Executive Education

Curriculum

Module 1: Foundational Skill Building

Format: Off-Campus Learning
Duration: Eleven Weeks

Distance-Learning Courses – Given their different educational and professional concentrations, participants tend to have varying degrees of experience and proficiency in fundamental areas such as accounting, finance, and quantitative methods. To establish a common level of understanding and to ensure that participants maximize their learning experience and keep up with this fast-paced program, they need to work individually to finish the required coursework—including proficiency exams—in these areas before arriving on campus for Module II. Satisfactory completion of each module is required in order to advance to the next module of the program.

Module 2: Cross-Functional Business Approach

Format: On-Campus Learning at HBS
Duration: Two Weeks

Participants develop capabilities in key business functions. Through this in-depth, cross-functional examination, they gain valuable knowledge and insight about state-of-the-art management techniques and technologies. The overarching framework for integrating critical business functions includes:

Strategy – Functional and business-unit strategy formulation and implementation; sustainability; value creation; competitive analysis; competitive positioning; and competitive advantage. Participants complete a customized strategy exercise focused on a defined initiative.

Marketing – Product management; marketing strategy; market segmentation; product positioning; pricing; market analysis and planning; branding; customer acquisition and retention; and employee, shareholder, and customer satisfaction for profit and growth.

Finance and Accounting Financial systems; budgeting; forecasting; cost of equity; performance measurement and evaluation; profitability analysis; valuation; financial accounting; journal entries; financial statements; financial reporting strategies; and accounting policies.

Operations – Internal processes; technology and operations strategies; product and market capabilities; operations improvements; coordination/supply chain management; new product/process creation and analysis; and human resource capacities.

Module 3: Strategy Formulation and Implementation

Format: Off-Campus Learning
Duration: Eleven Weeks

Participants complete strategy projects and engage in synchronous and asynchronous online exercises, group work, and individual study. They should expect to commit an average of three to six hours per week to these program assignments and activities. Satisfactory completion of each module is required in order to advance to the next module of the program. Components include:

Strategy Project – Participants formulate a detailed strategy and implementation plan for a defined initiative. Drawing from the foundational skills and cross-functional business knowledge they acquired in the previous modules, they make organizational decisions and apply management techniques and technologies that will drive their desired results.

Business Simulation Exercise – Assigned to management teams in companies competing in the same industry, program participants each assume the role of a senior executive in charge of a primary business function. Working together through a dedicated portal, virtual meeting rooms, and teleconferencing, participants analyze the competitive landscape, and then formulate and implement the strategies for their respective companies. Senior teams make decisions about raising capital, entering or exiting product categories, manufacturing and distribution, and marketing and sales strategy, as they strive to achieve competitive advantage over the companies run by fellow participants. Through online debriefings with program faculty during the simulation exercise, participants evaluate company performance, assess teamwork effectiveness, and reinforce the results-oriented learning.

Introduction to Change Management – Participants complete online learning sessions, which include video case studies, multimedia faculty presentations, and hands-on exercises. Through these tools, they are introduced to the elements of leading change—interfunctional relationships; internal communication networks; incremental and discontinuous organizational change; organizational ambidexterity; and strategic experimentation and learning. Additionally, participants are presented with a framework for implementing the results of the company-specific strategy exercise completed earlier.

Customized Leadership Learning Path Assessment – Together with their company sponsors, participants complete an assessment of individual leadership and management competencies. The assessment results are evaluated at HBS, with particular focus on strengthening individual leadership capacity. A prioritized list of areas to be addressed during the program then is developed for every manager. The assessment results are the basis for personal coaching in Module IV, as well as for a curriculum of leadership resources and tools.

Module 4: Actionable Leadership

Format: On-Campus Learning at HBS
Duration: Two Weeks

Through an integrated organizational perspective, participants analyze the individual leadership challenges they face in making decisions and their roles in driving real results throughout the company. Working with personal coaches, they build confidence and individual capabilities that will enhance their leadership effectiveness in the workplace. The primary focus is on:

Effective Decision Making and Execution – Personal leadership; teamwork; group effectiveness; compensation and incentives; leadership development; management versus leadership; and conflict leadership.

Personal Coaching – A personal coach is assigned to work with each participant during Module IV. Through regular meetings with these professional executive coaches, participants have the opportunity to receive feedback on their progress in the program, seek advice on management and leadership skills, and get clarification on program content and the general management perspective.

Participants also learn what is required of them in other vital areas of management:

Innovation Challenges – Common language for company-wide collaboration; experimentation and learning; opportunity identification; balance between core businesses and innovations; and new-growth businesses.

Change Management – Performance and opportunity gaps; organizational alignment and design skills; organizational culture; and links between innovation and organizational evolution.

Globalization – International expansion; global strategic postures; cross-border competitiveness and local responsiveness; management roles and relationships in transnational companies; and country economic priorities and development strategies.

Learning That Lasts A Lifetime

Reflecting the School's commitment to fostering lifelong learning and strengthening individual leadership capabilities, HBS will provide PLD graduates with relevant educational resources and opportunities long after the program ends.

PLD participants earn HBS alumni status by completing an additional 10 days (two credit weeks) of HBS Executive Education Open-Enrollment (OE) programs within five years of the PLD program end date. Participants must apply for each OE program and meet admissions requirements. Participation in custom and/or association programs does not qualify for alumni status. Participants may begin taking eligible programs after matriculating in Module 1. As a member of the HBS alumni community, you will enjoy exclusive access to:

• A network of more than 68,000 HBS alumni in more than 150 countries
• The HBS Alumni Clubs
• The Baker Library services online at http://www.library.hbs.edu/resources_alumni.html
• The HBS Publishing Alumni Plus Program
• The Global Leadership Forum
• A 30 percent discount on open-enrollment Executive Education programs
• A lifelong HBS email address