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This course is part of the Entrepreneurship & Innovation and Strategy track.
Disruptive Strategy
Clayton Christensen sitting at his desk

Disruptive Strategy

Harness the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Craft Winning Strategies

Disruptive Strategy enables you to make innovation a reality. Created by Clayton Christensen, who coined the theory of disruptive innovation, this online course will equip you with the skills and techniques to develop executive-level strategy, organize for innovation, and discover customer jobs to be done.

Apply Now

What You'll Learn

Play an Introduction to Disruptive Strategy video
Play an Introduction to Disruptive Strategy video
Go to Course Syllabus
  • Become fluent in disruptive innovation theory
  • Assess new opportunities and potential threats
  • Discover jobs to be done and develop frameworks to better understand customer needs
  • Acquire techniques for executive-level strategy development
  • Organize for innovation and maintain a disruptive scope
  • Gain confidence articulating complex viewpoints

Harvard Business School Online is saddened by the loss of acclaimed teacher, scholar, and innovator Clayton Christensen. Professor Christensen’s online Disruptive Strategy course has engaged thousands of learners and will continue to reach individuals and organizations worldwide. HBS Online worked closely with Professor Christensen on the development of the course and is honored to deliver Disruptive Strategy as part of his legacy.

About the Professors

Professor Rory McDonald - Disruptive Strategy

Rory McDonald is the Thai-Hi T. Lee (MBA 1985) Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches the MBA course Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise and, in 2016, was named one of the world’s top 40 business school professors under 40 by Poets & Quants. His book, Productive Tensions: How Every Leader Can Tackle Innovation's Toughest Trade-Offs, focuses on how leaders can achieve success by embracing the tensions that arise from competing aims—efficiency versus flexibility, consistency versus change, product versus purpose.

Professor Clayton Christensen - Disruptive Strategy

Clayton Christensen was the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and is regarded as one of the world’s top experts on disruption, innovation, and growth strategy. He was twice named the world’s most influential business thinker and authored several books, including The Innovator’s Dilemma, which lays out his theory of disruption, New York Times best-selling How Will You Measure Your Life?, focused on achieving happiness in your personal life, and The Prosperity Paradox, which explores how innovation can help lift nations out of poverty.

Who Will Benefit

compass

Innovative Leaders

Align your resources, processes, and financial strategy to position your business for growth.

thinker

Forward-Thinking Strategists

Assess opportunities and learn how to better determine what profitability looks like as your industry evolves.

Idea

Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Discover what causes customers to buy your products and why, and predict when disruption will happen.

Program Structure

Disruptive Strategy consists of 30 to 35 hours of material delivered over a six-week period. You can complete the coursework on your own time while meeting regular deadlines. In addition, two group exercises and an individual final paper are required for course completion. This course is delivered fully online, with no live faculty interaction.

February 2023
  • Length: 6 Weeks
  • Program Dates: 2/22/23 – 4/5/23
  • Cost: $1,750
  • Application Deadline: February 13
  • Detailed Calendar
  • Course Platform
  • Certificate Program
Apply Now
March 2023
  • Length: 6 Weeks
  • Program Dates: 3/22/23 – 5/3/23
  • Cost: $1,750
  • Application Deadline: March 13
  • Detailed Calendar
  • Course Platform
  • Certificate Program
Apply Now
May 2023
  • Length: 6 Weeks
  • Program Dates: 5/24/23 – 7/5/23
  • Cost: $1,750
  • Application Deadline: May 15
  • Detailed Calendar
  • Course Platform
  • Certificate Program
Apply Now
July 2023
  • Length: 6 Weeks
  • Program Dates: 7/26/23 – 9/6/23
  • Cost: $1,750
  • Application Deadline: July 17
  • Detailed Calendar
  • Course Platform
  • Certificate Program
Apply Now

Disruptive Strategy is part of the Strategy and Entrepreneurship & Innovation Learning Tracks. If you’re interested in developing deeper insights and expertise, you can choose to complete three strategy or entrepreneurship and innovation courses within 18 months to earn a Certificate of Specialization.

Syllabus

Disruptive Strategy is an online program providing world-renowned tools and frameworks for growth, strategy, and innovation.

Learning requirements: In order to earn a Certificate of Completion, participants must thoughtfully complete all modules (Introduction, Modules 1-4, and Conclusion) and exercises therein (including a Team Project, Jobs to be Done Interview, and Final Paper, among others), by stated deadlines.

Download Disruptive Strategy Syllabus

Modules Case Studies Takeaways Key Exercises
Introduction: Lenses on the World
  • Intel: Learn how Professor Christensen helped Intel Chairman Andy Grove confront a disruptive threat by showing him how to think, not what to think.
  • Adopt a strategic mindset
  • Articulate your strategic questions
  • Generating Your Strategic Question
Module 1: Aligning with Innovation and Disruption
  • WR Hambrecht and the Google IPO: A New Approach to Investment Banking
  • Honda Motor Company: Entering a New Market
  • CircleUp: Re-imagining Private Equity
  • Identify the three types of innovation and predict when they will happen
  • Harness disruption and position your business for new growth
  • Team Discussion: Blockbuster's Demise
  • Team Project: The New Age of Financial Advice
Module 2: Discovering Customer Jobs to be Done
  • The Walt Disney Company: Expanding the Theme Park Business
  • The Godrej Group: Understanding Refrigeration Needs in India
  • Minute Clinic: A New Approach to Healthcare Delivery
  • Focus on what causes your customers to buy your products and why
  • Achieve differentiation, better margins, and avoid disruption
  • One-on-One Discussion & Interview Assignment: Discovering Customer Jobs to be Done
  • Team Discussion: Innovation in Yogurt
Module 3: Organizing for Innovation
  • Nypro, Inc.: Seeking Growth Through a New Product Line
  • Charles Schwab: Trading in the New World of Internet
  • EMC: Merging Competing Products Through an Acquisition
  • Identify what your organization can do and cannot do
  • Align your resources, processes, and profit formula to develop an innovative culture and position your business for growth
  • Brainstorming for Final Paper: Examine Your Organization’s Resources, Processes, and Profit Formula to Foster Growth and Success in the Future
Module 4: Maintaining a Disruptive Scope
  • Music Industry: Producing and Performing in a New Age
  • MediaTek: Expanding Accessibility to New Technologies in Asia
  • Build a strong intuition to “skate” to where profit will be as your industry evolves
  • Determine which operations are critical to be done in-house and which operations can be outsourced
  • Reflection: Determining Ways in Which Your Organization Could Use a More Integrated or Specialized Strategy
  • Reflection: Discovering the Scope for Your Organization
Module 5: Managing the Strategy Development Process
  • OnStar: General Motor’s New Innovation
  • Netflix: The Evolution of Home Entertainment
  • Sears, IBM, and AOL: Understanding Internet Consumption During the Boom of the Digital Age
  • Effectively balance the deliberate and emergent strategy processes to unlock innovation within your organization
  • Determine which “type” of money will empower new business ideas to flourish
  • Reflection: Examining How to Align Your Organization’s Profit Formula and Stated Strategy
  • Team Discussion: Identifying "Hardened" Companies
Conclusion: Reflecting on Disruptive Strategy
  • Not Applicable
  • Explore how to apply what you learned in Disruptive Strategy tomorrow, next week, or over the next year
  • Individual Assignment: Final Paper

The HBS Online Advantage

Play an Introduction to the HBS Online Platform video
Play an Introduction to the HBS Online Platform video
  • World-class faculty
  • Edge-of-your-seat online learning
  • Global peer collaboration and networking
  • Real-world, case-based learning

Harvard Business School Online offers a unique and highly engaging way to learn vital business concepts. Immerse yourself in real challenges faced by seasoned leaders across a variety of industries, including Bill Hambrecht, founder of WR Hambrecht & Co.; Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google; Joe Tucci, chairman and CEO of EMC; and Ryan Caldbeck, founder of equity crowdfunding platform CircleUp. Wrestle with the same issues they faced, while problem-solving and engaging with learners from around the world.

Play Participant shares thoughts on Disruptive Strategy video
Play Participant shares thoughts on Disruptive Strategy video

Stories from Our Learners

  • The framework of Disruptive Strategy helps you to make strategic thinking something that you do every day, as opposed to an exercise to get a strategic plan put together.
    Rajneesh Gupta,
    Vice President of Strategy, M&A, and Analytics of the ProTax Group
  • The Disruptive Strategy class was so very engaging, you really feel like you know Clay Christensen by the end of the class. And more than that, you really feel like you know your peers.
    Jessica Shaffer,
    AVP


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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to log in at a set time? How does the grading process work? At this point, you probably have a few questions, and we’ve got answers.

Learn More

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Enrollment Eligibility

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Apply Now

Apply Now


Disruptive Strategy Certificate of Completion from HBS Online
Earn Your Certificate

Enroll today in Harvard Business School Online's Disruptive Strategy course.

Apply Now
 
All FAQs

Top FAQs

How are HBS Online courses delivered?

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We offer self-paced programs (with weekly deadlines) on the HBS Online course platform.

Our platform features short, highly produced videos of HBS faculty and guest business experts, interactive graphs and exercises, cold calls to keep you engaged, and opportunities to contribute to a vibrant online community.

Do I need to come to campus to participate in HBS Online programs?

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No, all of our programs are 100 percent online, and available to participants regardless of their location.

How do I enroll in a course?

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All programs require the completion of a brief application. The applications vary slightly from program to program, but all ask for some personal background information. You can apply for and enroll in programs here. If you are new to HBS Online, you will be required to set up an account before starting an application for the program of your choice.

Our easy online application is free, and no special documentation is required. All applicants must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the program.

After submitting your application, you should receive an email confirmation from HBS Online. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk email folders and double-check your account to make sure the application was successfully submitted.

Updates to your application and enrollment status will be shown on your Dashboard. We confirm enrollment eligibility within one week of your application.

Does Harvard Business School Online offer an online MBA?

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No, Harvard Business School Online offers business certificate programs.

What are my payment options?

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We accept payments via credit card, wire transfer, Western Union, and (when available) bank loan. Some candidates may qualify for scholarships or financial aid, which will be credited against the Program Fee once eligibility is determined. Please refer to the Payment & Financial Aid page for further information.

We also allow you to split your payment across 2 separate credit card transactions or send a payment link email to another person on your behalf. If splitting your payment into 2 transactions, a minimum payment of $350 is required for the first transaction.

In all cases, net Program Fees must be paid in full (in US Dollars) to complete registration.

What are the policies for refunds and deferrals?

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After enrolling in a program, you may request a withdrawal with refund (minus a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee) up until 24 hours after the start of your program. Please review the Program Policies page for more details on refunds and deferrals. If your employer has contracted with HBS Online for participation in a program, or if you elect to enroll in the undergraduate credit option of the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, note that policies for these options may differ.

 

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