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 Whataburger, Battlefrog, Target, Lutron, and T-Mobile.

From Jessica Hamilton: 6 reasons why 2015 was the year of Whataburger

“If Whataburger were to wrap up 2015, they’d cover it in yellow paper and place a blue circular sticker on it that reads ‘special.'”

From Cammy Clark: With sponsorship of Fiesta Bowl, Doral-based BattleFrog leaps into national spotlight

“On Dec. 4, news broke out of Arizona that the storied Fiesta Bowl — part of college football’s elite ‘New Year’s Six’ bowl series — had a new title sponsor for its 45th annual game, which was played Friday. But it is not a Fortune 500 company or even a household brand, as was the case with its previous two title sponsors: Tostitos and Vizio.”

From Anne D’Innocenzio: Target’s turnaround gets shoppers back into stores

“That Target has had five consecutive quarters of increases in a key sales measure suggest that there are more shoppers like Bernardo, who are returning to the discounter that pioneered the concept of putting affordable, chic fashions under the same roof as groceries and toiletries. That’s good news for Target, which had setbacks in recent years, including a major debit and credit card hack that hurt sales for several months and a misstep that led it to focus on groceries instead of the cheap chic fashions that its customers craved.”

From Jane M. Von Bergen: Michael Pessina

“Lutron co-chief executive Michael Pessina, 61, was still in kindergarten 56 years ago when Lutron’s founder, physicist Joel Spira, was noodling around with light switches and dimmers in the spare bedroom of his New York apartment.”

From Ashley Stewart: How Bellevue’s T-Mobile wanted to change itself, but ended up changing the wireless industry

“Once an underdog among the world’s biggest wireless carriers, T-Mobile has now really started to change the industry.”