Heart Leadership case studies
The project's objectives
We work with leaders who rely not only on rational analysis and numbers, but also on the sensitive and specific skills of human beings (courage, empathy, intuition) to lead their business and make decisions.
Our goal: to document, make visible, and promote these different ways of deciding and leading in order to:
- to demonstrate the variety of possible situations in different areas of strategic decision-making (governance, product innovation, recruitment/HR, strategic partnerships, taxation, ethics, digital, research, crisis management, etc.)
- to provide a range of concrete situations in different sectors, sizes, types of companies (for purpose, for profit) and phases of the company's life
- to allow other leaders to draw inspiration from it and disseminate these new practices within leadership networks
- to provide concrete tools to leaders participating in the program developed by HLU and more broadly to any organization providing training and support for leaders.
Ultimately, by illustrating the possibility of doing things differently, it is also about contributing to renewing the imaginaries of leadership.
Case studies unlike any other!
The case studies focus on the leader, their questions, and the factors that motivated their decision. Why did I decide to tackle this issue in my company? What were my personal motivations, and why was it necessary for my organization? What obstacles/support did I encounter?
This is what makes the project unique compared to existing case studies in academic literature or business schools, which generally focus on the implementation of strategic and operational changes in companies, but rarely on the role of the leader and the driving forces behind their decisions.
The Heart Leadership case studies aim solely to describe a specific decision made by a leader within a given context. They are neither an analysis nor an opinion on the leader’s personality or the activities of their company.
Check out our case studies
Jean-Noël Thorel
NAOS – Mid-sized company, cosmetics sector
– Managing a crisis with compassion
– Strategic area: crisis management
– Skills used: intuition, courage, empathy
Cyrille Vu
Seabird – SME, Insurance Sector
– Sharing value to reconcile purpose and performance
– Strategic area: governance
– Skills mobilized: intuition & courage
Florence Guemy
Bayard Group – Mid-sized company – Media & publishing
– Reinventing Bayard in a time of major transitions
– Strategic area: governance
– Skills mobilized: intuition, courage.
Michel Meunier
Janus – Small business, construction sector.
– Refusing a client based on company values
– Strategic area: crisis management
– Skills used: intuition, courage
Antoine Fiévet
Bel – Large company, agri-food
– To pay milk producers more fairly to contribute to the transformation of the sector
– Strategic area: supply
– Skills used: intuition, courage.
Stephan Schenk and Hannah König
Stapelstein – Small Business, Toy Sector
– Regaining autonomy and freedom of choice
– Strategic area: governance
– Skills used: intuition, courage
Odile Ehrbar
Adaxo – Small Business, Maintenance Equipment Industry
– Creating a company that serves people
– Strategic area: business creation
– Skills used: intuition, courage.
Michael Hetzer
elobau – Large company – Engineering & Manufacturing Industry
– Rethinking a family legacy and redesigning a business succession
– Strategic area: succession
– Skills mobilized: empathy, courage
Our partners
Case study writers
Magali Sartre worked for over 20 years in major corporations listed on the Paris, New York, and London stock exchanges, including Suez, Lexmark International, Diageo, and Danone. For these companies, she was responsible for communications, Corporate Social Responsibility, and public affairs. Disillusioned by the inertia of large organizations in the face of the climate and human emergency, she decided to create Positive Practice© (a consulting firm) to accelerate the transformation of leaders and companies. She is also Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Bel Group. Her driving force: to be authentic, in order to be more present for others.
Emmanuelle Paillat has been working in the ecological transition for 15 years. She created the CO2 accounting system for Nature et Découvertes in 2007, then joined the consulting firm Carbone 4 to help companies count and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. She then spent seven years helping organic farmers raise funds on the Bluebees crowdfunding platform, before finally returning to her initial expertise and helping companies develop their skills in decarbonizing their value chain.