Jim Loree shut the boardroom doors and took a deep breath. It was August 2016, and he had just been elevated to CEO of Stanley Black & Decker (SBD). While reaching this pinnacle was an achievement, Loree realized it was just the start to a new, and perhaps more challenging journey of leading SBD through a turbulent and uncertain world. “We’re going to be catapulted into a moment in time when the ability of society to absorb the pace of technological change is going to really be tested,” Loree reflected, “and it’s going to create chaos.” Compounding the difficulties posed by this rapid technological change was a growing set of social issues, such as climate change and income inequality, that, from Loree’s perspective, governments were struggling “to attack effectively or collectively.”

This challenging landscape led Loree to confront two questions that would shape SBD’s future. The first was, “What is the amalgam of things that we have to focus on in order to be successful in this timeframe?” The second followed closely from the first: “What is going to be my legacy as I lead this company into the future?”

In this case study, learn how Jim Loree, Don Allan, Executive Vice President and CFO of Stanley Black & Decker, and their executive team pursued an activist culture with SBD, and translated that into structured experimentation, innovation, and transformation which not only kept them in front of disruption, but also enabled them to lead the industry in outcomes and value.