Overview of the Program - Leading in Turbulent Times

Date: 12 February 2018 09:30 - 12:30

Faculty: Tawfik Jelassi

Session description:
It is widely acknowledged that organizations operate today in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous
(VUCA) environment. However, what makes it even more challenging for top management is having
sometimes to lead in turbulent times charactereized by upheavals, chaos, setbacks, strikes, etc. Based on
the incredible experience that Prof. Jelassi went through in 2014-2015, that of a regular academic suddenly
plunged into limelight, high stakes, high-risk situation, the session discusses the leadership and change
management competency required in a high-turbulence context. It also reflects on the unique challenges
that corporate leaders and business executives face in turbulent times and on possible ways to address
these challenges.

No prior reading is required.

Customer Centricity and Digital Innovation

Date: 12 February 2018 13:30 - 17:30

Faculty: Tawfik Jelassi

Case Study on Digital Innovation

Please glance over the following case study:

Case study: “Rewiring the Enterprise for Digital Innovation: The Case of DBS Bank (Singapore)”, by Sia
Siew Kien, Christina Soh, Peter Weill and Yvonne Song, Nanyang Technological University, June 2015.

Case Study Synopsis: This case chronicled the digital transformation of DBS Bank in seeking regional
growth amidst a new digital era in the Asian banking industry. Led by its CEO, DBS invested heavily in
technology and undertook radical changes to 'rewire' the entire enterprise for digital innovation. Key thrusts
of its digital transformation strategy involved the revamp of its Technology and Operations organisation, the
development of scalable digital platforms, the leverage on technology to redesign the customer experience,
and the internal incubation and external partnering in seeking new digital innovation.

Please think of the answers to the following questions when reading the case study:

1. What are the motivations behind the DBS bank’s digital transformation strategy? What radical
organizational changes has DBS instituted?

2. How effective is DBS in transforming itself in the digital era? What are the indicators of success?

3. Has DBS done enough to put digital at the heart of banking? What should be the next steps in
their digital strategy to become the “Asian Bank of Choice” for the future?

4. What lessons would you draw from the DBS case study? How relevant are they to Your
Company?
Digital Business Transformation (I)
Date: 13 February 2018 08:00 - 12:30

Faculty: Tawfik Jelassi

Please glance over the following case study:

Case study: “Digital business transformation in Silicon Savannah: How M-PESA changed Safaricom
(Kenya)”, by Tawfik Jelassi and Stephanie Ludwig, IMD case study, 2017.

Case study questions:

1. What are the critical factors underlying M-PESA’s success in Kenya? Who were the main
stakeholders that contributed to this success?

2. Based on the information provided in the case study, what are the key challenges for Bob
Collymore? What opportunities should he seize and/or threats should he neutralize in order to
sustain M-PESA’s market lead in an increasingly competitive environment?

3. What should M-PESA do over the coming years to further improve the market position of
Safaricom? What should be the key elements of Safaricom’s digital business roadmap?

4. What lessons would you draw from the M-PESA case study in Kenya? How relevant are they to
Your Company?
Digital Business Transformation (II)
Date: 13 February 2018 13:30 - 17:30

Faculty: Tawfik Jelassi

Please glance over the following case study:

Case study: “Axel Springer in 2016: From Transformation to Acceleration? (Germany)”, by Robert
Burgelman, Robert Siegel and Ryan Kissick, Stanford University, 2016.

Case study synopsis: As of 2016, Mathias Dopfner, chief executive officer (CEO) of Axel Springer SE,
had successfully transitioned the German publishing house through a major digital transformation in the
world of journalism. Given the massive disruption that had occurred over the previous two decades with
how people consumed news, this was no small feat. During this time, many newspapers, magazines, and
journals failed to keep up with the rapidly changing industry. Historically, print advertising constituted the
majority of revenue for large publishers. But the digital revolution in journalism meant that print advertising
revenues dropped precipitously. This downward trend in print advertising revenues happened around the
globe, with traditional publishers cutting thousands of jobs. Many publishers were forced to declare
bankruptcy during this period. In spite of these industry headwinds, Axel Springer was thriving. Dopfner had
transformed Axel Springer through a two-stage digital transformation strategy process.

Starting in 2006, Axel Springer first focused on organic growth and late-stage digital acquisitions, which
infused digitization into Axel Springer’s corporate culture. In 2013, the second stage centered around
Dopfner's mission to become 'The Leading Digital Publisher'; Axel Springer would be defined not by its
distribution channels, but by its (content) brands and services. Having successfully transformed Axel
Springer from a print-only company to a thriving print and digital media conglomerate, Dopfner wanted to
accelerate Axel Springer's growth even further. He believed that Axel Springer was well positioned to
succeed not only in their core German market, but also more broadly on the world stage. Yet he knew this
path to becoming a global media powerhouse would not be straightforward, especially given the rapid
changes occurring within the media and publishing realm. In a world in which people were consuming
content from a variety of sources - traditional print media and digital news sources, such as social media, e-
mail, news alerts, or mobile applications - Axel Springer would continuously need to assess how it provided
content to consumers as well as who it considered competition.

Please think of the answers to the following questions when reading the case study:

1. What were the key principles/actions that Axel Springer followed/undertook in order to develop its
digital business transformation strategy?

2. How successful has Axel Springer been in implementing its digital business transformation
strategy? Defend your arguments.

3. What are Axel Springer's biggest threats going forward? What specific actions would you
recommend to Mathias Dopfner to address these threats?

4. What lessons would you draw from the Axel Springer case study? How relevant are they to Your
Company?
Digital Strategy Execution
Date: 14 February 2018 08:00 - 12:30

Faculty: Tawfik Jelassi

Please glance over the following article and case study:

Article: "Leading Transformation - Hoe I Remade GE and What I Learned Along the Way" by Jeffrey R.
Immelt

Case study: “GE and the Industrial Internet”, by Lakhani, Karim, and Iansiti, Marco, and Herman, Kerry,
Harvard Business School, March 2015.

Case synopsis: CEO Jeff Immelt considers whether GE is moving fast enough on its new Industrial
Internet initiative. The undertaking includes building out an Industrial Internet, connecting machines and
devices, collecting their data and operations, and providing services to clients based on analytics of this
data and information. The case considers the implications of such an initiative across all 6 of GE's business
units, and how best and how quickly to execute the strategy. The firm has committed $1b in investment,
building out a new software center in California, and a commercial sales function at headquarters to deploy
the new products and services.

Please think of the answers to the following questions when reading the case study:

1. Is GE well positioned to take advantage of the Internet of Things? How big are the IoT
opportunities for them?
2. Do you think that Jeff Immelt is taking on a risk by pushing so forcefully his initiative throughout the
organization? Why or why not?
3. Who will be GE’s most feared competitor(s) in five years? Why?
4. What lessons would you draw from this case study? How relevant are they to Your Company?
Collaborating Across Boundaries
Date: 14 February 2018 13:30 - 17:30

Faculty: Robert Hooijberg

During this session, we will explore top priority, a behavioural simulation. As teams, you are required to
complete and organize parallel tasks under a strict time frame with limited resources. Leadership, change
management and strategic thinking skills will be essential to make this a success.

In preparation to this session, please read:

o "Are You a Collaborative Leader?" (HBR)

Assessing Our Organizational Culture
Date: 15 February 2018 08:00 - 12:30

Faculty: Robert Hooijberg

Read Chapter 1 and 8 of Leading Culture Change in Global Organizations

Assignment: Fill out the Denison Organizational Culture Survey by Friday 02 February (with the email
you have received from SurveyMgr@denisonsurveys.eu

Making Change Happen

Date: 15 February 2018 13:30 - 17:30

Faculty: Robert Hooijberg

Session description: You will be challenged to implement change in a successful division of a large
organization. You will be given a set of tactics that you can use, and a six months period to convince as
many top managers as possible to adopt the change. You will then reflect on your experience and identify
Key Learning Points that you will share with the other teams.

Reading: Change Pro Manual

High Performance Leadership
Date: 16 February 2018 08:00 - 11:30

Faculty: Robert Hooijberg

In this session we will look at how KPN, the Dutch telecom provider, underwent a digital transformation in
part of their business. We will look at how they used this transformation to lead in a different way so as to
really engage and empower their employees.

This is a three-part video case. So, good news, no pre-reading for this session.