The course is designed in a way that facilitates your internalization of the System for Learning and Development (L&D) Excellence (i.e. Preparation → Participation → Review & Reflection).

Trusting the process and embracing the System for Learning and Development (L&D) Excellence not only enhances your learning experience in the course but also equips you to excel in business meetings by applying the same principles of preparation, participation, and reflection.

Additionally, this system fosters your growth as a more effective professional, instilling lifelong learning skills that empower you to stay at the forefront of management theory and practice.

Please see the Course Design section below for additional insights on how the System for Learning and Development (L&D) Excellence is applied in this course.

Learning Teams are small groups of learners (approximately six per team) who collaborate throughout the course to enhance the learning experience.

In this course, everyone joins a Learning Team. Team members are expected to forge close bonds while collaborating to complete assignments before, during, and after most class Sessions.

The purpose of a Learning Team is to simulate real-world team dynamics, create a supportive network for academic and professional growth, and provide a hands-on opportunity to learn how to work effectively within a group to achieve common goals. Along the way, Learning Teams can make learning more social, joyful, and fun—strengthening motivation and deepening engagement.

Accordingly, Learning Teams serve as a platform for practicing key skills such as collaboration, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making—critical abilities for leaders.

To help you and your teammates to function as a highly effective team and to develop essential skills, you will practice frameworks for Interpersonal Skills Development, Teamwork, and building Leader Character.

Case Studies are readings (approximately 10–20 pages) that present real-world business problems faced by professionals.

As you read a case study, you assume the identity of the main character in the case, analyze the situation using the information provided in the case, define the problem (i.e. the Key Issue in the case) and decide what actions you would take to solve the problem.

In this course, the learning process for each case-based Session begins with thorough preparation: reading the case, collaboratively analyzing it with your Learning Team, and submitting your team’s written analysis and recommendations to the course LMS before the next class Session. This preparation enriches classroom discussions, as learners and teams bring diverse perspectives on the case’s Key Issue and how its protagonist should address the Key Issue.

The ultimate goal of case-based learning is to develop your judgment skills, enabling you to make sound strategic decisions. It also strengthens critical thinking, analysis, decision-making, and a bias toward prompt action.

Classroom case discussions further enhance understanding while sharpening your strategic questioning skills and preparing you to apply what you have learned in your workplace. (Plus, they can be a lot of fun!)

Online simulation-based learning offers a dynamic and effective approach to learning about core topics in Strategy. By combining real-world scenarios, interactive elements, gamification, and immediate feedback, the online simulations we use in the course empower you to apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations, develop critical thinking skills, enhance knowledge retention, and gain “experience” taking risks that might be unacceptable in non-simulated workplaces.

In this course we use simulations to get a better understanding of the challenges inherent in systematically executing strategy, the challenge of managing in disruptive times, and the international business challenges of foreign market entry.

Unlike executive education programs that condense material into intensive full-day workshops or semester-based courses that compete for time and attention from full-time learners enrolled in multiple courses, our Strategy course is thoughtfully structured for busy professionals who want to learn deeply and broadly.

Sessions are held *every other week during periods that require intensive preparation and weekly when the workload is lighter. Equivalent to a semester-long capstone course, the Strategy course, including the self-paced, online onboarding and pre-work, spans approximately six months.

• Sessions 01-02: Weekly Pacing
• Sessions 02-09: Every Other Week Pacing (*with occasional adjustments for consecutive holidays)
• Sessions 09-13: Weekly Pacing

In principle, this course is a certificate course and people who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Completion.

In this course, participants who successfully complete the course and earn a Certificate of Completion have accomplished the following:

• ATTENDANCE: Attended and actively participated in a minimum of 9 Class Sessions.
• POINTS: Earned a minimum of 60% of the points available in the course.

In today’s fast-changing business landscape, professionals must be able to think, feel, decide, and act strategically — seeing beyond the obvious, questioning assumptions, and anticipating change.

Accordingly, this course is designed as a realization of the Knowing–Being–Doing approach to Human Capital Development.

From case studies and simulations to team exercises and reflective work, every major element of the course bridges theory and action. By the end of the course, successful learners will be able to diagnose problems more clearly, frame opportunities more effectively, and make better strategic decisions—capabilities that distinguish those who lead from those who follow.

This is a demanding course—by design. You and your Learning Team will invest significant time outside of class preparing for class Sessions, participating in discussions, and reflecting afterward.

The course is designed for use in MBA Programs and—although the Center does not offer degree-granting Programs and Courses or issue credits—the Strategy course is the functional equivalent of a 3-credit hour capstone course and the expectations reflect that level of commitment.

Adapted from a top-tier MBA program Strategy course syllabus and grounded in leading research on strategy education (i.e. Grant & Baden-Fuller, 2018), the course structure emphasizes deliberate practice, deep engagement, and feedback. Each class Session requires preparation at both the individual and team level to ensure that in-class time is spent maximizing the opportunities to learn and develop.

To support the learning process, we leverage world-class content from Harvard Business School Publishing, highly structured lesson plans, and clearly defined deliverables. Our Learning Management System (LMS) uses rubrics to align assignments with feedback, assuring a seamless learning experience.

Consistent with best practices, we intentionally nudge learners out of their comfort zone and into their learning zone. While this can feel uncomfortable, it is an essential part of the learning process. The reward for pushing through the discomfort — an improved ability to systematically analyze competitive environments, diagnose problems, formulate action plans and strategic options (possibilities), make high-quality strategic decisions, and execute strategies that drive long-term organizational success — is an essential skill for leaders.

In a departure from most executive programs, this course offers a Mid-Term Exam in Session 07—not as a barrier, but as an opportunity. We believe that when learners are held to a high standard and given the chance to demonstrate their understanding via examination, they become more invested, more motivated, and ultimately more transformed by the experience.