Comprehensive Details - 2015-Dec-31 PDF

Harvard Business School/YPO
Presidents' Program A 2016/01

January 24, 2016 - January 29, 2016
Comprehensive Program Details for Saturday, January 23, 2016
Group Leader Registration 11:00 - 3:30 PM

Tata Hall Program Office
Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Sunday, January 24, 2016
Group Leaders Meeting 9:00 - 2:00 PM

Tata Hall 200
First Year Registration 11:00 - 12:00 PM

First Year Orientation Meeting 12:00 - 2:00 PM

Tata Hall 100
General Registration 12:00 - 3:00 PM

Study Group Meetings 3:30 - 4:45 PM

Living Group Lounges
Opening Session: The State of the World 5:00 - 6:15 PM

Aldrich Hall 112
Instructor: Rawi Abdelal
Dinner 6:30 - 8:00 PM



Comprehensive Program Details for Monday, January 25, 2016
Breakfast 7:00 - 8:30 AM

Crimson Commons
Change Management – Why do bad things happen to good leaders? 8:45 - 10:05 AM
Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Das Narayandas

Materials: Ron Johnson (516016)
Assignment: In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure,
Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and
Apple, introduced dramatic departures from J.C. Penney's traditional retail approach, and enacted changes quickly
and simultaneously, with little market testing. Over Johnson's final 12 months as CEO, J.C. Penney shares dropped
more than 50%. The case describes the environments at Target, Apple, and J.C. Penney during Johnson's tenure
and how his experiences may have shaped the strategies that he implemented while CEO at J.C. Penney.
The case traces Ron Johnson's journey through 3 firms. The objective of doing this case is to give us a chance to
reflect on what makes leaders successful and when do leaders fail.
STUDY QUESTIONS:
1. Would you have been able to predict the outcome in JCP? If yes, how? If not, why not?
2. Was Ron Johnson a good hire at JCP? IF yes, why yes? If not, why not?
3. Why was Ron Johnson successful at Target? At Apple?
4. Do you agree with how Ron Johnson introduced change in JCP? If yes, why yes? If no, what would you have
done differently?
5. What are your key takeaways from this case?
Break 10:05 - 10:30 AM

Tata Hall Atrium

Comprehensive Program Details for Monday, January 25, 2016 (Continued)
Failing to Scale 10:30 - 11:50 AM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Ranjay Gulati

Materials: Micromax (415034)
Assignment: Many entrepreneurial ventures fail not because of an inability to attract customers, but because of their failure to
evolve their organizations. In this session we will discuss the Micromax case to elaborate on challenges fast growth
organizations face as they grow. We will end with a short lecture that discusses some of the best practices among
those ventures that break away and achieve fast growth.
Discussion Questions
1. Evaluate Micromax’s progress in developing into a mature company. What are the most critical gaps? Which of
these needs to be addressed first, and why?
2. Why did the professionals have difficulty integrating into Micromax? Is there anything that they could have done
to make the transition smoother? Was there anything the founders or others in the company could have done to
assist them?
3. As the Micromax case illustrates, fast-growing companies often face a tradeoff between the need to get things
done quickly and the importance of developing processes and systems. In your opinion, how can companies best
strike a balance between these two opposing demands? Discuss specific steps that Micromax could take to recover
this balance.
4. Should the founders continue to run Micromax as they had since Mehrotra resigned? Or should they hire a new
professional CEO from the outside? If they took this route, what is required to make the relationship work?
Lunch 12:00 - 1:30 PM

Crimson Commons

Rent the Runway 1:45 - 3:05 PM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Tom Nicholas

Materials: Rent the Runway (812077)
Assignment: The case describes the early decisions of the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rents designer
dresses. After deciding to pursue the idea of developing a website to rent designer dresses, Jenny Fleiss has to
select a cofounder, validate the business model, assemble a team to execute the idea, raise capital and launch the
service. At the end of the case the cofounders are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and
focus on improving operational effectiveness, or raise a new round of venture capital sooner than originally planned.
Raising more venture capital would allow RTR to aggressively expand its inventory and customer acquisition efforts,
in order serve a broader range of customer segments with a wider selection of products, including accessories and
even maternity wear. The case permits an examination of hypothesis driven entrepreneurship, illuminating the
choices and action steps actually taken and the plausible alternate approaches that might have been less risky or
more effective.
Study Questions:
1. Create a timeline of decisions and actions undertaken by Rent the Runway’s cofounders. Pay particular attention
to:
● How they structured the founding team and the extended management team,
● How they pursued discussions with designers,
● How they conducted multiple trunk shows
● Their decision to launch the service in December.
Do you agree with the decision to pursue each action? Which actions were important in validating business model
hypotheses and refining the concept? Can you suggest different actions that the cofounders should have taken?
2. As the case ends in January 2010, the cofounders are considering whether to: (1) stick with their original plan to
pursue operational improvements in 2010 before raising more capital in early 2011 or (2) accelerate fundraising in
order to expand inventory and product range, enabling RTR to serve a broader set of customer segments and usage
occasions. What would you do about this decision?
Class Photo 3:15 - 3:25 PM

Baker Library Steps
Reception 5:45 - 6:30 PM

Tata River View Lounge
Description For those of you who have a faculty reception this evening, you have received the living group location for your
reception. If you need any assistance or have any questions, please stop by the program office and we can direct
you.
For those of you who do not have a faculty reception this evening, please join us for a reception in the Tata River
View Lounge (2nd floor of Tata).

Dinner 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Crimson Commons


Comprehensive Program Details for Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Crimson Commons
Leading from Within 8:45 - 10:05 AM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Ranjay Gulati

Materials: The Focused Leader (R1312B)
The Right Mindset for Success
Assignment: This lecture will focus on the inner journey of leadership. We will examine how leaders not only manage others
around them but also themselves. Using illustrative cases and recent research we will discuss how outstanding
leaders are equally adept at managing others as they are themselves.
Break 10:05 - 10:30 AM

Tata Hall Atrium
Dogfight Over Europe: Ryanair 10:30 - 11:50 AM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Jan Rivkin

Materials: Dogfight over Europe - Ryanair (A) (700115)
Assignment: As this case opens, two Irish brothers announce that their small, new airline will soon begin to fly passengers
between Dublin and London. For the first time, the brothers will face large competitors such as Aer Lingus and British
Airways on a major route. Will the young venture succeed?
Assignment questions:
1. What is your assessment of Ryanair’s launch strategy?
2. How do you expect Aer Lingus and British Airways to respond? Why?
An additional question may help you approach the first two questions:
3. How costly would it be for Aer Lingus and British Airways to retaliate against Ryanair’s launch rather than
accommodate it?
Lunch 12:00 - 1:30 PM

Crimson Commons

Comprehensive Program Details for Tuesday, January 26, 2016 (Continued)
Germany and the Future of Europe 1:45 - 3:05 PM

Tata Hall 100
A

Materials: The German Export Engine (715045)
Assignment: In spring of 2015, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel had logged significant successes. Germany was one of the
largest exporters in the world, had maintained low unemployment through the 2008 financial crisis, and was gradually
reforming its welfare state to meet future pension liabilities. Yet it still faced considerable challenges. Within Europe,
the Eurozone financial crisis continued to hold down economic growth, and the burden of leadership to find a solution
seemed to fall on Merkel’s shoulders. Beyond the bounds of the European Union, Russian interventions in Ukraine
worried European leaders, who both wished to punish the Putin regime but also relied heavily on Russia for energy.
Could Germany sustain its recent economic success, while also saving Europe?
Assignment Questions
1. What is the source of Germany’s export success?
2. Evaluate Germany’s response to the Eurozone
Break 3:05 - 3:30 PM

Tata Hall Atrium
The Deeport Negotiation 3:30 - 4:50 PM

Assigned Meeting Location
A
Instructor: Guhan Subramanian

Assignment: This six-party negotiation exercise (based on a real situation) involves the negotiation of a public-private development
project. Confidential instructions will give you important information about your priorities, resources, and needs. After
reading these instructions, think about your strategy and how you will implement it at the bargaining table. In your
negotiation, you may disclose as much or as little information as you see fit, but please do not exchange your
confidential information sheets either during the negotiation or afterward.
Instructions:
● Your Group Leader will distribute your confidential role assignment upon arrival at HBS.
● Please come to the Tata atrium 10 minutes before the scheduled class time to find your assigned negotiation
group and meeting location (on whiteboards and at the program office).
● Then head straight to your assigned meeting location (there is no need to go to the classroom) and once all
parties are present begin the negotiation exercise.
● Please ensure all results sheets are returned to the program office within 10 minutes of the class end time.

Comprehensive Program Details for Tuesday, January 26, 2016 (Continued)

Spangler Center Williams Room
you.
For those of you who do not have a faculty reception this evening, please join us for a reception in the Spangler
Williams Room.
Dinner 6:30 - 8:00 PM



Comprehensive Program Details for Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Crimson Commons
Netflix in 2011 8:45 - 10:05 AM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Jan Rivkin

Materials: Netflix in 2011 (615007)
Assignment: In the emerging video-on-demand business, CEO Reed Hastings would like Netflix to reproduce the enormous
success it enjoyed in the DVD rental industry. But he knows that, to the contrary, the company might fail as its old
rival Blockbuster did in DVD rentals.
Assignment questions:
1. Why was Netflix so successful in the DVD rental business? Why was its service attractive to customers and
profitable?
2. Why was Blockbuster so unsuccessful in responding to Netflix?
3. What are Netflix’s strategic options in the video-on-demand business? Which option should it pursue and why?
Break 10:05 - 10:30 AM

Tata Hall Atrium
Leading, Designing and Aligning Organizations 10:30 - 11:50 AM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Boris Groysberg

Materials: MOD Pizza - A Winning Recipe (416004)
Assignment: 1. How are Scott and Ally Svenson trying to create value at MOD Pizza?
2. What strikes you as distinctive about the product and service MOD Pizza offers, how the company operates, and
its employment practices?
3. What are the key challenges MOD Pizza is facing? If you were the Svensons, how would you prioritize those –
from the most pressing and important challenges to the least?
4. What advice would you give the Svensons about the challenges and opportunities at MOD Pizza and about their
leadership? Please devise an action plan. Please be specific.
Lunch 12:00 - 1:30 PM

Crimson Commons

Comprehensive Program Details for Wednesday, January 27, 2016 (Continued)
Self-Help the Roman Way 1:45 - 3:05 PM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Frances Frei

Instructor: Emma Dench
Materials: Valerius Maximus, Chapter 3 (Of Severity)
Valerius Maximus, Chapter 5 (Of Justice)
Valerius Maximus, Chapter 8 (Of the Fidelity of Slaves)
Valerius Maximus, Chapter 9 (Of Change of Character or Fortune)
Seneca, On Clemency, Book 1
Assignment: This year we introduced a new course to our MBA students that draws leadership lessons from ancient Rome. In an
effort to share this experience with YPOers we have selected the session from that course that we anticipate to be
most fruitful. The readings include chapters from two ancient texts (see below for detailed context to guide
preparation).
Please read:
● Valerius Maximus. Memorable Doings and Sayings (‘Of severity’, ‘Of justice’, ‘Of the fidelity of slaves’, and ‘Of
change of character or fortune’)
● Seneca, 'On Clemency' (Book 1).
Study Questions
1. What do you think of the Roman leadership therapies offered by Valerius Maximus and Seneca? Do you prefer one
to the other? Which would you expect to have been more effective in ancient times?
2. How (if at all) does a value like clemency or severity translate into our modern world?
3. Which anecdotes resonate for you and which surprise you? What lessons do you take for yourselves and your
organizations?
CONTEXT
In ancient times, how did Romans learn about leadership? In the aristocratic Roman Republic, the Roman people
favored electoral candidates from families that had produced consuls in the past, and boys and young men were
expected to gaze on the portraits of their ancestors that were displayed in their family’s entrance-hall, and be inspired
to follow in their footsteps. In addition, men did not normally embark on a political career until they were in at least
their late twenties, and would typically spend ten or more years as junior officers in the army before they did so. 42
was the minimum legal age for the consulship (not quite as old as you might think: if you made it past the perilous
years of infant and childhood illnesses in ancient Rome, and escaped death in battle, you could reasonably expect to
live into your 70’s or well beyond). Upper-class girls were ideally educated enough to run a household and make
intelligent dinner conversation, but not enough to be intellectually competitive.
The imperial system instituted by Augustus brought many changes. Compared with other ancient peoples, the
Romans became quite generous with their citizenship, so that freed slaves as well as some foreigners were granted
the Roman citizenship. These new citizens sometimes moved rapidly up the socio-economic ladder, and their sons or
grandsons made it into the top ranks of Roman society, becoming eligible to enter the senate. There was quite a bit of
turnover in the senate of the early Empire as many of the older aristocratic families died out, were killed off, or
withdrew from political life. The imperial system also put very young, inexperienced men in leadership roles, whether
that of the emperorship itself or that of the consulship or other high political office.

Our readings (extracts from Valerius Maximus’ Latin ‘Memorable Doings and Sayings’, and Seneca’s Latin ‘On
Clemency’) directly reflect these changes. Valerius Maximus’ compendium provides ready to use examples of virtues
and vices to educate wealthy and ambitious young men from families that did not have famous ancestors of their own.
His compendium must have seemed daringly modern in its inclusion of women, slaves and foreigners amongst its
exemplary stories. These stories helped wealthy and ambitious young men with the rhetorical training that prepared
them for political life conducted in lawsuits and the senate. They also helped to socialize them by teaching them the
norms of Roman society, including some degree of moral complexity and a sense of changing values. To give
ourselves a taste of this work, we will read ‘Of severity’, ‘Of justice’, ‘Of the fidelity of slaves’, and ‘Of change of
character or fortune’.
Seneca was a philosopher who counseled the control of passions, the common humanity of mankind, including
slaves, and a good, self-directed life, endorsing withdrawal and even suicide when necessary to avoid life under
tyranny. He was the young emperor Nero’s tutor and mentor. ‘On Clemency’ is one of a series of lessons addressed
to the young Nero, in the hope that he would take to heart a valuable attribute for someone with a terrifying amount of
power. It is the original ‘mirror for a prince’, the direct ancestor of numerous early self-help treatises written for
powerful individuals.
STRUCTURE
Valerius Maximus, Memorable Doings and Sayings, Book 6.
Valerius Maximus generally introduces the virtue or vice, illustrates it with a number of domestic (Roman) examples,
and then sometimes with a number of ‘external’ (foreign) examples. It is thus a bit of a list, enlivened by theme and
authorial commentary (Valerius Maximus definitely has opinions!).
Chapter 3, ‘Of Severity’ (pages 29-43)

Chapter 5, ‘Of Justice’ (pages 53-65)
Chapter 8, ‘Of the Fidelity of Slaves’ (pages 75-83)
Chapter 9, ‘Of Change of Character or Fortune’ (pages 83-101).
Seneca, On Clemency Book 1

Ch. 1: taking stock of Nero’s power and responsibilities
Ch. 2-8: particular value of clemency for a ruler
Ch. 9-11:Seneca exhorts Nero to learn from example of Augustus
Ch. 12-13: rule by fear vs. rule by kindness
Ch. 14-18: ruling the empire compared with fatherhood/training animals/medicine/managing slaves
Ch. 19-26: clemency and its opposites; learning from bees (N.B. the Romans mistook the ‘queen’ bee for a ‘king’ bee)
Break 3:05 - 3:30 PM

Tata Hall Atrium

Flipkart: Transitioning to a Marketplace Model 3:30 - 4:50 PM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Das Narayandas

Materials: Flipkart - Transitioning to a Marketplace Model (516017)
Assignment: Founded in 2007 as an online book retailer, Flipkart rapidly became one of the largest e-commerce players in India
valued at almost $15 billion. However, it faced intense competition from other e-commerce players like Amazon and
Snapdeal. Over the years Flipkart was slowly moving from an online retailer to a marketplace model and in early 2015
it made the strategic decision to accelerate this transition where it planned to attract over 100,000 sellers.
Discussion Questions:
1. Is the transition to a full marketplace model the right decision for Flipkart? What would it require to make this
strategy work?
2. Do you see a path to profitability for Flipkart? What should it do differently?

Tata River View Lounge
you.
For those of you who do not have a faculty reception this evening, please join us for a reception in the Tata River
View Lounge (2nd floor of Tata).
Dinner 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Off campus


Comprehensive Program Details for Thursday, January 28, 2016

Crimson Commons

Comprehensive Program Details for Thursday, January 28, 2016 (Continued)
Leading for Innovation: Leveraging Culture and Talent Management 8:45 - 10:15 AM
Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Boris Groysberg

Materials: Kvadrat - Leading for Innovation (413120)
Assignment: 1. What is Kvadrat’s source of competitive advantage? What is unusual about Kvadrat? How do the organizational
design, the corporate culture, and the human resources practices of Kvadrat support the firm’s value proposition?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the company’s organizational design?
2. In your own words, how would you describe the culture of Kvadrat? How important is culture to Kvadrat? Is it
scalable and sustainable? What is the role of organizational culture, talent management system, and structure in
managing human capital at Kvadrat?
3. What are the challenges faced by the company?
4. What are the potential business model implications of expansion into Asia? How should they build up the retail
business? What actions are needed to accelerate growth in Soft cells? Does Kvadrat have the right structure and
customer segments to support its growth initiatives?
5. What should Anders Byriel do moving forward? If you were him, what would you do to ensure Kvadrat could grow
in a sustainable way? Please devise an action plan. Please be specific.
Building a Great Company Report:-
As part of the Young Presidents Organization Program, we are happy to generate again the “Building a Great
Company”
report for your company. Back by popular demand, this survey has been administered to groups of executives from
around the world over the course of the past several years, and time and again executives find that it is a valuable
and useful tool for them and their companies. The survey examines the factors that build a great company, and with
the survey results, executives will be able to gage how well their own organizations are doing relative to each factor.
The survey is designed to measure your company’s performance on important drivers from strategy to culture. The
output will be a confidential company report based on your and your colleagues’ ratings. Your company report will be
distributed during the YPO Program, and we will discuss what can be learned—from best practices to action plans
that you can implement when you leave the program.
This survey has been a huge success over the years, as it provides executives with actionable insights on the
opportunities and challenges facing their companies. Former participants have shared examples and stories of using
their individual company reports to make their organizations better in areas ranging from project team work, specific
challenges they faced, and even restructuring their business. They also used the data/analysis extensively in board
meetings and during strategy implementation.
PREPARATION:
You will receive an email with a unique link to the custom survey in early December. The survey will close at
midnight EST on Friday, December 18.
You will need to take this survey and to also distribute it to 10-20 senior executives at your company.
Obtaining multiple responses will allow you to truly capture your company’s performance, challenges and
opportunities. In the report, you will also be able to see how your company compares to the average of other
companies around the globe. (Please note: company names will be kept confidential and all data will be reported in
aggregate). Your company report will be distributed to you privately, so you and your team can discuss action plans
that you can implement to make your company better.
The survey should only take about 20 minutes to complete. If you run multiple companies or a private equity firm,

please choose one company on which to focus. Please note, participation in the survey is completely optional, and
you should only take it if you think it would be of value to you.
Break 10:15 - 10:30 AM

Tata Hall Atrium
A
Changes of Character or Fortune 10:30 - 11:50 AM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Frances Frei

Instructor: Emma Dench
Assignment: In this interactive lecture we will explore changes in fortune of organizations and individuals. Contexts include how
companies like The Container Store struggled after going public, how Whole Foods has struggled in the presence of
increased competition, and how Pill Pack has experienced dramatic growth in an otherwise stagnating industry. We
will also include changes of fortune at a more personal level.
Lunch 12:00 - 1:30 PM

Crimson Commons
Korea and the Transformation of the Asian Economic Landscape 1:45 - 3:05 PM
Tata Hall 100
A

Materials: Korea (715047)
Assignment: In the 66 years from its founding in 1948, South Korea transformed itself from an impoverished, agrarian nation into a
hypermodern and prosperous society. Authoritarian governmental structures gave way to democracy, even as old‐
fashioned corporate governance structures persisted. Yet, with an aging population, and the totalitarian North Korean
government continuing to pursue its nuclear ambitions, past successes were no guarantee for the future.
Assignment Questions
1. How did South Korea become rich? What role, if any, did democratization play?
2. Can South Korea continue to grow?
3. Do the chaebols need to be reformed? If so, how? Can they reform themselves?
4. Is reunification with the North inevitable? Is it desirable?
Break 3:05 - 3:30 PM

Tata Hall Atrium

Elective 1: Replacing Yourself as CEO: You’re Probably Already Behind the Curve 3:30 - 4:50 PM
Tata Hall 100
Instructor: John Davis

Materials: Succession Planning Worksheet (899023)
Solve the Succession Crisis by Growing Inside-Outside Leaders (R0711E)
John Davis Bio
Assignment: The single most important question facing owners of companies and their boards is who should lead this company in
the future. Experience and recent studies indicate that successors coming from inside the organization usually
perform better, but not always. Should your successor be from your family or not? Should your successor come from
inside your or outside your organization? Each of these options has its own consequences and its own development
path. How do owners and boards make and guide this decision? How long in advance of succession do you need to
be planning to replace yourself? And what is your role in this process?
Study Q’s:
1. Under what circumstances would you look outside your company for your successor? Outside your family?
2. What are the characteristics of CEO successor candidates that you most want to see? What characteristics would
disqualify a candidate?
3. What programs does your company have in place today to develop and screen people who could be high-potential
candidates for the CEO position?
4. How do you support or get in the way of the CEO succession process at your company?
Elective 2: Indispensable Leadership 3:30 - 4:50 PM

Tata Hall 200
Instructor: Gautam Mukunda

Assignment: When do individuals leaders have huge impacts for organizations? When does it make a huge difference that some
person was in this place, at this time? In this session, Gautam Mukunda will explore the systems which select leaders
and how they can sometimes pick unique people who have a huge impact on the organizations they lead, changing
the fate of companies, and even countries, for better or worse.

Elective 3: Analyzing Big Data through studying the NFL. Deflategate, the NFL, and 3:30 - 4:50 PM
the Power of Analytics Hawes Hall 302
Instructor: Marco Iansiti

Materials: Deflategate and the National Football League (616008)
Assignment: Assignment Questions:
1. How unusual is the Patriots historical Win/Loss record? What could explain the historical win/loss performance of
the New England Patriots between 2000 and 2015?
2. Do you think the Patriots are guilty of deflating their footballs during the game in question? How would you analyze
the football pressure data from the Colts Patriots game to investigate your hypothesis? What sequence of events
before and during the Colts – Patriots game appears to best explain your analysis of the data in the case?
3. What should the NFL do going forward about football pressure? How should they change improve the rules?
4. How would you assess the NFL’s capabilities in analytics? How does the NFL’s approach to analytics compare to
your company’s approach? What would best practices look like?
Notes:
- When taken from inside to outside temperatures (and vice versa) it should take a football around 15-20 minutes to
reach room temperature, pressure, and humidity.
- The Deflategate case formula to convert temperature from Fahrenheit (TF) to Kelvin (TK), on page 9, has a typo.
The correct formula is: TK = (5/9) * (TF + 459.67), not TK = 59 * (TF + 459.67).
- Finally, for the purposes of the case analysis, PSI=PSIG.

Elective 4: Becoming a “Professional Manager” after selling your business to a Private 3:30 - 4:50 PM
Equity firm Hawes Hall 303
Instructor: Jim Sharpe

Materials: Jim Sharpe Bio
Wayne Ferrari - iAutomation at a Crossroads (813120)
Assignment: Wayne Ferrari has bridged the gap between being an independent entrepreneur and a "professional manager." After
selling his business to a Private Equity (PE) firm, Ferrari takes on the role of CEO and with their support implements a
roll-up strategy to attain growth through acquisition in the mechanical controls distribution industry. Ferrari is faced the
challenging task of integrating them into the core business. Developing an organization that supports a new strategy
of application support for their customer base requires a change in culture and an evolving leadership challenge for
the business. The most immediate challenge is to implement a "pricing" model to be used with all customers that
takes into consideration a variety of customer specific characteristics to set optimal pricing for quotations.
This class presents the challenges of exiting a business and what the founder does next. Describes acquisition
integration challenges in a “roll-up” strategy as a new pricing system is implemented across the company. Taught and
written by WPO member with WPO member protagonist as visitor in classroom to address the issues and describe
the ultimate outcome.
Study Questions:
1. Who should be responsible for the implementation of the Pricing Cube?
2. How would you grade Ferrari in integration of acquisitions?
3. Was selling to Riverside, the Private Equity firm, a good decision by Ferrari?
Closing Reception 5:45 - 6:30 PM

Closing Dinner 6:30 - 8:30 PM



Comprehensive Program Details for Friday, January 29, 2016

Crimson Commons
CrossFit 8:45 - 10:05 AM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Tom Nicholas

Materials: Crossfit (A) (815089)
Assignment: CrossFit is one of the most successful fitness franchises in history. Its founder, Greg Glassman, created the business
by breaking the accepted rules of the fitness industry business model and grew the business while breaking the
accepted rule of franchising. The company has no fixed offices, and Greg makes all the decisions but never writes
anything down. By 2012 CrossFit was growing rapidly with over 5000 ‘stores’ in operation. The founders’ exwife had
sold her 50 percent stake in the business to Anthos Capital, a PE firm that is likely to want to maximize the value of
the brand and affiliate network. Greg has to decide if he should welcome his potential new partner or oppose the sale.
The case explores the linkage between the preferences of a founder and the firm’s business model, the potential for
value creation or destruction of a VC or PE firm, and the challenges of growth in a founder centric business. How far
can this model go? Is CrossFit successful because of its nontraditional model or in spite of it?
Study Questions:
1. If you were Glassman would you support or oppose the deal in court? Why? If you were advising Anthos, how
would you maximize the value of your $20 million dollar investment in CrossFit? What governance rights would
you require as a 50% owner of the company? What changes would you recommend to ‘take the company to the
next level’?
2. What are the key elements of CrossFit’s business model? How has CrossFit been successful despite making its
core offering, ‘Workout Of the Day’ freely available on its web site? Do you agree with Glassman’s approach of not
pursuing additional lines of business, and keeping the affiliate fees low? Can CrossFit continue to grow without
raising additional capital? Assume that each employee costs $150,000 annually, the weighted average fees per
affiliate in 2012 are $1,500, and 5% of affiliates close each year.
3. How important is Greg Glassman to the future success of the company? Is his management approach (‘between a
church and a biker gang’) an asset or an impediment to growth? What risks and challenges does CrossFit face as
it continues to grow?
Break 10:05 - 10:30 AM

Tata Hall Atrium
The Deeport Debrief 10:30 - 11:50 AM

Tata Hall 100
A
Instructor: Guhan Subramanian

Assignment: We will use the results from the Deeport exercise to explore the central question in virtually every negotiation that you
encounter: How do you navigate your way from your current position to your desired outcome? Topics include:
managing multiple parties and coalitional dynamics; building a winning coalition & maintaining a blocking coalition;
deal "setup" and moves away from the table; and exploiting patterns of deference.

Comprehensive Program Details for Friday, January 29, 2016 (Continued)
Pick up Lunch 11:50 - 12:00 PM

Tata Hall Atrium
Study Group Closing & Lunch 12:00 - 1:30 PM

Bus Departs to Logan Airport 1:45 PM

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Harvard Business School/YPO

Presidents' Program A 2016/01

Comprehensive Program Details for Saturday, January 23, 2016

Group Leader Registration 11:00 - 3:30 PM

Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Sunday, January 24, 2016

Group Leaders Meeting 9:00 - 2:00 PM

First Year Registration 11:00 - 12:00 PM

First Year Orientation Meeting 12:00 - 2:00 PM

General Registration 12:00 - 3:00 PM

Study Group Meetings 3:30 - 4:45 PM

Opening Session: The State of the World 5:00 - 6:15 PM

Instructor: Rawi Abdelal

Dinner 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Study Group Meetings 8:30 - 11:00 PM

Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Monday, January 25, 2016

Breakfast 7:00 - 8:30 AM

Instructor: Das Narayandas

3. Why was Ron Johnson successful at Target? At Apple?

5. What are your key takeaways from this case?

Break 10:05 - 10:30 AM

Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Monday, January 25, 2016 (Continued)

Failing to Scale 10:30 - 11:50 AM

Instructor: Ranjay Gulati

Lunch 12:00 - 1:30 PM

Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Monday, January 25, 2016 (Continued)

Rent the Runway 1:45 - 3:05 PM

Instructor: Tom Nicholas

● How they pursued discussions with designers,

● How they conducted multiple trunk shows

● Their decision to launch the service in December.

Class Photo 3:15 - 3:25 PM

Reception 5:45 - 6:30 PM

Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Monday, January 25, 2016 (Continued)

Dinner 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Study Group Meetings 8:30 - 11:00 PM

Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Breakfast 7:00 - 8:30 AM

Leading from Within 8:45 - 10:05 AM

Instructor: Ranjay Gulati

The Right Mindset for Success

Break 10:05 - 10:30 AM

Dogfight Over Europe: Ryanair 10:30 - 11:50 AM

Instructor: Jan Rivkin

1. What is your assessment of Ryanair’s launch strategy?

Lunch 12:00 - 1:30 PM

Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Tuesday, January 26, 2016 (Continued)

Germany and the Future of Europe 1:45 - 3:05 PM

Instructor: Rawi Abdelal

1. What is the source of Germany’s export success?

2. Evaluate Germany’s response to the Eurozone

Break 3:05 - 3:30 PM

The Deeport Negotiation 3:30 - 4:50 PM

Instructor: Guhan Subramanian

Copyright 2015 © President & Fellows of Harvard College

Comprehensive Program Details for Tuesday, January 26, 2016 (Continued)

Reception 5:45 - 6:30 PM