IMD business school for management and leadership courses

Corporate transformations still have a miserable success rate: About three-quarters of change efforts either fail to deliver the anticipated benefits or are abandoned entirely. And because flawed implementation is most often blamed for such failures, organizations have focused on improving execution. But poor execution is only part of the proble…

Harald (not his real name) is a highpotential leader with 15 years of experience at a leading European chemical company. He started as an assistant product manager in the plastics unit and was quickly transferred to Hong Kong to help set up the unit’s new Asian business center. As sales there soared, he soon won a promotion to sales manager. Thr…

France’s recent successes make it more important than ever to understand what makes its managers tick. This year, France surpassed Japan and the U.K. in acquisitions of U.S. companies. And many French companies are world leaders, including Michelin and L’Oreal. According to the authors, who have studied the French model of management development…

Eight years ago, Malnight, Buche, and Dhanaraj launched a study of high growth in companies, looking at three strategies known to drive it: creating new markets, serving broader stakeholder needs, and rewriting the rules of the game. To their surprise, they discovered a fourth driver they hadn’t considered at all: purpose. Companies have long be…

In 2022, the NatWest Executive Committee (ExCo) shifted its strategy to focus increasingly on growth. The previous 15 years had been spent on restructuring and reshaping following a government recapitalisation in 2008. For the ExCo to transform NatWest into a future-ready bank, it embarked on a four-retreat engagement with IMD to help it develop…

Picking up where Case A ends, Case B reveals that Grupo Inca decided to innovate internally and develop a new fabric from the rare black alpaca fiber. After nearly three years of effort, the Inoue brothers’ dream of creating a luxury collection from undyed black alpaca fiber became a reality. The collaboration between the Inoue brothers, Incalpa…

YCH Group, a pioneering family-owned logistics company in Asia evolved from a small transport business into a regional leader in supply chain solutions focused on e-commerce, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. This remarkable transformation was thanks to executive chairman Dr Robert Yap, a visionary who was fond of disruption and who rem…

Absa faced a critical rise in cyberattacks, and with the cybersecurity talent gap widening, the company urgently needed a long-term solution. To address this, former CISO Sandro Bucchianeri launched the Cybersecurity Academy in 2019, an initiative to reskill employees. It eventually partnered with the Maharishi Invincibility Institute MII and th…

Set in 2024, the case describes the trajectory of Nike’s success and how it had recently lost its way. The company was experiencing its worst slump in more than 10 years. Since 2020, CEO Donahoe oversaw a significant shift away from wholesale, with a focus on direct channels and a suite of apps. However, direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales failed to …

This brief case exercise presents an increasingly common business scenario: An established player acquires a small, agile start-up to re-energize its value proposition. In this case, established global beauty giant UrbanLuxe acquires beauty start-up KYX. UrbanLuxe represents an old-school company selling a classic portfolio mainly via traditiona…

This is a riveting case about poor board governance at Theranos that fostered a culture of deception and led to the company’s collapse and the criminal conviction of its celebrated founder, Elizabeth Holmes. Case B explains Theranos’s eventual collapse and highlights how the board contributed to a culture of deception within the company.

Shenzhen Power-Solution (SPS), founded in 2009 in China as an entrepreneurial venture, disrupted traditional lighting markets in African villages with its flagship product, Candles Killer. This solar lamp, priced under $5, replaces hazardous kerosene lamps and has an optimized design (9 components, water-bottle stands). The candles killer solar …

One year after launch, AI risk tracker underlines worrying implications of accelerating AI adoption.

Learn how to give feedback effectively with six proven leadership practices that resolve conflict, correct behavior and foster team growth.

Former RBC CHRO Zabeen Hirji shows how leaders can design Purposeful Third Acts, creating value for themselves, organizations, and society.

Climate risk is financial risk and delaying action only increases costs. Despite backlash, the shift to a cleaner energy future must accelerate.

Take the strategic thinking test for leaders to assess your readiness and explore practical steps to strengthen this vital leadership capability.

Future-ready organizations that focus on the energy transition and accelerate along with it will reap the benefits.