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Book

Leap

How to thrive in a world where everything can be copied

By Howard H. Yu

269 pages

Hardcover

Overview

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Overview

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In today’s competitive environment where latecomers can replicate almost any product or service for less, and where expert intuition and market intelligence have been overtaken by machine algorithms, companies can no longer just be very good at what they do. They need to leap to new knowledge disciplines. The best leap repeatedly. And it’s the combination of two skills–mastery of the old and the new–that empowers them with the best competitive advantage.

To discover how some companies not only survive but thrive for centuries, strategy expert Howard Yu identifies key trends from business history, skillfully extracting timeless lessons and applying them to today. He illustrates how managers can look to leverage technological shifts, increasingly ubiquitous connectivity, smart machines, and managerial creativity–in order to leap forward. Ultimately, Leap is a playbook for the future that shows how pioneering players can thrive by rethinking their businesses, their relationships with customers, and the very reasons they exist.

Jørgen Vig Knudstorp

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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

This book is part of a series

Changing strategies when you are late to the game
How to know if your industry is about to be disrupted
Leap: How to thrive in a world where everything can be copied
Questions your company should be asking to be future-ready
Ready for the next landscape shift? Gauge your company’s agility now
The four principles to survive disruption and flourish in a changing world

FT business books of the month (June 2018)

Strategy+Business Best Business Books 2018: Strategy

Axiom Business Book Awards 2019: Gold Medal (Business Intelligence/Innovation)

This book is part of a series

Changing strategies when you are late to the game
How to know if your industry is about to be disrupted
Leap: How to thrive in a world where everything can be copied
Questions your company should be asking to be future-ready
Ready for the next landscape shift? Gauge your company’s agility now
The four principles to survive disruption and flourish in a changing world

Hardcover

eBook

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

Publisher

PublicAffairs

ISBN

9781610398817

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DNB Bank: Embracing startups as a growth strategy

By Goutam Challagalla Francis D. Kim and Philip Charles Zerrillo
Case reference: IMD-2706 ©2025

Summary

The case examines how DNB Bank, Norway's largest financial services company, reshaped its growth strategy by focusing on startups and SMEs, a segment traditionally considered unprofitable. In 2013, DNB launched a bold SME strategy, deliberately choosing a gross approach to win new startups early in their life cycle rather than a net approach focused on the profitability of existing accounts. This strategy, enabled by a significant investment in digitalization and a cultural shift toward customer lifecycle engagement, generated exceptional results and by 2025, the SME segment delivered the highest return on allocated capital. The journey, however, was not linear. A European regulatory crackdown in 2019, following the Danske Bank money laundering scandal, forced DNB to shift its focus from growth to compliance. The bank reallocated 1,000 employees to KYC units, dismantling its startup-friendly onboarding process and causing customer acquisition to stall. As competitors advanced, DNB had to orchestrate a strategic Restart effort to rebuild its SME leadership. This involved launching superior digital tools, providing automated lending decisions within a minute, and renewing its customer-centric focus. By 2025, the recovery was well underway, with one in three Norwegian SMEs banking with DNB. The case challenges students to evaluate DNB's past choices, the critical balance between growth and compliance, and the future of SME banking as AI and digital agents transform customer interactions.

Reference IMD-2706

Organization DNB Bank

Industry Finance and Insurance, Banking

Available Languages English

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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Strategy

Customer Centricity

Business to Business

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in I by IMD

Summary

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By Jim Pulcrano Greg Knight Liming Chen and Michael Pinczuk
Case reference: IMD-2674 ©2025

Summary

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Reference IMD-2674

Organization Kontor, ResMed

Industry Manufacturing, Technology

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Innovation

Strategy

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The power of brand-led differentiation: What Vanzetti Engineering learned from luxury brands (B) (Video case)

By Stéphane J. G. Girod and Martin Králik
Case reference: IMD-2696 ©2025

Summary

This case series explores what companies can learn from luxury brands without becoming luxury brands themselves. The video B case features interviews with three Vanzetti Engineering executives: the marketing director, the CEO and owner and the chief commercial officer. With the shrinking of the automobile industry, the company has had to reposition itself in other industrial sectors where it is significantly smaller than the customers. Vanzetti Engineering embraced some of the codes of luxury branding according to what suited it and ignored others. The company discovered that although it was focused mostly on creating functional value, it had to dwell much more on emotional and societal value creation. The process of brand elevation required a complete cultural transformation, and one of the lessons from the case is that a brand is not a slogan but a way of being and of delivering value.

Reference IMD-2696

Organization Vanzetti Engineering

Industry Construction and Engineering;Manufacturing

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Luxury

Marketing

Strategy

Browse all topics

What if Europe’s biggest risk isn’t war – but running out of power?

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in I by IMD

Summary

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Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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Summary

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Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

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The power of brand-led differentiation: What Vanzetti Engineering learned from luxury brands (A)

By Stéphane J. G. Girod and Martin Králik
Case reference: IMD-2688 ©2025

Summary

Survey after survey shows that executives think their business is in danger of being commoditized. This means their company is not able to differentiate sufficiently to command higher market prices and profits. Luxury brands, by contrast, are the opposite of commodity. Their whole approach to branding is based on desirability. This case series explores what companies can learn from luxury brands without becoming luxury brands themselves. The written A case gives a short background on Vanzetti Engineering, which is facing intensifying competition in an evolving marketplace, and launches the first question for discussion.

Reference IMD-2688

Organization Vanzetti Engineering

Industry Construction and Engineering;Manufacturing

Available Languages English

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Related topics

Luxury

Marketing

Strategy

Browse all topics

Contrary to what you might have heard, Europe is a 21st-century success story