Driving Corporate Performance
Aligning Scorecards, Systems, and Strategy
To drive corporate performance, today's business leaders must translate their company's mission and strategy into a comprehensive set of proven targets and goals. But goal setting is only effective if a company can accurately measure and monitor its progress and align the entire organization in pursuit of those goals. In Driving Corporate Performance, you will explore the connection between a company's strategy, economics, and control systems by learning to design, implement, and manage systems that help create and deliver value.
What You Can Expect
In this HBS Executive Education program, you will master valuable tools and techniques used by successful organizations to manage cost and performance, particularly in turbulent times. You will return ready to guide your company in implementing strategy, achieving breakthrough performance, managing risk, and sustaining competitive advantage.
Your Course of Study
By exploring the diverse ways winning companies use today's control systems, you will learn to leverage the balanced scorecard concept for implementing value-creating strategies, use activity-based costing for measuring and managing customer profitability, determine your company's level of risk, and develop data-driven relationships with suppliers and customers.
Who Is Right for the Program
Developed for senior financial executives responsible for designing and using systems to improve enterprise performance, this leadership training program is appropriate for CFOs, VPs of finance, strategic planning officers, controllers and others with planning, control, and accounting responsibilities.
What You Can Expect
Sustaining competitive advantage in a recession requires more than just insightful strategy. To guide a company's trajectory, today's leaders need a balanced view of business that encompasses financial measures, nonfinancial measures, and multiple control systems. In Driving Corporate Performance, you and an accomplished group of peers will explore the important connections between strategy, performance measures, management accountability, organizational design, and corporate governance.
In this HBS Executive Education program, you will master the principles and practical application of powerful new systems for risk management, cost management, and strategy description and implementation. You will return to your organization prepared to implement systems across all business functions and initiatives, helping your company and colleagues execute strategy, achieve breakthrough performance, manage risk, and sustain competitive advantage. Specifically, you will be better able to:
- Translate your company's mission and business strategy into a comprehensive set of performance targets and measures
- Analyze, understand, and communicate business strategy
- Develop and implement an integrated framework for your organization's cost management and performance management control systems
- Align management accountability, organizational design, and corporate governance with your company's strategy
- Understand what is involved in managing operational and strategic risks, particularly during challenging economic times
- Leverage financial, physical, and human capital for corporate value creation
How Will My Organization Benefit?
Executive Education programs at Harvard Business School are a significant investment for both you and your organization. Going far beyond the basic transmission of skills and theories, each leadership development program provides applicable lessons in the classroom that can be implemented successfully within your organization. You will acquire a fresh perspective on global business from our groundbreaking curriculum, world-renowned faculty, and an accomplished group of elite peers from around the world.
"Driving Corporate Performance was one of the most empowering and enlightening learning experiences of my life. Through its informative, challenging, and comprehensive approach, I came away with renewed vigor and a strong belief that we can move from a $35 million to a $100 million company. I sincerely look forward to returning to Harvard Business School in future years."
Paul Green [Chief Executive Officer], CVGT Employment & Training, Australia
Your Course of Study
In Driving Corporate Performance, you will learn how successful companies are taking full advantage of today's control systems to achieve breakthrough performance even in the face of challenging economic conditions. As you progress through a rich learning experience that incorporates faculty lectures, case studies, and group discussions, you will discover how to link strategy to scorecards, systems, structure, and governance, and in turn, create essential performance management and control systems for your organization.
Specific topics include:
Balanced Scorecard Strategy Maps
- Integrating the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard (BSC) concept into a measurable cause-and-effect framework for articulating value-creating strategies
- Defining and measuring your differentiated value proposition for targeted customer segments
- Understanding the principles behind a strategy-focused organization
- Creating a blueprint to align people, processes, and information technology for superior performance
Risk Management Process
- Examining how leaders cope with the tensions inherent in risk and crisis management, particularly when shareholders and stakeholders have different perspectives
- Using a risk exposure calculator to gauge your company's level of risk by assessing growth, culture, and information management
- Applying a profit wheel model to monitor the flow of operating profit through your business and to determine the economic value of its strategy
- Analyzing the evolving role of enterprise risk management in your company, from control systems to strategic partnerships
Activity-Based Cost Management
- Augmenting the traditional cost management model with the more powerful time-driven activity-based costing (ABC) model
- Integrating ABC management with budgeting and reporting
Accountability Systems for Effective Business Management
- Managing tensions among profit, growth, and control
- Using an action-oriented roadmap to develop crucial control system tools
- Integrating the latest performance measurement and control techniques with the new realities of competition, strategy, and organizational design
Alignment of Intangible Assets with Strategy
- Linking the organization's intangible assets to sustainable competitive advantage
- Applying BSC tools to measure these assets and their contributions to successful strategy execution
- Aligning internal capabilities, processes, and actions with strategy to maximize customer satisfaction
Customer Relationship Management for Profitability
- Improving management control of outsourced and customer alliances
- Distinguishing profitable from unprofitable customer relationships
- Transforming relationships for greater profitability
- Developing a strategy for translating a source of customer value into a sustainable revenue stream
"This program provided the tools for me to implement a full corporate strategy—with complete strategy maps and Balanced Scorecards for the corporation and by divisions. In one week, I learned more relevant information that provided instant impact to our company than most people do in much longer programs. The HBS faculty, facilities, and learning environment are second to none."
Kraig Vondran [Chief Financial Officer], Farrar Corporation, U.S.
Who Is Right for the Program
The HBS Executive Education program Driving Corporate Performance is intended primarily for the senior financial executive who is responsible for designing and using systems to monitor and improve enterprise performance. It is particularly well-suited to senior executives with planning, control, and accounting responsibilities, including:
- Chief financial officers
- Vice presidents of finance
- Strategic planning officers
- Controllers
The program meets the needs of individuals or teams. When general managers or chief operating officers attend along with their senior financial executives, the senior management team can better align performance management systems and accountability with company strategy, and implement systems more quickly throughout the organization.
Past Participants Represented:
| Industries | Nationalities | ||||
| 8% | Chem/Pharm/Bio | 15% | Asia/Pacific | ||
| 3% | Communications | 35% | Europe | ||
| 9% | Consumer Products | 10% | Latin America | ||
| 9% | Financial | 40% | North America | ||
| 6% | High Technology | ||||
| 13% | Manufacturing | ||||
| 14% | Nonprofit Services | ||||
| 9% | Other Services | ||||
| 12% | Professional Services | ||||
| 6% | Raw Materials/Energy | ||||
| 4% | Real Estate/Construction | ||||
| 1% | Retail Services | ||||
| 6% | Utilities/Telecommunications | ||||
Participating Companies Have Included:
Amerada Hess Corporation |
Novartis AG |
"Driving Corporate Performance has empowered me with proven tools to meet my organization's aggressive performance targets. The faculty and my peers, along with innovative managerial tools and real-world case studies, combined to create an exceptional learning environment."
Ricardo Saenz [Administration and Finance Manager], Inchalam S.A., Chile
Meet the Program Faculty
Like all Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Driving Corporate Performance is developed and taught by a core faculty of HBS professors. Our faculty members are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors.
Through publishing, consulting, and teaching, they leverage their business expertise and field-based research to create new knowledge and enduring concepts that shape the practice of management. The result is a teaching team that exposes participants to multiple perspectives, challenging their thinking and encouraging new practices that result in superior business leadership. For more detailed biographies, click on each faculty name.
Dennis W. Campbell, Associate Professor of Business Administration and Marvin Bower Fellow. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit.
Robert S. Kaplan, Baker Foundation Professor. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit; faculty chair of "Risk Management for Corporate Leaders: Integrating Best Practices for Superior Strategy Execution"; and faculty cochair of "Driving Corporate Performance: Aligning Scorecards, Systems, and Strategy" and "Value Measurement for Health Care."
Francisco de Asís Martínez-Jerez, Associate Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit.
Anette Mikes, Assistant Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit.
Robert L. Simons, Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Accounting and Management Unit; and faculty cochair of "Driving Corporate Performance: Aligning Scorecards, Systems, and Strategy."
"The faculty's solid expertise, along with the benefits of the case study methodology, made the learning experience invaluable. It seemed that we were covering information twice as quickly as you would with a lecture approach, and the cases were rich in content that was relevant to senior executives."
Robert Stoner [Vice President, Metrology Division], Zygo Corporation, U.S.
Admissions
Because a diverse participant mix is an important part of every HBS Executive Education program, we look for candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds to enrich the learning experience.
Fees, Payments, and Cancellations
The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals.
No payment is necessary until you have been accepted into an HBS Executive Education program. After admission notification, we will send you an invoice via email; payment is due within 30 days of the invoice date. If admission is within 30 days prior to the start of the program, payment is due upon receipt of the invoice. Payment is required prior to the program start date. We accept payment by company check, bank wire transfer, or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Visa). Details are included on the program invoice.
If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Due to program demand and the volume of preprogram preparation, cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.
Requirements
Although there are no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on professional achievement and organizational responsibility. We look for professionals who have demonstrated business talent and leadership potential.
HBS Executive Education programs enrich both participants and their sponsoring organizations, and require full commitment from each party. While participants devote time and intellect to the learning experience, sponsoring organizations agree to relieve individuals of their work responsibilities during the program.
Language Proficiency
We deliberately design our programs to encourage individual growth and to foster productive interaction among participants. For that reason, proficiency in written and spoken English is essential. If English is your second language, or if you have less than one year's experience working in an English-speaking environment, HBS requires a brief statement documenting proficiency in English-language skills, both conversational and written. This may include a list of the English-language certification programs that you have completed; the degrees you have earned at English-speaking colleges and universities; or the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. The Admissions Committee also may request a telephone interview.
Application Process
Program participants must be nominated and sponsored by their current employer. HBS must receive your application and all required documents in order to prepare the application for review by the Admissions Committee.
To apply, you may use our online form or download an application. You also may request a brochure by mail.
If you submit your application online, we will promptly acknowledge receipt of your submission via email. In the unlikely event that an email acknowledgment is not received, please contact the Admissions Committee by email: exed_admissions@hbs.edu, phone: +1-617-495-6226, or fax: +1-617-496-1731.
If you choose to submit a printed application, be sure to type or print legibly and sign your application. Send the application to the address or fax number listed on the form. Mailed or faxed applications are processed and acknowledged promptly upon receipt via email.
Complete Your Application
Please answer all questions thoroughly—the Admissions Committee will only consider completed applications. After reviewing your application and making the necessary edits or corrections, print or copy the application for your records.
Meet the Deadlines
We request applications at least four weeks in advance of the program start date. Early application does not guarantee admission. Programs often fill to capacity, so early application is recommended.
Notification of Acceptance
We acknowledge receipt of all applications and maintain all application information in strict confidentiality.
To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, the Admissions Committee selects a class that balances each participant's experience, the scope of his or her current responsibilities, and the type of organization.
The Admissions Committee begins reviewing applications four months before the start date, and qualified candidates are admitted on a rolling, space-available basis. Once the review process has begun, applicants are notified within three weeks via email regarding Admissions Committee decisions. If your application is received within three weeks of the program's start date, the Admissions Committee will notify you of their decision as soon as possible.
Need help?
For further assistance, contact our client service specialists at: 1-800-427-5577 (outside the U.S., dial +1-617-495-6555).