“Plans are Useless, Planning is Invaluable” -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Course code [INTA-GB.2140] was co-taught with Professor Scott Galloway. It is not being offered now.

Objectives

--Buttress your valuation and critical-thinking skills in the pursuit of alpha: and

--Provide insight into the technologies and platforms reshaping business.

Overview

Time: 6 PM to 9 PM

Dates: Monday, Feb 6, Feb 13, Feb 27, March 6, March 20, and March 27. No class on Feb 20 (President’s day) and March 13 (Spring break),

Syllabus

Link to the syllabus in PDF format

Link to the syllabus in DOCX format

This is a half-semester course with six three-hour class sessions. The first five sessions will be lectures co-taught by Scott Galloway and Dan Gode. The last class will be student presentations. Each class will be split into halves. Scott Galloway will lead the first half to discuss a strategic “narrative” that drives value, and Dan Gode will lead the second half to discuss the numbers behind the valuation and if the “narrative” (i.e., value) is already priced into the stock price.

Narratives

The five class sessions will explore the following themes:

Professor Galloway will discuss each theme and present companies that have executed well or or poorly against the theme. Many companies will be discussed, however two companies will be discussed in detail in each class.

Numbers

Professor Gode will then follow-up with a detailed analysis of financial performance and discuss if the expected success or failure of the company, premise on the strategic narratives, is already priced in. The financial analysis will consider the following value drivers of the company:

We view this course as a capstone (and fun) course that brings together many subjects you have learned at Stern with particular emphasis on strategy and marketing and their links to financial statements and valuation.

Specializations

The course counts towards Marketing and Digital Marketing (Strategy track) specializations.

Prerequisites

Assignments

Exams and Grading

Penalty for missing classes and unapproved use of devices in class

Paper and pencil

Please bring paper and pen/pencil to take notes in class.

Unapproved device usage

Most of us are now addicted to devices, which impedes learning. You are allowed to use devices only when I ask you to use your computer in class. Otherwise, ALL device use is strictly prohibited, unless you have a qualified disability which allows you to use devices in class. Students using devices when not approved will be asked to leave the classroom. Each time you are asked to leave the class, you will be marked absent. This is very painful, awkward, and disruptive, and I hope I never have to do this, but I will not hesitate to enforce this policy.

Reasons for requiring attendance

Attendance is required for several reasons. First, you incorrectly assume you can catch up on a missed class by watching a recording (if available). Videos do not engage your brain as much as a live class. Second, less than 20% of you watch the recording (if available). You are then lost in class, which provides the wrong signals to me as an instructor. Third, your absence hurts class discussions. Fourth, you miss out on feedback if you do not work through the questions I pose in class. Fifth, I lose the feedback since there are fewer questions.

Attendance policy enforced after the add/drop period

The attendance policy below will be in effect only after the add/drop period.

Attendance sheet

After entering the class, please mark yourself present on the OneDrive sheet within the first 20 minutes (link posted on Brightspace after the add/drop period). You will be marked absent if you are more than 20 minutes late, unless it is due to factors beyond your control (traffic, subway delays, or interviews running late). You will also be marked absent if you leave the class early unless you have my permission or get it afterward. You will get an F in the course if you are caught cheating on the attendance sheet.

Mark yourself excused on the attendance sheet for excused absences

Without mandatory attendance, attendance is often below 50%. Therefore, though I dislike doing this, I penalize absences. If you anticipate being absent for good reasons, please email me well in advance. Please enter Excused on the attendance sheet described below to avoid the penalty if approved. You must update it; I will not mark you excused. If you miss a class due to emergencies and cannot tell me in advance, do not panic. Take care of the emergency first, and then email me. I will permit you to change the Absent to Excused. But if you miss a class without a valid reason, there is a penalty, as stated below.

Penalty for missing classes

For sections meeting in 150-190 minute sessions, you will lose one grade (A to A-, A- to B+, B+ to B, B to B-, and so on) for EVERY missed session unless you were explicitly excused via email. Thus, if you miss two class sessions, you will lose two grades, and so on.

For sections meeting in 75-80 minute sessions, you will lose one grade (A to A-, A- to B+, B+ to B, B to B-, and so on) for EVERY TWO missed sessions unless you were explicitly excused via email. Thus, if you miss four class sessions, you will lose two grades, and so on.

Seating and name tags

Please sit in the same seat in every class and display your name tags. For Zoom classes, you must keep your video on AT ALL TIMES. You must also have a good working headset or mic, as it is extremely rude to be inaudible and force me to ask you to repeat yourself.

NYU Stern Policies

Please read the NYU Stern Policies for this course.

Help and Office

Administrative and System Requirements

Videotaping

Classes are normally not videotaped, except for EMBA classes. If the class is videotaped, the link is posted to Brightspace by NYU Stern IT within a day.

Registered Students Only

Only registered students can attend classes. I cannot override this NYU Stern rule. We do not allow unregistered students to "audit" a class.

Albert and NYU Brightspace

You must be in Albert and NYU Brightspace before starting the first class. If you register late, there might be a delay of a day before you appear in these systems. If you cannot access these systems after a day, please contact the relevant REGISTRAR. I cannot add you to these systems regardless of what someone in IT tells you.

Computer Requirements

You need to bring a computer to every class. If you have any technical questions, please contact Stern IT at (212-998-0180) or servicedesk@stern.nyu.edu, or NYU IT at +1 (212) 998-3333 or askit@nyu.edu. I cannot help you with your computer issues.

Materials

Schedule

1. Digital IQ

For class discussion

For homework

2. Amazon IQ

For class discussion

For homework

3. Social Platforms

For class discussion

For homework

4. Death of advertising industrial complex

For class discussion

For homework

5. Multi-channel retail

For class discussion

For homework