In the early days of the internet, the author was studying electrical engineering at Stanford, excited by the possibilities of the new technology. Later, working in the San Francisco office of the investment bank Alex. Brown & Sons, he gained an in-depth understanding of how to transform an idea into a corporation. Obsessed with the notion of starting a venture in his native Middle East, he moved to Dubai at age 23. There he saw that Arab youths .....more

To spur innovation, businesses have spent billions on internal venture capital, incubators, and accelerators. Yet survey after survey indicates these efforts aren''t producing results. Why? Because firms fail to address one major obstacle: the day-to-day habits and routines that regularly stifle innovation. These include such things as poorly run meetings, no slack capacity, few opportunities to speak up, and the notion that doing things differently .....more

In 2018, Cycles Devinci, a bike manufacturer in Saguenay, Quebec, set itself the ambitious objective of 20% annual growth for the next three years. Simon Brodeur, global brand manager for enduro and downhill bikes, suggested the company expand into Asia Pacific. Intrigued, marketing manager Alain Pedneault asked him to draw up a proposal for selling 1,000 bikes in that region by 2021. Brodeur thus found himself compelled to formulate a proposal for .....more

Mike Zani and Daniel Muzquiz needed to decide next steps to create a new category in the human resources consulting industry and scale their company. Zani and Muzquiz, serial entrepreneurs, acquired Predictive Index in 2014. Previously, as clients of the 65-year-old Predictive Index, they had used its behavioral assessment tool to help them hire staff and build teams and they strongly believed in its value. They also believed, however, that Predictive .....more

This case illustrates the challenge and opportunities that firms face when developing and executing new business models in high-risk, low-infrastructure, low-trust countries. It features a global logistics group, Agility, that aimed to become the leader in supplying innovative solutions that provide the backbone to growing consumer markets across Africa. Agility''s objective was to fill the institutional voids in the warehousing and logistics .....more

Video supplement to case 419007.

The application of technology in the area of finance has fostered a slew of innovative financial technology (""fin-tech"") based firms. Wealth management and personal financial advisory is one of the industry segments that is witnessing a technology-led transformation across the globe with the advent of a wave of robo-advisors. The case presents an overview of the financial planning and advisory (FP&A) segment in the country .....more

In 2018, Al Baba Sweets was a major player in the Arabic sweets and confectionery industry in Lebanon. However, in the midst of a rough patch in the country''s economy, the company was suffering from decreasing revenues. Any major decision concerning the future of the third-generation family business would have to be made carefully. New, smaller competitors were entering the market alongside the industry''s large, long-time players. .....more

In 2014, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had just taken over operations of the Delhi Airport Metro (DAM), which connected the Indira Gandhi International Airport to the New Delhi railway station. However, high capital expenditures, excess operational expenditures, and low ridership meant that the concessionaire, which had been operating since 2011 on a public-private partnership model, was continuously reporting losses and therefore decided .....more