Gree made its distributors part-owners to escape retail squeeze
Gree made distributors part-owners of regional sales firms, aligning their profit with Gree's pricing, so it could quit Gome.
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3,236 PUBLISHED CASES · REGULARLY UPDATEDGreek city-states appointed local insiders as proxenoi to protect their traders abroad
Greek city-states appointed influential locals as proxenoi to protect their traders abroad, gaining instant credibility instead of building it from scratch.
Read the caseVictor Hugo Green mapped safe travel for Black motorists
Victor Hugo Green, a Harlem mail carrier, built a crowdsourced directory of safe businesses for Black travelers, filling a gap no official source would cover.
Read the caseCohong guild pooled funds to cover member bankruptcies
Canton's Cohong guild pooled a 3% levy to cover any member's bankruptcy, preserving foreign trust.
Read the caseTang Guangzhou let Arab merchants judge their own disputes
Tang Guangzhou let Arab merchants settle their own disputes under a headman to keep trade flowing, while retaining jurisdiction over serious crimes.
Read the caseHaidilao paid store managers more for their protégés' stores than for their own
Haidilao paid store managers more for their protégés' stores than for their own
Read the caseHaidilao turned waiting into a free salon and arcade
Haidilao turned its wait into a free salon and arcade, making the queue a draw instead of a leak.
Read the caseHaier's new director had workers smash 76 flawed fridges
Haier's new director had workers smash 76 flawed fridges instead of quietly selling them as seconds.
Read the caseHamilton City and Nature Conservancy funded a levee by donating land the Corps counts
Hamilton City and Nature Conservancy donated 1,400 acres so its restoration value tipped the Corps' ratio, funding a levee that had failed for decades.
Read the caseHan dynasty funded wars by monopolizing salt and iron
Sang Hongyang funded Han wars by monopolizing salt and iron, hiding revenue in prices instead of raising land tax.
Read the caseHanseatic League broke Bruges by walking out
The Hanseatic League, lacking an army or court, forced Bruges to restore privileges by ordering all merchants out and requiring proof they hadn't traded there.
Read the caseBritish intelligence fooled Ottomans with a staged dropped haversack
British intelligence in 1917 fooled Ottoman forces by staging a dropped haversack with fake plans, making the enemy work to discover them.
Read the caseHawala brokers moved money across empires by never actually moving any
Hawaladars moved money across empires by netting debts between trusted broker pairs, settling only the small imbalance.
Read the caseHistoric Savannah Foundation saved buildings by buying, covenanting, and reselling them
Historic Savannah Foundation saved buildings by buying, covenanting, and reselling them, recycling proceeds to save more.
Read the caseHorn & Hardart's Automat let solo diners eat without talking to anyone
Horn & Hardart's 1902 Automat let diners get meals from coin-slot compartments, removing social friction that kept women and workers out.
Read the caseHuawei reset its marketing leadership by mass resignation and rehire
Huawei's Ren Zhengfei had all marketing directors resign at once, then rehired most, so the third let go couldn't claim targeting.
Read the caseHuawei's Blue Army saved its handset business
Huawei's Blue Army argued against selling handsets, saving a business that became half its revenue.
Read the caseHuawei replaced sales commissions with team profit-sharing
Huawei abolished individual sales commissions and paid a shared pool based on team profit, revenue, and cash collection.
Read the caseHudson's Bay Company priced barter in abstract Made Beaver
Hudson's Bay Company priced guns and pelts in an abstract Made Beaver unit, enabling consistent barter without shared currency.
Read the caseIKEA answered Black Friday by buying back its own furniture
IKEA, facing a contradiction between Black Friday and its circularity pledge, bought back used furniture for store credit instead of discounting new items.
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