Booster Juice Case Study: Leadership Transition Challenges

This case study analyzes the leadership transition at Booster Juice, a Canadian smoothie chain, following the sale of three franchises. The primary challenge is the charismatic leadership of the previous owner, Natalie Peace, and the incoming owner, Ian Henson, who must address employee expectations. The analysis identifies causes, including Peace's leadership style, the demographic of young employees, and Henson's debt funding. The study recommends transformational leadership to match Peace's charisma, team-building activities for motivation, and cost-cutting measures to manage debt. It highlights the importance of smooth leadership transitions, employee engagement, and financial stability in maintaining business success. The study also provides actionable recommendations for Henson to ensure a successful transition and maintain the brand's positive culture.

Running Head: Booster Juice
Booster Juice
Case Study analysis

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Contents
Step 1: Define the problem..............................................................................................................1
Step 2: Identify causes.....................................................................................................................1
Potential cause 1: Charismatic leadership of Peace.....................................................................1
Potential cause 2: Demographic...................................................................................................1
Potential cause 3: Debt funding...................................................................................................2
Step 3: Recommendations...............................................................................................................2
Recommendation for improving cause 1: Transformational leaderships....................................2
Recommendation for improving cause 2: Team building and motivation...................................2
Recommendation for improving cause 3: Cost cutting................................................................3
References........................................................................................................................................4

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Step 1: Define the problem
Booster juice is Canada’s largest chain of fresh juice and smoothie bars. It has over 300 outlets
across the globe (Fergus, 2016). At present, the major problem associated with Booster juice is
the change of leadership that the employees are expected to face in the recent future. Natalie
peace, the current owner of the three Booster juice franchise at Kamloops has decided to sell all
three franchises to Ian Henson. The first problem is that Peace is a flamboyant and inspirational
leadership figure and hence Ian has some tough shoes to fill (Bryman, 2013). It is imperative that
the policies and values are maintained and the leadership transition is very smooth. The second
problem is that Ian has incurred debt from various sources to buy these three outlets and hence
he would immediately have to indulge into some cost cutting activities to sustain the business.
This is difficult owing to the current policies and culture that Natalie has maintained at the
organization.
Step 2: Identify causes
Potential cause 1: Charismatic leadership of Peace
One of the major cause behind the problem of a smooth transition could be the mind blowing
example set by peace. She is a charismatic and inspirational women and all her employees look
up to her. Therefore Henson has some really tough steps to follow. Natalie has a strong value set
and has been pillar in the current success of Booster juice. She has ensured that the success of the
brand comes along with personal growth of employees (Bolman, 2017). Hence the employees
have high expectations from Ian and it is imperative that he lives up to them for a smooth
leadership transition.
Potential cause 2: Demographic
The demography of the employees currently working at Booster juice include mostly women
with a media age of 18. Most employees are high schools or university aged and hence are
involved in participating in various extracurricular activities. This is a major cause of concern as
these employees are in their first jobs and serve a stern loyalty towards Peace.

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Potential cause 3: Debt funding
Another major concern for Ian is the fact that he will be taking ownership of these three outlets
solely with Debt taken from friends, family and a bank. This would mean that he would have to
take some measures to cut costs and reduce expenditure at the firm. This would be a cause of
worry as these steps may bring about a change in working culture which might make the
transition rough for the employees.
Step 3: Recommendations
Recommendation for improving cause 1: Transformational leaderships
The foremost strategy that should be used by Ian in order to achieve a smooth transition as a
leader of Booster Juice would be to depict brilliant transformational leadership skills. It is of
utmost importance that Ian is able to match up to the charisma and flamboyance of Peace in
order to motivate, inspire and lead employees at Booster Juice. Transformational leadership style
is often adopted when the organization is going through a major change (Kark, 2013). This
provides an opportunity to the leader to guide the mission and vision of the organization with its
employees and create a change through inspiration (Roueche, 2014).
Recommendation for improving cause 2: Team building and motivation
As mentioned in the case study, that most of the employees’ first job has been at Booster Juice.
Hence the only leader they have every worked with is Peace. This calls for efforts from Ian to
break ice with the team members by conducting some formal and informal team building
exercises. Ian must work hard at connecting with the employees and motivating them to work
hard and align their personal goals with organizational goals. These team building exercises are
expected to bring a fresh wave of hope, optimism and aspiration in the organization (Ireland,
2017). Such activities also enhance the communication and feedback process of the firm and this
will surely help Ian in connecting better with his employees, working in coordination with them
and addressing their grievances if any (Aga, 2016).
Motivational strategies in the forms of rewards and recognitions in the organization must be
implemented (Mishra, 2016). Employee of the month and best performance in the quarter must

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be fairly rewarded and appraised. For example, the best performing employee for the month
should be given a badge to be worn every day and transferred to the next winner in the next
month. This would ensure motivation at a lesser cost to the company.
Recommendation for improving cause 3: Cost cutting
The major issue that would be faced by Ian is consistent efforts that he would have to put in
cutting costs due to high debt. This cost cutting is crucial and it is imperative to achieve the same
without hampering the organizational culture much. Firstly, peace had a policy of acts of
kindness which cost the firm $35000 annually. This cost should be cut to half and employees
must be asked to reduce this time to half an hour daily from one hour.
Secondly, the monthly manager development meetings must be changed to every two months.
Certain team building activities should also be conducted like pot lunches which would increase
team bonding and reduce costs for the company.
Thirdly, employees must be asked to provide their schedules a month in advance for the next 30
days and Ian must effectively work on ensuring efficient scheduling of employee’s work timings.
This should be mailed to employees on the first of every month. This process is aimed at
ensuring that no additional cost is incurred in hiring additional staff on short notice.

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References
Aga, D. A., Noorderhaven, N., & Vallejo, B. (2016). Transformational leadership and project
success: The mediating role of team-building. International Journal of Project
Management, 34(5), 806-818.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.
John Wiley & Sons.
Bryman, A. (Ed.). (2013). Leadership and organizations. Routledge.
Fergus, A., Fergus, A., Bell, T., & Bell, T. (2016). Booster juice–big shoes to fill. The CASE
Journal, 12(3), 449-470.
Ireland, J. D., Deloney, L. A., Renfroe, S., & Jambhekar, K. (2017). The Use of Team-Building
Activities to Build a Better Resident. Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology.
Kark, R., & Shamir, B. (2013). The dual effect of transformational leadership: Priming relational
and collective selves and further effects on followers. In Transformational and Charismatic
Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. 77-101). Emerald Group Publishing
Limited.
Mishra, Y., & Swain, R. N. (2016). Motivation and its impact on performance-an article
survey. ACADEMICIA: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 6(10), 31-45.
Roueche, P. E., Baker III, G. A., & Rose, R. R. (2014). Shared vision: Transformational
leadership in American community colleges. Rowman & Littlefield.