huge investment of resources. However, no consensus was reached among the founders of XXD despite several discussions within the company.

Psychedelic drugs have a history clouded by stigma, but a new wave of clinical research could change how they're perceived and used. Today, a psychedelic renaissance points to potential uses of such drugs in the fields of psychiatry, mental health, and well-being. Some companies have seized upon psychedelics' potential to treat psychological conditions and spur creativity and are making business investments that they hope will pay off in breakthroughs that improve people's lives.

Bengaluru Airport began an expansion project worth US$2 billion in 2018, but by mid-2020 COVID-19 had severely impacted the aviation industry and reduced passenger volume at the airport by half. Although the airport’s leadership team had detected the crisis early and taken swift action, with no cure for the virus in sight business continuity and staff safety were in jeopardy. The next board meeting was in August 2020, less than seven weeks away, and the pandemic threatened to derail the expansion plans. Among other pressing questions the leadership team had to address—including whether to continue with the expansion plan, reduce its scope, or delay it—was whether they had done enough throughout the crisis to inspire confidence.

Presentation to accompany product W25430.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), the world’s second-largest retailer, officially entered the Chinese market in Shanghai in August 2019. The opening day was so jam-packed with customers that the massive influx forced the company to close early, after only five hours of operations. However, after only one week, customers were lining up outside the store, asking Costco for refunds for their membership cards. The warehouse’s traffic declined significantly as well. What caused this situation? Did Costco make the right decision to enter the Chinese market? Does Costco’s membership system fit the Chinese market? What kinds of challenges will Costco face in the future?

A SAFE ("Simple Agreement for Future Equity") is a security increasingly used in seed financings. Not equity or debt, SAFEs allow founders to "get capital now and sell equity later." This Technical Note covers: 1. What is a SAFE and why use one?, 2. The key concepts involved when calculating a SAFE's future ownership in a start-up, 3. Calculating a "fully-diluted" capitalization table with multiple SAFEs, and 4. Some not-so-safe wrinkles to the security.

Companies seeking more sustainable product strategies should explore using biological (nonfossil) resources, waste streams, and manufacturing byproducts. New materials technologies and processes are replacing fossil-based ingredients with bio-based alternatives from the agriculture, forestry, and marine industries.

For decades in the United States, the name Hershey has been synonymous with chocolate. From the iconic foil-wrapped Hershey's Kiss to the chocolate syrup for milk or ice cream, the company's offerings have been enjoyed by generations of consumers. Over its long history Hershey has found dozens of ways to keep innovating with chocolate and other sweet treats--different brands, flavors, sizes, packaging, and products--and taken them to other geographic regions. In the past few years, however, the company has embarked on a more ambitious journey. First, it set a bold new strategy: to make Hershey a powerhouse in snacks as well as confections, by expanding into savory and better-for-you product categories. Then it streamlined global operations, bolstered its core businesses, developed a more courageous culture, and executed a series of diversifying acquisitions. In the process, Hershey became more entrepreneurial, adaptable, and resilient.

Harvard Business Review published its first issue 100 years ago with a mission to help leaders put the best management thinking into practice. To mark our centennial, we asked eight current and former CEOs from some of the world's top companies to describe the ideas that have propelled their own careers and organizations. Stephane Bancel, the CEO of Moderna, on planning from the future back; Anish Shah, CEO of Mahindra, on purpose-driven strategy; Roz Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, on listening as a leader; Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L'Oreal, on global vision with local execution; Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China, on continuous innovation; Mo Ibrahim, former CEO of Celtel, on inclusive capitalism; Ignacio Galan, CEO and chairman of Iberdrola, on transparent sustainability reporting; Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo, on performance with purpose. As we at HBR look to the future, we recommit to our mission of helping leaders build a better world for customers, employees, partners, and communities.

Toto Wolff, the team principal for Mercedes-AMG Petronas--arguably the most impressive team in F1 racing history--has led his organization to unparalleled success. Mercedes earned the Constructors' Championship (for best overall team performance) every year from 2014 through 2021, and over that time frame it won nearly 70% of the Grand Prix races it competed in. To understand what made that possible, Harvard Business School's Anita Elberse spent time with the team in 2021, conducting interviews and watching what went on behind the scenes before, during, and after races. She found that Wolff shapes the culture at Mercedes to a remarkable degree. Elberse's takeaway? What you say and do as a leader has a surprisingly powerful effect on the organization you run. In this article, drawing on her observations of Wolff's management style and practices, Elberse presents six lessons that can help any leader cultivate a winning team: (1) Set the highest standards for everyone; (2) put people front and center; (3) analyze mistakes continually--even when winning; (4) foster an open, no-blame culture; (5) trust superstars but maintain authority; and (6) relentlessly battle complacency.

Mentoring programs operate under the promise that matching seasoned executives with up-and-coming professionals will produce all sorts of benefits. Unfortunately, relationships often remain superficial and transactional. These problems have only gotten worse with remote and hybrid work, which makes meaningful personal interaction difficult. To reap the full benefits of developmental relationships and create "authentic sponsorship," companies must focus on two vital qualities: public advocacy and relational authenticity. Public advocacy is a one-way process by which "seniors" use their power to help "juniors" get career opportunities. It produces visible and measurable outcomes, such as promotions and stretch assignments. Relational authenticity is a two-way process in which both parties share their perspectives and make themselves open to hearing and learning from each other. Juniors get the support and validation they need to take on new challenges, and seniors understand where their juniors' capabilities and talents lie and care enough about them to put their own reputations on the line. This article lays out the various stages of the journey to authentic sponsorship: mentor, strategizer, connector, opportunity giver, and sponsor.

Few organizations provide strong guidance or training for managers on meeting individually with their employees, but the author's research shows that managers who don't hold these meetings frequently enough or who manage them poorly risk leaving their team members disconnected, both functionally and emotionally. When the meetings are done well, they can make a team's day-to-day activities more efficient and better, build trust and psychological safety, and improve employees' experience, motivation, and engagement at work. The author has found that although there's no one-size-fits-all approach to one-on-ones, they are most successful when the meeting is dominated by topics of importance to the direct report rather than issues that are top of mind for the manager. Managers should focus on making sure the meetings take place, creating space for genuine conversation, asking good questions, offering support, and helping team members get what they need to thrive in both their short-term performance and their long-term growth.

Three new books explore how Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok got us all hooked--even though they don't make us happy.

The cofounder of Rolling Stone discusses how a magazine launched on the fly revolutionized music journalism, changed the way politics and social issues were covered, and promoted great talent.

Promigas, founded in 1974, is one of the pioneering companies in the natural gas sector in Latin America. Its role has been fundamental in the process of widespread use of this energy source in Colombia. This case presents its history and that of one of its subsidiaries, Gases de Occidente (1992). The case describes the challenges of innovating to increase gas service coverage in contexts where institutional voids are prevalent. The case provides an opportunity to discuss a lack of intermediaries, or the participation of a few actors in these voids, and how companies can take actions to overcome shortcomings. Provision of public services such as gas distribution implies exposure to risks, including interference from political actors with claims unrelated to collective interests.

Familia Torres, a Spaniard winery, had been working actively since 2008 to mitigate and adapt to climate change through its Torres & Earth program. At the beginning of 2022, when the pandemic was finally nearing its end, the challenge for Familia Torres was how to define a sustainability strategy for the future. This had led Familia Torres to search for new terroirs at higher altitudes to find the right balance of heat during the day and cold at night, in order to achieve a quality wine. Another strategy had been to recover local ancestral varieties, resilient to these new climate scenarios. The threat of water scarcity also loomed over the vineyards, as well as other ecological risks which reduced its productivity. A "beyond sustainability" strategy was presented as a hopeful one, which focused on reversing climate change from the local sphere of action and was consistent with the family motto "the more we take care of the land, the better wine we produce". However, this promising strategy involved many uncertainties. From a commercial perspective, it was not clear how it would affect production, how it would be articulated with the commercial strategy, or whether consumers would know how to appreciate this product. From an ecological perspective, it was unclear how much carbon it would absorb, and for how long. In the light of this situation, the Familia Torres management team sometimes ask themselves whether they should maintain the strategy of going "beyond sustainability" or consider strategies more con-sistent with the mainstream approach to climate resistance viticulture, such as, for example, the genetic improvement of the grapes, or intensify the strategy of transfer to colder areas.

Dalian Bio-Chem Co. Ltd. (Bio-Chem) had been deeply involved in the field of industrial fungicides for nearly twenty years and occupied a place in both domestic and overseas markets. Since its establishment in 2003, Bio-Chem had adhered to a strategy of centralization, with industrial fungicides as its main business products. Bio-Chem was successfully listed on the A-share market in China in 2012, and it grew rapidly in the ten years that followed. Although Bio-Chem had become a leader in the field of industrial fungicides, its chairman believed that companies should not be content with the status quo. Some within the company believed Bio-Chem should carry out a diversification strategy because it had sufficient funds to do so; others thought it should carry out an integrated strategy because the downstream industry was very profitable; and others thought it should stick to a centralized strategy because the market demand for industrial fungicides was still very large, and adhering to a centralization strategy meant there would be room for growth. The chairman had to consider the opportunities and challenges of each strategy and determine which direction to take the company.

Zenoti was a software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorn based out of Bellevue, Washington. Zenoti’s SaaS was focused on back-office resource allocation and enabling multi-location spas and salons to digitize the consumer experience. After the latest round of funding, Zenoti’s chief executive officer, Sudheer Koneru, was keen to invest in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to deliver an Uber-like experience to consumers. Other options for pursuing growth included geographic expansion, new customer segments, and entry into new competitive arenas. In January 2021, Koneru would have to identify and consider new growth ideas for Zenoti.

Zenoti was a software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorn based out of Bellevue, Washington. Zenoti's SaaS was focused on back-office resource allocation and enabling multi-location spas and salons to digitize the consumer experience. After the latest round of funding, Zenoti's chief executive officer, Sudheer Koneru, was keen to invest in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies to deliver an Uber-like experience to consumers. Other options for pursuing growth included geographic expansion, new customer segments, and entry into new competitive arenas. In January 2021, Koneru would have to identify and consider new growth ideas for Zenoti.