In May 2021, Chief People Officer Samira Eramdani needed to identify the optimal way to expand the operations of Gebeya Inc. (Gebeya). For the past few years, Gebeya had grown its virtual platform, which matched freelancers with companies that needed their services. There was strong engagement by both talent and clients with Gebeya’s offerings, and it was time to seize the next opportunity. In terms of location, Gebeya planned to pursue all geographical .....more

A junior associate at a consulting firm is startled to realize that she may have accidentally sexually harassed a colleague during a passing conversation. She wonders if she was in the wrong and is left worried that her reputation and relationship with the person may be damaged. The case explores what to do when a workplace interaction goes awry, from both the victim and perpetrator perspective. The theoretical basis of the discussion relies on the .....more

The case illustrates the complexity of sustainable development and how character equips leaders to address and resolve challenging dilemmas. It highlights the challenges encountered in 2021 by an urban strategist and architect who was engaged to support a luxury community development project in Maravida, Belize, and who was a seasoned and values-based leader who had worked with partners from across the world to support the planning and development .....more

In January 2023, Dr. Vince Molinaro, owner and founder of Leadership Contract Inc. (LCI), wanted to determine the value of each of his company’s service lines. Because the COVID-19 lockdowns began early in LCI’s second year of operations, Molinaro believed he had not had the opportunity to truly see which parts of his business brought in the most value. He expected the financial results from 2022 would provide more insight. Once he analyzed those .....more

In March 2024, Will Ullrick, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Optelic, a computer vision artificial intelligence start-up based in London, United Kingdom, had to decide the best strategy for continued operations of the business. With its seven current employees, the firm had a three-month cash runway remaining. If Optelic were to scale back to just the two co-founders, this would provide extra time to seek new financing. What option .....more

A recent marketing graduate working at a market research firm faced an ethical dilemma when her unbiased survey questions were altered to favour a client’s image. During a presentation, she discovered the revisions and was told by her supervisor that client satisfaction outweighed objectivity. Torn between professional integrity and organizational expectations, she must decide whether to conform or advocate for ethical research practices. This case .....more

This case examines the entrepreneurial journey of the owner of Legends Barbershop (Pty) Ltd. (Legends), from cutting hair in the streets of Eldorado Park, South Africa, to scaling his barbershop into a global brand with over 70 locations across multiple countries. The strategic, operational, and branding challenges involved in transitioning from a successful local business to an international enterprise while maintaining community engagement and brand .....more

Baseline Solidarity Cooperative in Artificial Intelligence (Baseline) was a solidarity co-operative located in Quebec City, Canada. It offered artificial intelligence (AI) consulting and development services that aspired to be different than the usual Silicon Valley response and considered social justice issues. By late 2023, the co-op was past the initial start-up hurdles, and the members were ready to position Baseline to grow, but they wanted to .....more

In mid-2022, Simerneet Singh, founding and managing partner of Singh & Kaur Partners, a leading full-service law firm headquartered in Bangalore, India, faced mounting internal resistance after introducing a new group of non-legal professionals to drive practice development. Seeking to enhance collaboration and client management, the firm had also rolled out a data management tool designed to consolidate client and prospect information. However, .....more

In April 2017, Tom Jones, the new managing partner of Pearce & Pearce, an English law firm, was planning to deliver a speech to the firm’s partners and lawyers. His first address would outline his long-term vision to increase the firm’s PEP from ￡0.9 million to ￡2.0 million by 2027 as well as his short-term plan to move the firm from its current position within the top 10 English firms to a spot within the top three, based on profit per equity .....more