YOUR STRATEGY. YOUR EMPLOYABILITY.

Archives

BE-EDGE > News

Meet the 2025 MYCC Finalists

April 9, 20250

The first-ever International “Making Your Consulting Case” (MYCC) 2025 competition wrapped up in Kelowna, BC, spotlighting the next generation of global case consultants. Hosted in this vibrant Canadian city, the event brought together innovative minds from around the world to present real-world strategy cases.

After a series of rigorous presentations and impressive insights, the winners of MYCC 2025 have been announced:

First Place

Iryna Colon
Case: NOVA POSHTA: Expansion into West Europe

Second Place

Jack Jamroz
Case: KYIVSTAR: A Telecommunications Company in the Face of an Invasion

Third Place

Katelyn Guevara
Case: I Did It My Way: Pacific Air’s Journey in Management

Honorable Mentions

Vanessa Kwakye
Case: ALLY PHARMACY: Providing Reliable Healthcare Solutions Across Africa

Julia Adrian
Case: DTEK Renewables – International Extension

Congratulations to all participants for their strategic thinking, bold ideas, and commitment to delivering value. The 2025 MYCC competition has once again proven the power of case consulting to drive meaningful impact in a global marketplace.

Stay tuned for what’s next at BE-EDGE. 

 

Want to practice your consulting skills while waiting for the next MYCC?

Take our free course on Making Your Consulting Case (MYCC) and start making an impact.

 

BE-EDGE Launches “Becoming a Case Consultant (BCC) Course Creator Program” to Bridge the Gap Between Learning and Real-World Experience

March 28, 20250

BE-EDGE is excited to launch the BCC Course Creator Program, an opportunity for anyone—whether you’re a student, recent graduate, or industry explorer—to turn what you know into real-world case consulting experiences for others. No teaching background? No problem. This program is for anyone who wants to share insights, create hands-on learning opportunities, and help others gain experience while strengthening their own resume.

 

Why It Matters:
Most job postings ask for experience, even for entry-level roles. Certifications and coursework alone aren’t enough—employers want proof that candidates can apply what they’ve learned. BCC helps bridge this gap by providing project-based experiences that showcase real skills.

 

Who Can Join?
 – Anyone with knowledge to share—no formal teaching background required.
 – Recent grads and career changers who want to explore new industries.
 – People who love breaking down ideas and guiding others.

 

“Learning isn’t just about taking courses—it’s about applying what you know. The BCC Course Creator Program gives people a way to share their knowledge in a practical, resume-building way while helping others gain hands-on experience,” said Kate, the BCC Managing Director.

Ready to turn what you know into a valuable experience for others? Join the BCC Course Creator Program today. 

Apply here.

Join our community of course creators here.   

Finalists of 2025 “Making Your Consulting Case” Competition Honored at Srinivasan Family Awards Dinner

March 11, 20250

The 2025 “Making Your Consulting Case” (MYCC) competition winners were honored at the Srinivasan Family Awards Dinner, gaining industry recognition and career opportunities. Their real-world consulting projects set them apart as emerging global consultants.

Finalists Vanessa Kwakye, Jack Jamroz, and Iryna Colon received awards for their consulting cases:

More than an academic achievement, these projects have transformed into tangible gigs, solidifying their positions as global problem solvers. Their work impressed industry professionals and enriched their portfolios, giving them a competitive edge in consulting.

Celebrating its third anniversary, the Srinivasan Family Awards program supports students tackling pressing issues in emerging markets. With this recognition, the MYCC finalists are poised to make lasting impacts worldwide.

Want to build your own consulting portfolio? Join the 2026 MYCC Competition now!

Recap: Dr. Julia Ivy’s Keynote at SECRA 2025

February 24, 20250

At SECRA 2025 on February 20th, Dr. Julia Ivy shared valuable insights on “When Case Writing is Meaningful for Students.” She explored how case writing serves as a bridge between students and businesses, enhances employability, and prepares them for the evolving job market.

Key takeaways included the importance of strategic differentiation, the role of consulting cases in career development, and how educators can integrate case writing into their curriculum. The session concluded with a discussion on empowering students to see case writing as an investment in their future.

Stay tuned for more insights from the event!

Dr. Julia Ivy to Keynote at WCA 2025: Consulting Cases for Employability Investments

February 18, 20250

On March 20, 2025, Dr. Julia Ivy will take the stage as a keynote speaker at the Western Casewriters Association 2025 Conference, sharing her expertise on how consulting cases can transform employability. In her talk, Dr. Ivy will explore how career changers and students can use consulting cases to sharpen skills, boost their marketability, and create meaningful professional connections.

Her innovative approach offers practical strategies for leveraging real-world cases to stand out in competitive job markets. Don’t miss the chance to learn from one of the leading voices in employability strategy! Stay tuned for more updates as Dr. Ivy prepares to share her insights at the WCA 2025 Conference!

2025 MYCC Winners to Be Announced at WCA Conference in Canada

February 13, 20250

The 2025 Making Your Consulting Case (MYCC) Competition is nearing its conclusion, with winners set to be announced at the WCA Conference during the Western Academy of Management (WAM) annual meeting in Kelowna, Canada, this March 2025. This prestigious event will also feature an award ceremony recognizing outstanding achievements across various fields. Stay tuned for more details as we celebrate the hard work and innovation of this year’s MYCC participants!

 

Visit here to stay informed and find out who this year’s case clients are!

Want to start your consulting journey? Start here! 

Dr. Julia Ivy to Deliver Keynote at SECRA 2025 on When Case Writing is Meaningful for Students

February 7, 20250

Dr. Julia Ivy, a thought leader in Boutique Employability as a Competitive Strategy, has been invited as a keynote speaker at the Southeastern Conference for Research in Accounting (SECRA) on February 20-22, 2025. She will present on “When Case Writing is Meaningful for Students”, demonstrating how professionals and career changers can leverage consulting cases to build market value and gain a competitive edge.

 

With expertise in psychology and strategy, Dr. Ivy is dedicated to helping well-educated individuals facing the “What’s next?” challenge. Her research and personal experience as an immigrant navigating new career landscapes fuel her commitment to empowering professionals with personalized, strategic career solutions.

 

SECRA, a hub for academic and industry discussions, provides an ideal platform for Dr. Ivy to share her insights on MYCC and its role in transforming career trajectories.

Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting event!

Want to learn more about MYCC? Click here to explore how it can work for you!

BE-EDGE Launches First Annual MYCC Competition

January 31, 20250

The First Annual 2025 MYCC Competition is happening now! This year, nine compelling cases have been submitted, with 7 judges evaluating participants’ strategic approaches. The competition provides a platform for aspiring professionals to showcase their expertise and apply the MYCC framework in real-world scenarios. Stay tuned for results and highlights! 

2025 Case Company line up 

  • Pacific Air Heating & Air Conditioning
  • ALLY PHARMACY
  • NOVA POSHTA 
  • DTEK Renewables 
  • KYIVSTAR: A Telecommunications Company
  • Aptus Staffing Solutions
  • RECOIL TRAMPOLINE PARK
  • IMWE
  • FALL LINE 

 

Discover the cases now! 

Dr. Julia Ivy’s Holiday Message– A Fresh Start for 2025

December 29, 20240

This holiday season, Dr. Julia Ivy is sharing an inspiring message about new beginnings and taking charge of your future. If you’ve been feeling uncertain about your next steps, now’s the perfect time to start fresh and carve out your unique path.

To kick off the new year, Julia’s Personal Positioning Strategy course is available at a special holiday price—reduced from $119 to just $49! This is your opportunity to gain the clarity and confidence needed to stand out in 2025.

Don’t wait! This limited-time offer is your first step toward a purposeful and impactful year ahead.

Read more about the course here: https://be-edge.learnworlds.com/personal-positioning-strategy

Watch Dr. Julia Ivy’s Holiday message here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DD8V9qDNMWL/ 

Successful Completion of the Personal Strategy Workshop

October 10, 20240

On October 5, a group of 16 participants in Boston proudly completed the Personal Strategy Workshop, marking a significant milestone in their professional journeys. This workshop focused on the “So What” and implementation aspects of personal strategy, empowering individuals to effectively communicate their goals and aspirations.

Throughout the workshop, participants engaged in exciting activities aimed at exciting stakeholders about their personal strategies. The key goal was to help them elucidate their core, enabling them to deliver clear and impactful messages about their aspirations.

The framework covered several important areas:

  • Position: Understanding how to present themselves to potential employers.
  • Growth: Identifying who can be an investor in their growth.
  • Self: Supporting their lifestyle and life choices.
  • EDGE: Collaborating to highlight what makes them unique.

Participants learned three effective message delivery methods:

  1. Formal Written Messages: Crafting polished emails, cover letters, portfolios, and LinkedIn posts.
  2. Visual Storytelling: Using informal communication for trusted connections, such as recording videos for family members or close friends to share their goals.
  3. Narratives: Weaving short episodes from their lives to illustrate their ambitions and the decisions that shape their future, effectively planting seeds for conversations about their desired paths.

All participants left the workshop with a clearly defined personal strategy and the tools to effectively convey their messages to stakeholders. This program continues to exemplify BE-EDGE’s commitment to empowering individuals in their personal and professional development.

Learn more about Personal Positioning Strategy here! 

BE-EDGE Fall Digital Marketing Internship Program Now Open!

October 9, 20240

We are excited to announce that applications for our BE-EDGE Fall Internship Program are now open! This is a unique opportunity for aspiring digital marketing professionals to gain hands-on experience and build valuable skills in a fast-paced, creative environment.

The program offers specialized internship roles in the following areas:

  • Digital Marketing Intern specialized in Video Production: Work on creating engaging video content, from ideation to editing, that will be used across social media platforms and campaigns.
  • Digital Marketing Intern specialized in Community Management: Build and manage vibrant online communities by fostering meaningful interactions and relationships with our audience.
  • Digital Marketing Intern specialized in Social Media Content: Assist in planning, creating, and analyzing social media posts that align with broader marketing strategies.
  • Digital Marketing Intern specialized in Email Marketing: Support the development of targeted email campaigns, optimize subscriber lists, and track performance to enhance engagement.

Why an Internship Program?

 

The Fall Internship Program aligns with BE-EDGE’s mission to help individuals:

  • Discover their professional goals through exposure to various roles.
  • Gain practical experience working with an American startup company.
  • Contribute value and make a meaningful impact within the company.
  • Receive guidance on entering the job market as a global talent.

 

These core values are central to the BE-EDGE method, ensuring that participants receive comprehensive support and preparation for their professional journeys.

 

Program Highlights

 

  • Hands-on Projects: Interns will contribute to live campaigns and marketing strategies.
  • Mentorship: Work closely with experienced marketing professionals.
  • Skill Development: Learn industry-standard tools and strategies, with opportunities to enhance video production, social media management, and data analysis skills.

 

The internship will run for 3 months starting October to December 2024 and offers a flexible schedule of 10-20 hours per week, remote working model. This is a fantastic opportunity for students and recent graduates to jumpstart their digital marketing careers.

 

Applications are open now and will close on October 5, 2024, Saturday.

For more information and to apply, visit https://be-edge.com/be-edge-internship-program/ . 

Zoom Workshop for All Case Authors: Prepare for the 2025 “Making Your Consulting Case” Competition

September 28, 20240

The Western Case Writers Association (WCA) and the Journal of Case Research and Inquiry (JCRI) are pleased to invite all educators, practitioners, and students to a Zoom Workshop dedicated to those submitting consulting cases for the 2025 “Making Your Consulting Case” competition.

 

This workshop is designed to help case authors refine their submissions, offering valuable insights into what makes a successful consulting case. Participants will benefit from expert advice tailored specifically for the competition, enhancing their ability to present compelling cases for the international stage.

Stay tuned for more updates on the workshop, including details on how it will support authors in preparing for the competition. Further information will be provided soon!

Learn more about Making Your Case Consulting (MYCC) here!

Upcoming Personal Strategy Workshops: A Comprehensive Two-Weekend Program

September 19, 20240

Clarify Your Path with Our Hybrid Workshops

We are thrilled to introduce a comprehensive two-weekend program designed to enhance your personal strategy and coaching skills, held at a prestigious university in Boston.

 

  1. Personal Positional Strategy Workshop – Part 1
  • Date: September 21, 2024
  • Location: Boston, MA (Hybrid – On Ground)
  • Details: Join us for the first part of our hybrid workshop series. This on-ground session will cover the basics of personal positional strategy, including an overview, assessment techniques, and effective coaching methods.

 

  1. Virtual Course: Personal Positional Strategy – Part 2
  • Dates: September 22 – October 4, 2024
  • Platform: Online
  • Details: Dive deeper into your personal strategy with Part 2 of our hybrid course. This virtual component focuses on your unique strategy, offering self-coaching and peer-coaching exercises. Follow Dr. Julia Ivy’s detailed step-by-step instructions and utilize provided templates to refine your approach. Explore the course here.

 

  1. Personal Positional Strategy Workshop – Part 3
  • Date: October 5, 2024
  • Location: Boston, MA (Hybrid – On Ground)
  • Details: Conclude the series with Part 3, focusing on impression management. This on-ground session will teach you how to effectively present your personal strategy to potential employers, partners, and sponsors.

 

Key Dates:

  • September 21: Hybrid workshop Part 1 in Boston
  • September 22 – October 4: Online course Part 2
  • October 5: Hybrid workshop Part 3 in Boston

 

Stay tuned for more updates, and if you’re interested in learning about your personal strategy, check out our course here!  For more information or to get in touch with us, contact us now!

Deadline Approaching for “Making Your Consulting Case Competition 2025” Case Proposal

September 18, 20240

Attention all aspiring consultants! The deadline for submitting your case proposal for the “Making Your Consulting Case Competition 2025” is quickly approaching. Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your skills and compete for recognition in this prestigious international competition.

 

Key Details:

  • Submission Deadline: September 20, 2024
  • Competition: “Making Your Consulting Case Competition 2025”

Sign up here now! 

 

Prepare your case proposal and submit it by the deadline to ensure your participation in this exciting event. If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to contact us.

Good luck to all participants—we look forward to your innovative and insightful proposals! 

CEO World: Julia Ivy on Synchronizing Companies’ Competitive Strategy with Built-in Employability of Their Employees FOR EMPLOYERS

September 12, 20240

Companies that honor the competitive strategy of “built-in employability” are able to recalibrate for fast recovery, and even growth, in times when the economy struggles. These companies know to turn to the vast reserve of internal talent represented among staff impact to their competitive strategies.

Built-in employability celebrates the culture of “making your case for shaping your space.” It allows them to apply the array of skills and talents that they have accumulated from their previous jobs, hobbies or experiences for designing their own unique space in the company. In companies with an internal strategy for built-in employability, employees feel empowered to utilize their distinctive body of knowledge to provide novel ideas and problem-solving abilities across the organization where they can make a difference.

Especially in this time of crisis and dramatic change to normal business operations, companies can utilize the concept of built-in employability among employees to unleash new, creative and innovative approaches that will better position the organization for relevance and survival.

The inherent value in built-in employability rests on four pillars:

  1. We are multidimensional.
    Employees may be given the title of “accountant,” or “salesperson” or “administrator,” but none of the people in these roles are one-dimensional. No employees should be compartmentalized or limited to applying only those skills applicable to the job at hand. Employees bring with them a diverse skill set that extends beyond their job descriptions. They may have passions and capabilities developed from previous careers that entailed a dramatically different professional environment. They may have experience operating in emerging economies, as a professional athlete, or in an entirely unrelated industry that give them unique perspectives they can contribute. Taken together, the personal, social, and professional capital of multidimensional employees can be a resource as companies develop new products or services, or ways of operating, communicating, or problem-solving.
    For example, a project manager may have former military experience that involved deployment in a remote part of the world. His experience can lend itself to teams who are now working virtually.
  2. We rely on employees’ creative edge.
    Converting the stockpile of employees’ multidimensional capital into an asset and a source of increasing the company’s competitive edge can be accomplished by institutionalizing ways to solicit and implement their winning ideas. Managers must regularly share company challenges and ask employees to present proposals that can help solve them.
    For example, a security guard employed by a now-shuttered historical museum solves the museum’s challenge of keeping patrons engaged during the coronavirus epidemic by acting as a tour guide via Twitter.
  3. We invite “Make Your Case” proposals.
    When companies face a pressing challenge, instead of bringing in consultants to find answers, they start by activating their own staff to offer solutions. This can be formalized through Make Your Case initiatives. Such initiatives provide a canvas for employees’ problem-solving contributions. Proposals can come from individuals or small teams. The company lays out the context and criteria in a way that standardizes submissions.
    For example, an employee with long-standing experience in video gaming proposes an innovative and virtual outreach campaign to involve teens in the company’s product in her Make Your Case solution to tap new audiences in this time of social distancing.
  4. We welcome staff to “shape their space” within the company.
    Employee-proposed solutions to critical company challenges offer value through fresh ideas that have often been field-tested in other contexts. These solutions also showcase employees’ built-in employability as their involvement in finding and implementing innovative solutions broadens their role in the company. By inviting employees to express their original ideas and define a course of action, they’re provided a stepping-stone for shaping their unique and valuable space within the company.
    For example, a team of employees proposed a solution to the company’s canned customer messages for keeping clients informed during the pandemic’s shelter-in-place requirements. Their experiences with posting inspirational YouTube videos online led to a campaign of rousing videos about what employees were doing to help with organizational outreach efforts in their communities. They worked directly with the marketing and communication team to help keep the company top-of-mind among customers.

Using the four pillars of built-in employability, companies engage their diverse staff to generate value by applying their multidimensional expertise in Make Your Case initiatives. At the same time, employees craft their space in the company as they’re given a chance to showcase their capabilities. They feel a sense of ownership as they identify and implement valuable solutions to pressing company challenges.