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 Carrefour, Adidas, Painting with a Twist, Gizmo Guy, and Kellogg.

From Gilles Hilary: Expanding Through Uncertainty, the Carrefour Way

“Any good strategy is based on a risk-reward analysis but what happens when the environment is particularly uncertain and the threats difficult to understand?”

From Nicholas Ind, Oriol Iglesias, and Majken Schultz: How Adidas Found Its Second Wind

“The sportswear giant’s embrace of its heritage shows how reconnecting with the past can inspire a company’s future.”

From Susan J. Wells: Hurricane Katrina inspired these two women to create Painting with a Twist

“The co-founders of Mandeville, La.-based franchise business Painting with a Twist — a pioneer in the wildly popular paint-and-sip industry — met 12 years ago as co-room mothers of their children’s kindergarten class at school. But it was the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that cemented their bond, propelling their friendship into their unlikely but, as they soon discovered, fitting business venture.”

From Jonathan Takiff: Gizmo Guy: The city’s last stereo store still resounds with sound

“The place was recently cited by Popular Mechanics magazine as one of the nation’s 10 best hi-fi stores. ‘But they also could have called us one of America’s last hi-fi stores,’ said longtime proprietor John Adams.”

From David Kesmodel and Annie Gasparro: Inside Kellogg’s Effort to Cash In on the Health-Food Craze

“Today, executives at Kellogg are contrite—and focused on turning around Kashi. With a brand pantry that includes Special K cereal, Pringles chips and Pop-Tarts, Kellogg achieved less than 5% of its $14.6 billion in sales last year from Kashi. But the 109-year-old company says fixing the brand is essential to making new inroads in the fast-growing natural and organic categories.”