The WOLF movement: Driving results through women at Best Buy
Julie Gilbert, senior vice president and founder of the Women’s Leadership Forum (WOLF) movement at Best Buy was ready to leave the company to take the movement to the outside world. Over a period of four and a half years, WOLF@Best Buy became a vast network of thousands of employees and consumers who worked with individuals, brands, partners, stores and communities to help Best Buy build strong woman leaders and capture a greater share of the female consumer electronics market while at the same time contributing to the local community. WOLF, in its very architecture, was created by a visionary leader as a company reinvention strategy by transforming the company from the “inside out” with female employees and, at the same time, from the “outside in” with female consumers. Responsible leadership in the form of engaging a wider stakeholder group by Julie Gilbert was a major contributor to this initiative. The case shows how a woman in a leadership position has made a contribution to society at large by involving women to help at three levels: the individual, the company and the community. Students can discuss how driving a bottom-up change initiative through employee and consumer engagement not only helps a company but can also contribute to the community.
2005-2009
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
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Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
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NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
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in Harvard Business Review May-June 2024, vol. 102, issue 3
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