Harvard Presidents’ Program – 2024 Update

As part of my ongoing membership in the YPO/Harvard Presidents’ Program, I want to share some leadership perspectives I have gained from the latest program curriculum this January 2024 at Harvard University in Boston.

YPO and HBS

Quick background: YPO was founded in 1950 in Rochester, New York, as the Young Presidents' Organization for people who have become, before age 45, the president or chair and chief executive officer of a corporation of significance. YPO has since evolved into a worldwide leadership community of chief executives with more than 30,000 members in 142 countries.

A key piece of the organization’s lifelong learning opportunity is the YPO/Harvard Presidents’ Program. Developed in strategic partnership with the Harvard Business School (HBS), the program offers a unique setting for YPO members to step back from their day-to-day business demands to explore new ideas relating to business, strategy and execution, to become inspired, and network with fellow executives under the guidance of HBS professors. The YPO/Harvard Presidents’ Program is very selective—only a few executives are accepted each year to participate in the nine-year program. I am in the fourth year of my program.

The curriculum includes real-world business case studies where members assess current businesses, gather for peer discussions, and break down business strategies in their work groups and in class. The class time is intense for personal, academic, and leadership development. Professors will ask you things that push you beyond the curriculum’s boundaries with original research and thinking. Here are some key lessons learned from this year’s case studies . . .

Connect Your Staff to the Soul of the Firm

An interesting start to the week, we had a class focused on how we make decisions in life. The professor spoke of authentic leadership, the need to set direction, make commitment, and then execute in business . . . and in personal matters. He gave examples on the value of self-reflection and knowing that every conversation has three aspects: What’s said between people, what the speaker perceives of the conversation in his/her mind, and what the hearer perceives of the conversation in his/her mind. And all three can be different for the same conversation.

?The class then brought these concepts back to business by attempting to connect employees with the “soul” of your firm: Conveying the purpose and values consistently, apologizing when wrong, creating authentic bonds between people working together, and developing listening skills where you listen to understand, not just to be heard.

Agile with COVID-19 in Singapore

Next, we had a case study on a business in Singapore during the COVID pandemic, which was forced to be agile to survive. A key lesson here was the value of A/B testing, finding the best path forward, then A/B testing repeatedly, moving fast and making the small decisions necessary to keep up with a rapidly evolving world.?

One interesting point I took from this session was to “set expectations for failure,” so your teams are always willing to innovate, knowing they can fail “safely” and so find new successes instead of just avoiding risks. By focusing on what we learn from failure, we can keep our businesses agile and relevant in an ever-changing market!

Banking Disruption in South America

Another interesting case study was of a bank in South America that was able to successfully disrupt the industry and create a new niche solely for itself. From this case study, we saw the need to keep an eye out for disruptions to your market and the value of “instead of teaching an old dog new tricks, get a new dog!” By innovating cross-functionally within your company, you can uncover new ways and new solutions that might create key differentiators and advantage for your firm.?

One key lesson here was to a create a cross-functional “core team” that is constantly challenging the accepted and standard way you operate, forcing your organization to innovate and try fresh solutions.

Dubai Telecommunications Makes Cultural Change

Another case study focused on a telecommunications company in Dubai that needed to make a big cultural change. To succeed, the CHRO made a swift bold stroke, then followed up with a long march of consistency to that new culture.

Part of the lesson here was knowing when to make organizational changes from the top-down, or from the bottom-up. When making from the top-down, the “bold stroke, long march” approach can work best because it clearly and decisively sets a new direction, but then patiently and consistently reinforces what can be uncomfortable change down the corporate hierarchy.

Seeing the Elephant in the Room

Another case study of a U.S. educational company that helps college dropouts finish their degrees, focused on “seeing the elephant in the room”—meaning, remove blinders to the big problem your company needs to resolve.

This was a very philosophical lesson, teaching us not to form hypotheses before assessing data, asking if a tool or solution is doing its job before tossing out for a new tool/solution, and realizing your operations can always be better or more efficient . . . because companies who believe their operations are “fixed” cannot innovate or improve.

The professor shared some interesting tactics as well, such as always suggest the most senior person in the room speak last, so subordinates are comfortable sharing their opinions instead of just compromising to groupthink, always assign a devil’s advocate to argue the counter-case and ensure your solution is battle-tested, and provide rapid feedback on work that isn’t ready/perfect, so incremental improves can be made quickly. It was a great case study on decision-making within organizations.

Rules-Based Organizations v. Principles-Based Organizations

One dynamic case study focused on the difference between rules-based organizations and principles-based organizations. In various real-world examples, we saw how rules-based organizations can be trapped by their belief that pre-defining a set of rules for responses to scenarios will protect them (legally, reputationally, financially, etc.) when challenges arise. A notable example was United Airlines’ infamous story of removing a doctor from an overbooked flight following a logical, but inflexible predetermined set of rules. They suffered terrible press as result of their rules-based handling of a complex customer service scenario.

The world does not neatly follow expected paths or reactions, so a more valuable approach is to be a principles-based organization that doesn’t pre-define responses or behaviors, but instead encourages leadership (and employees) to follow sound principles in responding and behaving. Here the example was Southwest Airlines going above-and-beyond to support a passenger who was asked to deboard a flight after her husband called the airline as he could not contact her to share a family emergency, and she was showered with support and accommodations. With principles-based operations, the organization’s values are always enacted, no matter the individual scenario. ?

It was an eye-opening class and one that will stick with me a long time as I strive to make ZorroSign a principle-based organization and live those values and principles in all our decision-making.

Using Data to Decide at JOANN Fabric and Crafts

A later case study focused on JOANN and the organization’s decision to implement an inventory allocation tool that ultimately changed how the company stocked its individual stores. The interesting lesson here was not so much the technology solution, but JOANN’s decision to capture and incorporate departmental feedback before deploying the inventory system, which made individual stores more patient with the rollout and forgiving of the changes it imposed upon them, because they knew they had had a say in how the changes would be implemented. The workaround that individual departments employed to accommodate gaps in early process was a testament to the strong communications within the firm.

Five B’s of Leadership

Finally, a strong finish to this year’s curriculum was a case study on how decisions are made by decision-makers, and how the five B’s of leadership make better decisions. Those five B’s are:

• Be clear on your purpose
• Be clear on roles
• Be clear on who you serve
• Be drive by principles and values
• Be authentic

The class incorporated many of the lessons from our earlier sessions and provided a nice framework for my decision-making.? As a CEO striving to advance technology while advancing sustainability, I have the five B’s posted on my desk as a reminder!?

I am hugely grateful to be a part of the YPO/Harvard Presidents’ Program, and love the lessons and colleagues I encounter each year! I hope these quick summaries might help your business as well, and welcome your comments or questions to start a dialog.