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Book

Thriving in the Future

A responsible leader's guide to sustainability

By Allen J. Morrison and Heidi Strebel

156 pages

Paperback

Overview

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Overview

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Sustainability and responsible leadership are more than hot boardroom topics. They are the key to a successful future for every company, large or small, across the globe. You have the power to change the world.

Thriving in the future: A responsible leader’s guide to sustainability will show you how. Morrison and Strebel offer responsible leader’s a practical, step-by-step, transformative path forward to a sustainable future developed from their extensive research and in-depth interviews with game-changing innovators like Herman Miller, Tata Motors, Philips, Nestlé, Natura, Tupperware, LEGO and many others. Their success can be your success.

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Axiom Business Book Awards 2016
Category: Philanthropy / Nonprofit / Sustainability
Bronze medal

Paperback

eBook

You can also buy the book on Barnes & Nobles, Book Depository, Orell Füssli and Routledge.

Publisher

International Institute for Management Development

ISBN

9782940485116

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Article

A strategic thinking test for leaders - Brain Circuits

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

Leadership Strategy

By Michael D. Watkins

in I by IMD

Article

Energy transition: how to surf the wave of change

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

Change Management Strategy Sustainability

By Julia Binder and Knut Haanaes

in I by IMD

Case Study

Sandoz (B): The art of staying true to your mission

Strategy Leadership Global Business

By Jim Pulcrano, Charan Singh, Zita Falk, Franciska Darmer and Barbara Schmidt-Ley

Case Study

Green or greenwashing? A 95 million dollar sustainability paradox for Michelin and BNP Paribas

Sustainability Stakeholder Management Crisis Management Social Innovation

By Vanina Farber and Shih-Han Huang

Case Study

Sandoz China: Do we stay or do we go?

Strategy China Leadership

By Mark J. Greeven and Jim Pulcrano

Case Study

Sandoz (A): Breaking free to stand alone

Strategy Leadership Global Business

By Jim Pulcrano, Charan Singh, Zita Falk, Franciska Darmer and Barbara Schmidt-Ley

Video

Lean and clean are perfect partners, says CEO of engineering giant

ABB CEO Morten Wierod on leaner cleaner strategy, electrification, automation, robotics, AI, digital transformation, sustainability, leadership.

Leadership Strategy Sustainability

By Jean-François Manzoni

in I by IMD

Podcast

Leaner, cleaner, faster, stronger: How ABB is reshaping an engineering icon for the future

ABB CEO Morten Wierod on leaner cleaner strategy, electrification, automation, robotics, AI, digital transformation, sustainability, leadership.

Innovation Leadership Sustainability

By Jean-François Manzoni

in I by IMD

Energy transition: how to surf the wave of change

By Julia Binder and Knut Haanaes
in I by IMD

Summary

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

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Change Management

Strategy

Sustainability

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Sandoz (B): The art of staying true to your mission

By Jim Pulcrano Charan Singh Zita Falk Franciska Darmer and Barbara Schmidt-Ley
Case reference: IMD-2670 ©2025

Summary

This case series explores Sandoz's spin off from Novartis, which was finalized on 4 October 2023. Case B looks at Sandoz once it has become independent. The hard work of figuring out the best way to spin off is done, a new strategy created, and some difficult choices made. But now how will CEO Richard Saynor and his leadership team ensure that Sandoz is fit for purpose?

Reference IMD-2670

Organization Sandoz

Industry Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals

Available Languages English

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Related topics

Strategy

Leadership

Global Business

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Green or greenwashing? A 95 million dollar sustainability paradox for Michelin and BNP Paribas

By Vanina Farber and Shih-Han Huang
Case reference: IMD-7-2646 ©2025

Summary

The Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility Sustainability Bond (TLFF I) was initially celebrated as a best-in-class example of sustainable finance. Issued in 2018, this $95 million financial instrument aimed to create a promising future: sustainable natural rubber plantations in Indonesia that balanced ecological preservation, local livelihoods and corporate profits. The ambitious venture sought to redefine the possibilities of transition finance and brought together several organizations: Michelin, ADM Capital and BNP Paribas, USAID, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). However, the promise of progress soon collided with the complexities of reality. The initiative faced mounting challenges, including allegations of greenwashing, community grievances and questions about compliance with emerging sustainability regulatory standards. In the end, TLFF I – the "climate-smart, wildlife-friendly, socially inclusive" sustainable finance facility used to finance Michelin's Indonesian natural rubber plantation joint venture – found itself at the center of a growing controversy that threatened to unravel years of work in corporate sustainability efforts. The case examines the paradoxes in the TLFF I and challenges students to grapple with the complexities of legitimacy, innovation, accountability, sustainability transition and regulation-timing in blended finance mechanisms. While the TLFF I case focuses on natural rubber, the challenges encountered by the different players and the lessons learned are applicable to other industries undergoing brown-to-green transitions and implementing multistakeholder solutions. The case reflects the reality that many business challenges are not dilemmas to resolve but instead involve persistent tensions that demand integrative thinking. For students, engaging with paradoxes sharpens critical thinking, fosters metacognitive awareness and builds the capacity to lead amid contradiction.

Reference IMD-7-2646

Organization Michelin, BNP Paribas, ADM Capital, Barito Pacific

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Sustainability

Stakeholder Management

Crisis Management

Social Innovation

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Sandoz China: Do we stay or do we go?

By Mark J. Greeven and Jim Pulcrano
Case reference: IMD-2680 ©2025

Summary

The Sandoz leadership team faced an important decision as it broke away from Novartis and became a public company. Should Sandoz retain the global geographical coverage it had had in its many years as part of Novartis? Or should it focus on fewer geographies and a simplification of the business models it was using? Since Sandoz was in a lower margin business than an innovator pharma company like Novartis, eventually, the senior leadership team decided to exit China. There was a belief that it was going to be difficult to compete on price with local Chinese companies, and the investment required to invest in more complex generics, as well as high-margin biosimilars, was beyond the means of Sandoz as it became a publicly listed company. The case also touches on the differences of opinion in a very strong leadership team and the options that were explored, or not, as the sale of Sandoz China to Aspen Pharmacare was concluded.

Reference IMD-2680

Organization Sandoz

Industry Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Strategy

China

Leadership

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Sandoz (A): Breaking free to stand alone

By Jim Pulcrano Charan Singh Zita Falk Franciska Darmer and Barbara Schmidt-Ley
Case reference: IMD-2669 ©2025

Summary

This case series explores Sandoz's spin off from Novartis, which was finalized on 4 October 2023. Case A follows Richard Saynor's (CEO, Sandoz) ruminations as he builds the company strategy in preparation for the board's approval of Sandoz as a standalone company. The narrative outlines the key strategic areas that Richard, along with his senior leadership team, considered and which strategy was eventually approved by the board of directors (i.e. product portfolio mix), the direction of the growth strategy (i.e. top vs. bottom line approach), target geography regions and ownership model. Case A focuses on the dilemmas and considerations of each strategic area.

Reference IMD-2669

Organization Sandoz

Industry Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Strategy

Leadership

Global Business

Browse all topics

Lean and clean are perfect partners, says CEO of engineering giant

By Jean-François Manzoni
in I by IMD

Summary

ABB CEO Morten Wierod on leaner cleaner strategy, electrification, automation, robotics, AI, digital transformation, sustainability, leadership.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Leadership

Strategy

Sustainability

Browse all topics

Leaner, cleaner, faster, stronger: How ABB is reshaping an engineering icon for the future

By Jean-François Manzoni
in I by IMD

Summary

ABB CEO Morten Wierod on leaner cleaner strategy, electrification, automation, robotics, AI, digital transformation, sustainability, leadership.

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Innovation

Leadership

Sustainability

Browse all topics