Please write a 300-words summary about how they develop strategic leadership? How did they garner buy-in, commitment, and advocacy? Please extract some main points from the following questions and answers, and list your resource

What were the strategic challenges facing Marvel?

1. DC purchased Marvel's distribution arm to control retail shelf space and limit the number of books Marvel could distribute each month.
2. The market was saturated and heavily owned by DC.
3. Marvel was sold to Cadence Industries, which lacked publishing expertise; bad management resulted, and Jack Kirby left to work for DC.
4. Marvel sold again only five months later to New World Entertainment, which was unfamiliar with the comic industry.
5. Marvel consolidated its distributors down to one to try and capture revenue paid to distributors. This wreaked havoc on the retailers (comic book stores), and nearly 50% of all stores fell. Marvel also acquired underperforming acquisitions.
6. Marvel tried to use the same method as the baseball card collection to boost sales by marketing their product as a collector's item, but faced backlash as this method raised the price of their product which hurt sales.
7. By the mid-1990s, Marvel had fired over a third of its workforce and had to file for bankruptcy.
8. The enterprises' low value in the 1990s devalued their licensing as licensees had concerns with long-term contracts since the business wasn't performing well.
9. Marvel did not have enough breathing room with money to focus on a strategic direction.

How did strategic leadership impact "The Marvel Way"?

1. Hired turnaround specialist Peter Cuneo to help stabilize the business. He reasoned for Marvel to sell their content rights to movie production companies; movies would drive sales for comics and toys. This brought in much-needed capital.
2. Exited the trading card business in 1999 as it was operating at a lost
3. Scaled back in the toy business. Marvel sold their rights to allow manufacturers to use their brand instead of Marvel making their toys. Marvel made money off design and royalties while minimizing the capital risk of manufacturing toys. Selling off $25 million of inventory brought an influx of cash.
4. Cuneo also focused on improving the culture of Marvel to retain creative minds and let creativity thrive.
5. A leaner organization is able to move faster without bureaucracy. As Marvel Studios took off, Marvel reduced middle management by not hiring back the layers of managers that were laid off. This minimized the company's bureaucracy and gave individual employees the power to focus on solving their own problems while feeling good about having a visible hand in building the business.
6. Marvel created a Creative Committee to craft their films. Rather than giving various directors and actors room to input their vision, Marvel's Creative Committee managed the characters themselves. This allowed for cohesive storylines to take place.
7. Marvel was sold to Disney at the end of 2009

How was strategic thinking leveraged to move Marvel from a red to a blue ocean?

1. Marvel created a blue ocean by making original content that was aimed for older demographics like college students; characters started as ordinary people and were transformed into reluctant superheroes
2. Intellegical property of the characters and storylines
3. Marvel Studios was created with Marvel's own financing to eventually produce movies using their content. David Maisel was hired as COO to lead the charge. Iron Man in May of 2008 was the first movie for Marvel Studios.
4. Operated their movie studio at low cost by stepping away from the typical Hollywood glamor that other film studios relied on.
5. Marvel's characters were the stars of their movies, not the actors themselves. Marvel Studios hired lesser known actors to fulfill the roles at lower costs. They were able to use long-term contracts with less expensive talent, obliging them for 6-9 films. Once these actors gained fame and cost more to cast, Marvel was able to replace them with cheaper, less-known actors. For popular actors to star in Marvel movies, they would have to take a less than normal compensation.
6. Strategic cost savings on shots that are used in the film. Two men discussing plot points in a cave, reducing cars on chase scenes.
7. Marvel characters started out as relatable normal people with angst rather than being traditional superheroes. There is commitment to the integrity of that narrative. It allowed people to feel an emotional connection to Marvel characters. This method of storytelling appealed to a much broader audience than the typical comic book lover. Marvel made comics mainstream.
8. Marvel created their own interwoven universe. Old and popular characters introduced and supported newer characters in their franchise. This allowed these new characters to grow and finally develop their own movie line. Marvel avoided being too dependent on a single character