How to Become a Better Leader Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for How to Become a Better Leader case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. How to Become a Better Leader case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Ginka Toegel, Jean-Louis Barsoux. The How to Become a Better Leader (referred as “Traits Agreeableness” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Leadership & Managing People. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Knowledge management, Labor, Leadership.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of How to Become a Better Leader Case Study

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Traits that benefit an executive in one position often do not work well in another position. Moving into new roles or environments, executives may need to play up or rein in different facets of their personalities. Strengths can become weaknesses. Psychologists have identified countless traits distinguishing us from one another. But recent research has converged toward five broad dimensions, each comprising a cluster of traits that account for the majority of the differences among individual personalities. These dimensions have been dubbed the Big Five: need for stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness. Drawing on their extensive coaching work with senior executives, the authors identify common leadership pitfalls associated with high and low scores on each of the Big Five personality dimensions, as well as potential solutions. For example, executives who tend to dominate group settings -demonstrating high levels of extraversion -can practice the "four-sentence"rule: limiting whatever they have to say to four sentences. Executives who are too blunt or aggressive -demonstrating low levels of agreeableness -can practice the art of cushioning their criticisms with phrases such as "let me play devil's advocate for a moment"or "if I put on my critic's hat." Self-awareness, the authors conclude, is the inevitable starting point for managing one's psychological preferences. Without it, executives will struggle to evolve or find coping strategies. With it, leaders can learn where their natural inclinations lie -and they can boost or compensate for those inclinations, depending on the circumstances. The idea is not to undergo a personality change. It is to be yourself, with more skill.

Case Authors : Ginka Toegel, Jean-Louis Barsoux

Topic : Leadership & Managing People

Related Areas : Knowledge management, Labor, Leadership

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for How to Become a Better Leader Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009360)	-10009360	-	-
Year 1	3459048	-6550312	3459048	0.9434	3263253
Year 2	3964043	-2586269	7423091	0.89	3527984
Year 3	3953894	1367625	11376985	0.8396	3319766
Year 4	3248127	4615752	14625112	0.7921	2572821
TOTAL			14625112		12683823

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2674463

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Internal Rate of Return
2. Payback Period
3. Net Present Value
4. Profitability Index

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Traits Agreeableness shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Traits Agreeableness have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of How to Become a Better Leader

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Leadership & Managing People Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Traits Agreeableness often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Traits Agreeableness needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009360)	-10009360	-	-
Year 1	3459048	-6550312	3459048	0.8696	3007868
Year 2	3964043	-2586269	7423091	0.7561	2997386
Year 3	3953894	1367625	11376985	0.6575	2599749
Year 4	3248127	4615752	14625112	0.5718	1857127
TOTAL					10462130

The Net NPV after 4 years is 452770

(10462130 - 10009360 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009360)	-10009360	-	-
Year 1	3459048	-6550312	3459048	0.8333	2882540
Year 2	3964043	-2586269	7423091	0.6944	2752808
Year 3	3953894	1367625	11376985	0.5787	2288133
Year 4	3248127	4615752	14625112	0.4823	1566419
TOTAL					9489900

The Net NPV after 4 years is -519460

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9489900 - 10009360 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Traits Agreeableness to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Traits Agreeableness has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Traits Agreeableness can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Traits Agreeableness, then the stock price of the Traits Agreeableness should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Traits Agreeableness should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of How to Become a Better Leader

References & Further Readings

Ginka Toegel, Jean-Louis Barsoux (2018), "How to Become a Better Leader Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.