Stanford Center for Professional Development
Building Company Culture
XINE242
Course Syllabus
Course Description
People are the heart and soul of your organization. The mindsets and values of your employees define
your company and ultimately determine the experience of your customers.
Knowing how to build processes that create and foster culture helps you stay true to your organization’s
vision, even as it expands. In this course, you’ll learn how to thoughtfully and meaningfully scale company
culture, using the FARTHER framework, an approach to people management.
You Will Learn:
• To attract and hire the right employees
• To form, manage, and align effective teams
• To create incentives, offer feedback, and manage friction
• To operationalize company mindset and avoid losing your culture while scaling up
Course Topics
Module 1 – Course Overview
In this module you will meet your course instructor, Hayagreeva Rao, as well as hear him
discuss the learning objectives for the course. You will also be able to download important
course resources such as the syllabus and course slides.
Exercises: n/a
Knowledge Check: no
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 6 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: n/a
Estimated reading time: n/a
Module 2 – FARTHER Framework
In this module you will learn about:
• The FARTHER Framework
• Case Study: Rite-Solutions
• How Companies Lose their Way
Exercises: 1
Knowledge Check: yes
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 46 minutes
Copyright © Stanford University
Page | 1
Stanford Center for Professional Development
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: 30 minutes
Estimated reading time: 60 minutes
Module 3 – Teaming
In this module you will learn about:
• Teaming
• Composing the Founding Team
• Managing Teams Effectively
• Case Study: Atlassian
Exercises: 1
Knowledge Check: yes
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 33 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: 20 minutes
Estimated reading time: 30 minutes
Module 4 – Finding People
In this module you will learn about:
• Broad Considerations for Finding People
• Case Study: Navy SEALs
• Takeaways from Navy SEALs Case Study
• Hiring and Firing
Exercises: 1
Knowledge Check: yes
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 61 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: 25 minutes
Estimated reading time: 25 minutes
Module 5 – Alignment
In this module you will learn about:
• Aligning to Improve Coordination
• Aligning to Enhance Cooperation
• Alignment Best Practices
Exercises: 1
Knowledge Check: yes
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 48 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: 20 minutes
Estimated reading time: 20 minutes
Copyright © Stanford University
Page | 2
Stanford Center for Professional Development
Module 6 – Hacking
In this module you will learn about:
• What is Hacking?
• Case Study: AstraZeneca
Exercises: 2
Knowledge Check: yes
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 14 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: 70 minutes
Estimated reading time: 50 minutes
Module 7 – Real Time Feedback
In this module you will learn about:
• Real Time Feedback and Feedforward
• Case Studies: Adobe & Crisis Text Line
Exercises: 2
Knowledge Check: yes
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 25 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: 40 minutes
Estimated reading time: 55 minutes
Module 8 – Engagement
In this module you will learn about:
• What is Engagement?
• Macey and Schneider’s Engagement Framework
• Using Elements of Mindset to Create Engagement
Exercises: n/a
Knowledge Check: yes
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 34 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: n/a
Estimated reading time: n/a
Module 9 – Reinvention
In this module you will learn about:
• What is Reinvention?
• Friction for Hacking and Reinvention
• Six Ways to Combat Bad Friction
Copyright © Stanford University
Page | 3
Stanford Center for Professional Development
Exercises: n/a
Knowledge Check: yes
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 39 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: n/a
Estimated reading time: n/a
Module 10 – Course Summary
In this module you will learn about:
• Closing Thoughts from Panel Experts
• Future Applications
Exercises: n/a
Knowledge Check: no
Instructor: Hayagreeva Rao
Approximate video length in module: 4 minutes
Estimated time to complete all exercises in module: n/a
Estimated reading time: n/a
Instructors
Hayagreeva Rao
Professor, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Coursework
This course contains a combination of activities such as video, reading materials, written exercises and
multiple choice questions. Your responses to the exercises will be kept within the learning platform.
However, you will not have access to the responses you submitted after your course access has expired.
If you would like to keep a copy for your records, please do so separately.
Course Requirements
All videos and learning activities must be completed in order to unlock the Final Exam.
Final Exam
The Final Exam consists of 25 randomized questions derived from a combination of the course lectures,
pretest and knowledge checks. In order to pass the course and receive your digital Record of
Completion, you must achieve a score of 85% or higher. You may take the exam more than once. After
you achieve the passing score, your Record of Completion will be emailed to you within 3 business days.
As part of Stanford University, we take academic integrity very seriously. All forms of academic
misconduct, including but not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, or facilitating academic
dishonesty, are grounds for participant discipline.
Copyright © Stanford University
Page | 4
Stanford Center for Professional Development
Course Materials
All course materials are provided within the course learning platform. These include videos, handouts
and assignments.
This course features real-world examples to provide the learner with relevant examples of the concepts.
Case studies and examples involving specific persons or companies do not imply any affiliation of those
persons or companies with Stanford, nor do they imply Stanford's endorsement of those persons or
companies or their actions.
The course learning platform is available for 60 days after the date of enrollment via your
mystanfordconnection account.
Confidentiality
Your communications and personal information are held in strict confidence and will not be shared with
others without your express permission in compliance with the U.S. Federal Education Report and
Privacy Act (FERPA). The Stanford Center for Professional Development will not sell or market your
information to third parties.
Copyright © Stanford University
Page | 5