TLC Leaders Program Guest Registration
Thank you for your interest in visiting the TLC classroom. All classes for the August 2025 program have concluded.
August - November 2025 Class Descriptions
Transformational Leadership -
Frances Frei
The SAS Airlines turnaround offers a compelling look at how trust-based leadership and customer centricity drive lasting growth. In this foundational session, you’ll step into the shoes of CEO Jan Carlzon to explore how a leadership mindset rooted in service, transparency, and accountability can align teams, restore confidence, and deliver results. You’ll also examine the mechanics of leading change—how storytelling shapes culture, sharpens purpose, and mobilizes teams for high performance.
Leadership in the Face of Uncertainty -
Amy Edmondson
Teaming is the process of communicating and coordinating with people who differ in expertise, geography, or hierarchy. In this session, lessons from the 2010 Chilean mine rescue offer powerful perspective on how to overcome barriers to teaming and lead in situations where the stakes and uncertainty are exceptionally high. You will learn how to collaborate most effectively when it's crucial to bring a diverse group of people together to solve new and complex problems.
The Trusted Leader -
Frances Frei
Trust is the foundation for everything we do. Expanding on the ideas in her popular TED talk and book, Unleashed, Professor Frei will share intuitive frameworks for building and maintaining trust, and creating inclusive environments. In this highly interactive class, you will identify: i) how you may be undermining trust in key stakeholder relationships and ways to avoid future trust shortfalls, and ii) how you can build a more inclusive environment by championing difference.
Finance for Business Leaders -
Mihir Desai
Leaders today must make smart, strategic financial decisions, regardless of where they sit in the organization. In this highly engaging class, Professor Desai will demystify the complex but fascinating world of finance and tackle the key topics that are critical for all leaders to understand. The class will give you the foundational knowledge to understand finance and communicate confidently using financial tools and language.
Leadership Journeys -
Tom DeLong
What happens when leaders face insurmountable odds and the future looks bleak? How can leaders show up to lead the people who depend on them while remaining self-aware and self-accepting? In this session, Professor DeLong will guide you through the challenges of one leader who finds himself in the deep end. You will explore your own fears as leaders and how to forge ahead with a sense of purpose, gratitude, and grace.
Operational Transparency -
Ryan Buell
Tessei, the JR-East subsidiary responsible for cleaning its Shinkansen ("bullet") trains, was experiencing wide-ranging challenges when Teruo Yabe was asked to revive the company. In this class, Professor Buell will put you in the conductor's seat at a critical moment in Tessei's history and help you evaluate the strategies Yabe used to get the business back on track. You will examine operational transparency as a powerful tool to boost business outcomes, employee satisfaction, and performance.
Integrated Marketing Strategies -
Das Narayandas
Starbucks, the dominant specialty-coffee brand in North America, was facing a critical challenge: market research showed the company was falling short in meeting customer service expectations. In this class, Professor Narayandas will guide you through Starbucks’ journey, highlighting both its key successes and notable missteps. You will learn how companies can leverage integrated marketing strategies to delight customers and build lasting relationships, ultimately leading to sustained and exceptional business performance.
Better, Simpler Strategy -
Frances Frei
Strategy, at its core, describes how a company attains ― and maintains ― superior performance. In this interactive lecture, Professor Frei outlines the core principles of strategy and offers a refreshingly succinct way to identify the sources of competitive advantage. You will gain the ability to design better strategies, align your activities to these strategies, and communicate strategically throughout your organization.