Businesses spend countless hours, energy, and resources formulating strategy. Yet, that strategy achieves nothing if it’s not well executed. Harvard Business School Online has developed a new course, Strategy Execution, to equip aspiring and mid-level managers with tools to successfully implement strategy within their organizations.
“The ability to implement business strategy is one of the most critical skills for leaders at every level of an organization. Unfortunately, this skill is often lacking,” says Harvard Business School Professor Robert Simons, who's teaching the course. “We created this course to give you the knowledge and tools to help your organization meet its strategic goals and, ultimately, achieve long-term success.”
Strategy Execution will equip you with the tools, skills, and frameworks to allocate resources, measure performance, manage risk, and execute strategy. You’ll explore common challenges that prevent or derail implementation and learn how to design systems and structures that meet your organization’s strategic objectives.
In a survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit, 88 percent of respondents said executing strategic initiatives successfully is “essential” or “very important” for their organizations’ competitiveness, yet 61 percent acknowledged their firms struggle with bridging the gap between strategy formulation and implementation.
In this course, participants will learn how to:
Apply frameworks, tools, and goal setting to strategic initiatives
Evaluate the core challenges of strategy execution, including how to balance growth, profit, and control
Determine relevant metrics and develop systems to monitor business performance
Identify risks that could derail strategy execution and develop systems to manage them
Empower employees to implement strategy by leveraging proprietary frameworks
Create an environment that fosters successful strategy execution
Featured Certificate Course
Strategy Execution
Turn strategy into results by aligning goals, managing priorities, and driving accountability.
Self-Paced | 6 Modules | 5-8 Hours per Week | $1,949
Learners will step into the shoes of leaders from companies like adidas, Citibank, and Marriott to solve real-world problems and join a community of learners from around the globe to exchange ideas and broaden their perspective. Concepts will be reinforced through engaging exercises and commentary from Professor Simons.
Participants should expect to dedicate approximately 40 to 45 hours of time to the eight-week course. The application deadline is February 15, 2021, and the course begins on February 24, 2021. For more information or to apply, visit the Strategy Execution course page.