Some of the best learning happens when you read stories about real people and real companies. Read them for ideas, for lessons, and inspiration. This week’s stories and strategies from real life are about Airbnb, Netflix, Dreamworks Animation, Honda, and Budweiser.

From Inc. Magazine: Airbnb Is 2014 Company of the Year

“Disruptive, brazen, and overall brilliant, the (possibly illegal) home-sharing empire has become the biggest lodging provider on Earth–earning it the title of Inc.’s 2014 Company of the Year.”

From Emily Steel: How to Build an Empire, the Netflix Way

“With ‘Marco Polo,’ its lavish new series, the streaming service is placing one of its biggest bets yet on global expansion.”

From SF Gate: Jeffrey Katzenberg’s DreamWorks Animation strategy

“In the space of a few weeks, the mogul and co-founder of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. has been rebuffed by three high-profile potential buyers: Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank Corp., Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and Hasbro Inc.”

From Yoko Kubota: CEO Rethinks Honda’s Priorities

“Honda Motor Co. Chief Executive Takanobu Ito, clad in a leather biker jacket and a red helmet, roared up to the company’s Kumamoto plant in southern Japan on a red Gold Wing motorcycle last week to celebrate production of the company’s 300 millionth motorbike.”

From Kyle Smith: Why Budweiser’s decline is a triumph of capitalism, taste

“Budweiser is no longer the King of Beers. From now on, it’s Ye Olde Hipster Tipple. Be sure to get some foam on your ironic mustache. At least that’s the idea behind the forthcoming Bud marketing campaign. The all-American brew from that Belgian company run by Brazilians has decided that its present audience (older, with a strong rural element) is unsustainable.”