As part of the (forced) hiatus that I'm currently on while awaiting my permanent residency in the US, I've done some research into online learning. The decision to embark on an online course has been two-fold - one, keep the neurons in my brain firing (because spending the vast majority of my time with two four-year-olds are challenging in a very different way), and also to sharpen skills that I've honed over the years. In HBS Online, Harvard Business School's online offering, I found the perfect solution.
Disruptive Strategy immediately grabbed my attention. I have two of Clay's books (How Will You Measure Your Life? and The Innovator's Dilemma), and the opportunity to attend his classes and learn from the master of disruption himself was hugely appealing. I'm currently in Week 3 of the six-week syllabus, and so far I have not been disappointed.
The content of the course is highly relevant to anyone working in an industry that is bound to be disrupted (i.e. anyone wanting to compete with the constant wave of 'newness' accosting all existing businesses) and the case studies are riveting - delivered in short video bursts with lots of peer interaction and opportunity to participate in discussions and debates. We get to (digitally) know Bill Hambrecht, Founder and CEO of WR Hambrecht & Co, Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google, on the Google IPO; Joe Tucci, Chairman and CEO of EMC, on organizing for innovation; and Ryan Caldbeck, Founder and CEO of equity crowdfunding platform CircleUp, on disruption in the private equity marketplace. Following my tenure at FundedByMe, the CircleUp case study was extremely relevant.
Professor Christensen speaks in a clear, easy-to-understand-even-if-you're-not-a-Harvard-business-person tone and the cohort is truly global - I have daily discussions with business leaders from Hong Kong, India, Europe, all over the US, the UK and South America. We compare thoughts and, through the interactive HBX platform, are able to easily comment or 'star' our peers' submissions. There are three project submissions - two of which have a team element incorporated - that allow cohorts to test the theories that they are presented with and apply these to real life scenarios in their own business lives.
The biggest challenge I've faced thus far with this course is the amount of time and energy that needs to be dedicated to hitting deadlines and truly staying on top of the amount of data that is delivered. New modules open up at 1pm EST every Wednesday, and you have to complete the previous module before being allowed access to the next. For a competitive person like myself there is the added driver of constantly seeing how your progress compares to the rest of your cohorts'. Throughout the course, I ended up spending above average time on each module to truly get the most out of the experience.
But I expect this investment to pay off. Already I am viewing business challenges with a different lens, approaching offerings from a slightly alternate view point. And often, it's not a big change that's needed to really disrupt...rather, a slightly different take on the same exact issue.
If you are feeling like you need a challenge in your career, or in your strategic thinking, I truly suggest looking into HBS Online and seeing if its offering could be good for you too!
This article was originally published on LinkedIn Pulse.
