Executive Leaders Track

To be completed February 1 - February 14

All leadership is change leadership. Good leadership isn't about stagnation; it's about moving ahead. In this course, Cornell University's Professor Samuel Bacharach, Ph.D., explores the fundamental, practical skills that effective leaders have mastered.

Effective change leaders do three things; they anticipate where things are moving, they facilitate the implementation of change, and they sustain momentum by taking charge and moving things ahead. Great change leaders know how to be both proactive and reactive, as Professor Bacharach explains. Students in this course will examine their own leadership styles and practice skills that will help them translate ideas into organizational results, find ways to overcome organizational inertia, and examine strategies for overcoming individual resistance to change.

Learning Objectives:

• Facilitate change by translating ideas into desired organizational results
• Identify the change process as it relates to organizations
• Identify ways to overcome organizational inertia
• Examine strategies for overcoming individual resistance to change
• Explore ways of anticipating and mitigating uncertainty

To be completed February 22 - March 7

Have you ever known a very intelligent person who made a very bad decision? If so, you know that having a high IQ does not guarantee that you automatically make critically thoughtful decisions. Critically thoughtful problem-solving is a discipline and a skill—one that allows you to make decisions that are the product of careful thought, and the results of those decisions help your team and organization thrive.

In this course you will practice a disciplined, systematic approach to problem solving that helps ensure that your analysis of a problem is comprehensive, is based on quality, credible evidence, and takes full and fair account of the most probable counterarguments and risks. The result of this technique is a thoroughly defensible assessment of what the problem is, what is causing it, and the most effective plan of action to address it. Finally, you will identify and frame a problem by assessing its context and develop a well-reasoned and implementable solution that addresses the underlying causes.

Learning Objectives:

• Assess the context of the problem
• Determine the current and desired states and confirm this with decision makers
• Identify and articulate the questions that must be answered to bridge the gap between current state and desired future state
• Determine root causes and distinguish symptoms from problems
• Brainstorm a range of possible solutions to address each significant underlying cause

To be completed March 29 - April 11

Increasing and sustaining profitability requires that you deliver unique value to consumers while guarding against competitive threats. Developing a successful strategy requires recognizing and planning for the specific challenges in your market so as to avoid costly mistakes, seize new opportunities, and raise long-run profits.

In this course, you will explore a variety of real-world examples and powerful frameworks to supercharge your strategy and profitability. You will analyze how your organization currently creates value and strategize how best to create new value for your targeted customers, beyond what rivals offer. You will then develop your organizational plan, identifying which resources and partners are essential for success, while also identifying which key resources you should own to help sustain long-run profitability. You will perform an in-depth competitive analysis of threats to the profitability of a firm, allowing you both to identify threats in your current market and assess the prospects for profitability in other markets which you might enter. You will develop tactics to mitigate each of these threats to profitability, while also recognizing the power and potential of working towards win-win situations with complementors.

Learning Objectives:

• Perform a market diagnosis to describe your target customers and determine how you can best create value for them
• Develop a plan to align your organizational resources with your value creation objectives
• Identify and assess threats to your organization's profits
• Select appropriate strategies to mitigate these and other threats you may encounter

To be completed April 19 - May 2

Advancing to a more senior leadership role requires a specific set of skills. Senior leaders must shift away from tactical oversight into a more strategic and visionary role. This transition does not occur naturally and is often not a part of standard professional training, development, or onboarding. The ability to adapt to this mindset is crucial and can lead to the success or failure of an individual and/or their team.

In this course, current and potential leaders will be guided through this transition by Kate Walsh, Professor and Dean of the School of Hotel Administration, as she shares her professional expertise and research. Learners will create a personal leadership strategy and build a professional network within their organization to prepare and further their roles in the organization.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify distinguishing differences between managing your team and leading within your organization
• Convert these differences into a personal leadership strategy for current success
• Design a growth and development plan to chart out your future success
• Build your professional network within your organization and gain exposure to areas outside of your direct domain