Comic Books

Short, Engaging Case Studies

Talk About a Bail-Out

"Talk about a Bail-Out," which covers the HR challenges of running an industrial manufacturing company, is a great tool to teach our enterpreneurship students.

Professor of Entrepreneurship, Benedictine College

Talk About a Bail-Out

The story the comic book, "Talk about a Bail-Out," tells leads to empathy and creative purpose. I'm glad you've made it scalable so we can all learn from it. Thank you!

Educator, Catholic Entrepreneurship & Design Experience

Talk About a Bail-Out

The dilemmas shared in this comic book are real. They help facilitate important discussions about very relevant issues during these troubled times.

Accounting Professor, Case Teaching & Writing Tutor

Grit & Growth

Grit & Growth tells the story of Paul Schumacher, founder and owner of America’s largest on-your-lot custom homebuilder, Schumacher Homes, especially how the company got through the financial crisis in 2008-2010.

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Case Centre

Talk About a Bail-Out!

Talk about a Bail-Out! tells the story of Charlie Braun, owner of a small manufacturing business in Cleveland, Ohio, and his dilemma on whether to pay a desperate employee’s bail during a global pandemic.

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Case Centre

Things Fall Apart

Rebecca Boenigk takes her company public but finds that operating as a small, public company is very inefficient. Should she work to fix the public problems or do an expensive, time-consuming, complex go-private transaction?

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Comic Books in the Classroom
EVALUATION COPY FORM

Using Comic Books in the Classroom

When using a comic book, business educators have the opportunity to develop these business competencies in students. Such competencies are in high demand in the business workplace.

Ask students to:

  • SUMMARIZE and SYNTHESIZE the actions, images, people, and topics.
  • DEVELOP ARGUMENTS about and CRITICALLY APPRAISE key actions and decisions made by executives.
  • OFFER SUPPORT for their arguments using text and facts.
  • REFLECT ON how the comic book characters’ views and actions compare and contrast to their own.
  • SHOW CURIOSITY about business leaders through asking questions of the main subject/CEO, if the LIVE VIDEO VISIT option is chosen by educators.

Using CEO Memoirs & Biographies in the Classroom

Memoirs and biographies combine the case method with more immersive and experiential learning because readers are immersed in the story and narrative. Narratives are arguably the most effective way to teach and learn in general. Studies have shown that students consistently recall information tied to storytelling better than material presented without storytelling. Organizational psychologists have found that learning from a well-told story is remembered “far longer” than learning derived from facts and figures and that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they’re part of a story.

Braun Collection books and comic books enable business educators to use narrative to enhance the learning experience of their students. Further, it seems that people who read narratives that “oscillate” (i.e., the narratives do not offer a story of clear ascent or descent but rather a story of oscillating successes and failures) have better resilience later in their own lives and careers when making their own decisions. This is because they have reference points (the prior narratives) that consist of patterns of oscillation as opposed to clear-cut ascent or descent2. As we know in real life, decisions rarely involve clear-cut ascent or descent situations. Braun Collection materials do  show neither deeply flawed heroes nor perfect decision makers, rather people who deal with the ups and downs of the issues and
opportunities in their lives and careers.

When using a True Business Adventure Tale (CEO memoir or biography), business educators have the opportunity to develop these business competencies in students. Such competencies are in high demand in the business workplace.

Ask students to:

  • SUMMARIZE the actions, people, and topics and SYNTHESIZE all the information into the theme of the book. Synthesizing key topics and themes is important in business.
  • DEVELOP ARGUMENTS about and CRITICALLY APPRAISE key actions and decisions made by executives. Being able to develop and appraise various actions is important in business.
  • OFFER SUPPORT for their arguments using text and facts as opposed to pure opinion and conjecture. Knowing how to offer factual, even if not scientific, evidence is important in business.
  • REFLECT ON how the subjects and authors views and actions compare and contrast to their own. A level of appropriate reflection is shown to build a level of warmth and relationships that matter for business.
  • SHOW CURIOSITY about business leaders through asking questions of the authors, if the LIVE VIDEO VISIT option is chosen by educators. Asking good questions is a vital business skill.