Essential Business MOOCs For July

David Owens of Vanderbilt University

David Owens of Vanderbilt University

Leading Strategic Innovation in Companies

 

School: Vanderbilt University

Platform: Coursera

Link: Leading Strategic Innovation in Companies

Start Date: July 1, 2014 (9 Weeks)

Workload: 9 Hours Per Week

Instructor: David Owens

Credentials: An accomplished author and consultant, David Owens teaches courses in product development, change management, and innovation at Vanderbilt’s University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. He also oversees the school’s Executive Development Institute. Before entering academia, Owens served as the CEO of Griffin Technology, which markets accessories for smartphones and mobile devices. Owens also performed product design work for firms ranging from Apple to Daimler Benz to Corning. He earned a Ph.D. from Stanford and is the author of Creative People Must Be Stopped!.

Graded: There are two tracks available in this course. To earn a Statement of Accomplishment, participants must complete all assignments and exercises and contribute to discussion board discussions. A “Statement of Accomplishment-With Distinction” is available to students who also complete a team-based innovation project.

Description: How do the best companies innovate? Despite paying lip service to the concept, many companies kill their best ideas. While many might blame “the process,” most creative solutions are stifled by something more difficult to influence: People. To overcome people hurdles, this course identifies several areas where idea formulation, evaluation, and execution can be bottlenecked. In particular, it explores our personal constraints and (intelligence, persuasive skills) and the threats inherent to group dynamics (groupthink, fear and ego). The course will also explore how problem-solving can be undercut by people’s perceptions of organizational operations (structure and strategy), technology (capabilities and expertise), and the marketplace (openness to change).

During this course, students will learn how to manage peers, superiors, and business partners and help them embrace innovation. Each week, students will watch lecture videos, along with completing readings, quizzes, and individual and group assignments. At the end, students will understand what conditions foster innovation; how innovation and change initiatives can be undermined; and how to gain buy in and maintain creative momentum over time.

Review: No reviews available.

Additional Note: Owens also encourages students to read Creative People Must Be Stopped! to explore innovation concepts and applications in greater depth.