Student Profile

Mirza Mahmood ul Hasan

Why did you decide to take Disruptive Strategy?

We have several direct investments in our investment portfolio, and strategy is an important subject. Taking this course made a lot of sense considering that disruption is a focus in the current economic and technological landscape.

What did you find most insightful about the course?

I loved Professor Christensen's structured approach. Senior professionals generally understand their businesses well. What I have struggled with is in getting a grasp of disruption as a subject, often blaming it on my below par understanding of technology. Surprisingly, I now understand that it has little to do with technology. I have tried to study material on disruption in the past but that doesn't give you an approach to deal with it. The course, through its excellent design, has given me an approach and the confidence to deal with disruption either as an opportunity or a business risk.

How do you plan to apply what you've learned in Disruptive Strategy to your career?

This course is extremely relevant to my work. We are engaged in several mid- to large-sized businesses, all of which need to have a good strategic direction. I have been actively involved in strategy, often leading the strategy sessions of these entities. But this course makes me realize that our existing business strategies leave a lot to be desired. We have been customer focused but it seems we need to look at it from a "job to be done" perspective to enhance sustainability. Similarly, we need to create the right customer experience, devise the right profit formula and ensure the correct allocation of resources. The "good money, bad money" concept has acquainted me with something that I never thought about, but I realize has hurt us in past.