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Think Like a Leader

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Think Like a Leader

This course is part of Strengthen Your Business Savvy Specialization

Instructor: Harvard Business Review

3,561 already enrolled

Included with

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3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

16 reviews

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

3 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

16 reviews

Intermediate level

Some related experience required

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Evaluate business models and organizational strategies to determine how companies create, capture, and deliver value in competitive markets
Assess organizational financial health by interpreting key financial statements and connecting financial performance to business success factors
Apply systematic decision-making processes to overcome cognitive biases and improve individual and group decision quality
Design data-driven decision frameworks to lead effective group decisions in organizational contexts

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Assessments

4 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer

Taught in English

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Learn more about Coursera for Business

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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Strengthen Your Business Savvy Specialization

When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.

Learn new concepts from industry experts
Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
Earn a shareable career certificate

There are 3 modules in this course

Successful leaders help their organizations create value, earn profits and outperform rivals. That requires having an enterprise mindset—thinking critically about how your organization operates and how it can improve. To do that, you need to understand business fundamentals so you can contribute to key discussions, make smart choices, and achieve goals.

In this course, you'll learn how to evaluate and support your company’s financial health, business model, and competitive strategy. You'll find out how to make good business decisions—and avoid decision-making pitfalls—by using a smart, structured process. You'll learn how to lead effective group decisions and how to improve decisions with data. As you build these skills, you’ll develop your ability to think, act, and speak like a leader.

Module details

How can you best help your organization thrive? By developing your business acumen—knowledge of how organizations operate, create value, and gain competitive advantage. Take your career to the next level by learning business and finance basics, and developing an enterprise mindset.

What's included

13 videos30 readings1 assignment

13 videosTotal 38 minutes

Know About Business to Grow in Business3 minutes
Level Up at Work: Understand Your Organization’s Big Picture3 minutes
Building Blocks of Business Success3 minutes
Add Value with Complements3 minutes
Why Gross Profit Matters2 minutes
The Income Statement: Tracking Profit and Loss4 minutes
What Can You Find on a Balance Sheet?3 minutes
What to Know About Cash Flow3 minutes
A Tale of Two Business Models4 minutes
Creating a Winning Business Model3 minutes
What a Change in Business Model Can Do3 minutes
Strategy: A Plan to Create Value3 minutes
How a Change in Strategy Saved Best Buy3 minutes

30 readingsTotal 300 minutes

Why You Need Business Acumen10 minutes
What is business acumen?10 minutes
Four questions to build your business acumen10 minutes
How business acumen benefits you10 minutes
Learn What Makes Organizations Thrive10 minutes
Four building blocks of business success10 minutes
Satisfy customer needs better than the competition10 minutes
Generate a healthy cash flow10 minutes
Maximize return on invested capital10 minutes
Drive profitable growth10 minutes
Responsible growth10 minutes
Financial health basics10 minutes
Why assess your organization’s health?10 minutes
The income statement10 minutes
The balance sheet10 minutes
The cash flow statement10 minutes
Use your insights10 minutes
Build Your Financial Skills10 minutes
Business Model Basics10 minutes
What’s a business model?10 minutes
Key questions to understand your business model10 minutes
What makes a good business model?10 minutes
Business models versus business strategies10 minutes
Know Your Organization’s Strategy10 minutes
What’s a business strategy?10 minutes
Why you should know about strategy10 minutes
Strategy creates value10 minutes
Strategy based on customers10 minutes
Strategy based on employees10 minutes
Strategy based on suppliers10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Sharpening Your Business Acumen Assessment30 minutes

Smart decisions are a key to business success. Boost your decision-making skills by learning how to avoid common pitfalls and use an effective process to spark innovative thinking. Discover strategies to get the most out of group decisions and apply data to answer important questions and evaluate your options.