Leading Product Innovation

Companies that continually excel at creating new products know how to innovate effectively. Focused on the core challenges of managing product development in unpredictable markets, this program prepares you to develop innovative products and processes by identifying and leveraging new opportunities. You will leave with the latest tools and strategies to manage today's diverse risks and to position your company for future success.

What You Can Expect

Product development executives are challenged to do more with less, yet still keep their companies at the forefront of innovation. By balancing corporate strategy with effective execution, this leadership training program presents new methodologies and tools to help you manage product development day to day—and to help your company sustain competitive advantage over the long term.

Your Course of Study

Focused on the practices of today's most successful companies, this rich learning experience offers new insights into a wide range of product development challenges and opportunities. You will explore new approaches to aligning product development with corporate strategy, reinventing strategic innovation systems, assessing disruptive technologies, and managing risk.

Who Is Right for the Program

Designed for leaders responsible for new products and services, this HBS Executive Education program is suited for vice presidents, directors, and other senior managers in a variety of functional business areas. Cross-functional or intradepartmental teams may apply.

What You Can Expect

Leading Product Innovation improves your ability to execute company strategy by leveraging effective product development. This HBS Executive Education program will help you recognize the opportunities for reinventing your innovation systems, retooling your processes, and thinking outside the box. You will leave with new insights that help you manage innovation-driven development to gain competitive advantage for your company. Specifically, you will be better able to:

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.

"Leading product innovation is a critical component of my job. This course was instrumental in providing me with a toolkit and the theoretical framework to apply immediately in my day-to-day work."
Blackford Middleton, M.D. [Corporate Director, R&D], Partners Healthcare System, Inc., U.S.

Your Course of Study

Through dynamic faculty lectures, classroom discussions, real-world case studies, and small group activities, Leading Product Innovation explores new ways of thinking about the product development process. As you become familiar with a carefully designed set of methodologies and tools, you will tailor a coherent and consistent approach for innovating your development processes, products, and services. You will return better prepared to manage innovation-driven development, achieve strategic goals, and gain corporate advantage.

The comprehensive curriculum for this leadership development program is built around five integrated sections:

Leading Product Innovation

Linking Strategy to Product Innovation

Leveraging and Managing Disruptive Technologies

Designing an Effective Product Development Process

Managing Risk and Uncertainty

Who Is Right for the Program

This HBS Executive Education program is intended for senior managers in diverse companies, industries, and countries who have project responsibility for product and service development. Leading Product Innovation has particular relevance for vice presidents, directors, and other senior managers in a variety of functional business areas, including:

Because successful integration between product development and other key business functions can contribute significantly to product development effectiveness, HBS encourages companies to send cross-functional or intradepartmental teams of four to six managers. When leaders share a common vocabulary and a set of action frameworks, their organizations reap the benefits of faster, more effective implementation.

Past Participants Represented:

Industries Nationalities
12% Chem/Pharm/Bio 10% Asia/Pacific
3% Communications 26% Europe
8% Consumer Products 15% Latin America
9% Financial 49% North America
18% High Technology
16% Manufacturing
7% Nonprofit Services
3% Other Services
13% Professional Services
1% Raw Materials/Energy
1% Real Estate/Construction
1% Retail Services
8% Utilities/Telecommunications

Participating Companies Have Included:

Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
Bose Corporation
Bristol-Myers Squibb
     Company
Callaway Golf Company
The Coca-Cola Company
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Eli Lilly and Company
General Mills, Inc.
General Motors Corporation
GlaxoSmithKline plc
Government of Canada
Hewlett-Packard Company
Johnson & Johnson
Lockheed Martin Corporation

Lucent Technologies, Inc.
MasterCard International, Inc.
Microsoft Corporation
NIKE, Inc.
Nokia
Novartis AG
Oracle Corporation
Partners Healthcare System,
     Inc.
Sony Corporation
Swisscom AG
Toyota Motor Corporation
United Technologies
     Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation

Meet the Program Faculty

Like all Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Leading Product Innovation is 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.

Karim R. Lakhani, Assistant Professor of Business Administration and Richard Hodgson Fellow. Member of the Technology and Operations Management Unit.

Alan D. MacCormack, MBA Class of 1949 Adjunct Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Technology and Operations Management unit.

Gary P. Pisano, Harry E. Figgie, Jr. Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Technology and Operations Management Unit; member of the Healthcare Initiative, and the Science-Based Business Initiative.

Stefan H. Thomke, William Barclay Harding Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Technology and Operations Management Unit; and faculty chair of HBS Executive Education in India, "Leading Product Innovation," and "Leading Innovation—India."

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.

Team Attendance

This program is appropriate for individuals as well as teams of executives from the same organization. When colleagues attend a program together, the organization benefits from their shared knowledge and common vision. This, in turn, enables participants to enhance their ability to pursue business goals as a team, effect critical transformations, and transfer knowledge. HBS client service specialists are available to advise on optimal team composition. The application for each team member must be received before the team's materials are reviewed by the Admissions Committee.

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.

The application for each team member must be received before the team's materials are reviewed by the Admissions Committee.

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).