Drive Business Results
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Drive Business Results
This course is part of New Manager’s Playbook Specialization
Instructor: Harvard Business Review
Included with
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What you'll learn
Understand and analyze financial statements to gauge financial health and monitor operational success
Weigh costs and benefits, track financial performance, and make the most of resources.
Analyze potential opportunities and risks to determine if the benefits of a new investment outweigh its costs.
Develop and present compelling business cases that explore alternatives and outline clear implementation plans for stakeholders.
Skills you'll gain
- Financial Reporting
- Operating Budget
- Financial Statements
- Expense Management
- Market Opportunities
- Risk Mitigation
- Stakeholder Management
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Acumen
- Risk Analysis
- Budget Management
- Return On Investment
- Business Risk Management
- Investments
- Balance Sheet
- Business Development
- Stakeholder Communications
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Budgeting
Details to know
March 2026
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There are 3 modules in this course
This course bridges the gap between daily operations and high-level strategy, teaching you how to manage resources effectively and advocate for new opportunities. You’ll gain a solid foundation in finance to interpret company health, manage budgets, and evaluate investment returns. Additionally, you’ll learn to build and present compelling business cases that align with organizational goals, assess risks, and secure stakeholder buy-in for your initiatives.
Let’s face it—money is the fuel that keeps your organization running. No matter your role, by understanding the fundamentals of finance, you ensure your team will make the most of its resources. Learn how to interpret financial statements, create a budget, and invest wisely to produce the desired returns.
What's included
13 videos34 readings1 assignment
13 videos•Total 33 minutes
- Tackle Finance with Curiosity•3 minutes
- Cash Is King—Don't Give It Away•4 minutes
- How Managers Should Read Financial Statements•2 minutes
- Finance Doesn’t Have to Be Intimidating•2 minutes
- Confronting a Bad Deal•3 minutes
- Realistic Budgets•3 minutes
- Understanding NPV•1 minute
- The (Im)precision of Finance•2 minutes
- How to Use Breakeven Analysis•2 minutes
- Look Beyond Obvious Risks•3 minutes
- Create Efficiencies•2 minutes
- Use Bad News to Your Advantage•3 minutes
- Face Your Fear•3 minutes
34 readings•Total 340 minutes
- Understand Financial Statements•10 minutes
- Why financial intelligence matters•10 minutes
- Accounting methods•10 minutes
- Three financial statements•10 minutes
- Assumptions, estimates, and biases•10 minutes
- Assess Financial Health•10 minutes
- Ratio analysis•10 minutes
- Valuation methods•10 minutes
- Other assessment methods•10 minutes
- Develop a Budget•10 minutes
- Definition•10 minutes
- Budgeting activities•10 minutes
- Budget approaches•10 minutes
- Prepare a budget•10 minutes
- Articulate your assumptions•10 minutes
- Quantify your assumptions•10 minutes
- Defend your assumptions•10 minutes
- KSS example•10 minutes
- Perform Cost/Benefit Analysis•10 minutes
- Cost/benefit analysis defined•10 minutes
- Return on investment analysis•10 minutes
- Payback period analysis•10 minutes
- Net present value analysis•10 minutes
- Internal rate of return analysis•10 minutes
- Breakeven analysis•10 minutes
- Sensitivity analysis•10 minutes
- Estimate unquantifiable benefits and costs•10 minutes
- Track Financial Performance•10 minutes
- Track your investment•10 minutes
- Track your operating budget•10 minutes
- Adapt to changes•10 minutes
- Build Your Team’s Financial Intelligence•10 minutes
- Why it matters to your team•10 minutes
- Financial literacy strategies•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Finance Essentials Assessment•30 minutes
You recognize a great opportunity to help your organization, but how do you communicate it? Learn how to create and present a compelling business case that aligns with your company’s strategic priorities.
What's included
11 videos47 readings1 assignment
11 videos•Total 31 minutes
- Create and Deliver a Strong Business Case•4 minutes
- Making Your Ideas Credible•2 minutes
- Three Principles to Win Executive Approval•3 minutes
- Five Ways to Measure Performance•3 minutes
- Opportunity vs. Cost in a New Market•3 minutes
- Customer Input•3 minutes
- Juggling Growth and Brand Identity•2 minutes
- Experiment to Learn About Your Market•3 minutes
- When the Better Market Is Risky•3 minutes
- Craft a Story to Sell Your Business Case•4 minutes
- How to React Non-Defensively•3 minutes
47 readings•Total 470 minutes
- Understand Business Cases•10 minutes
- What is a business case?•10 minutes
- When to create a business case•10 minutes
- Know your organization’s processes *•10 minutes
- Identify decision makers *•10 minutes
- The development process•10 minutes
- Define the Opportunity•10 minutes
- Steps for Defining the Opportunity•10 minutes
- Identify the problem•10 minutes
- Craft an opportunity statement•10 minutes
- Identify relevant business objectives•10 minutes
- Prioritize objectives•10 minutes
- Assign metrics•10 minutes
- Explore Options•10 minutes
- Avoid common pitfalls•10 minutes
- Assemble a core team *•10 minutes
- Hold a brainstorming session *•10 minutes
- Consider the status quo *•10 minutes
- Narrow your choices•10 minutes
- Identify essential data•10 minutes
- Set a time frame•10 minutes
- Document everything•10 minutes
- Analyze Alternatives•10 minutes
- Evaluate alternatives against metrics•10 minutes
- Steps for analyzing alternatives•10 minutes
- Compare alternatives•10 minutes
- Create a pros and cons table•10 minutes
- Select the best option•10 minutes
- Assess Risks•10 minutes
- Weigh the risks•10 minutes
- Conduct a sensitivity analysis•10 minutes
- Mitigate the risks•10 minutes
- Revisit your proposal•10 minutes
- Create an Implementation Plan•10 minutes
- Steps for Creating an Implementation Plan•10 minutes
- Demonstrate feasibility•10 minutes
- Determine your milestones•10 minutes
- Communicate with decision makers•10 minutes
- Identify necessary resources•10 minutes
- Clarify responsibilities•10 minutes
- Estimate payoff dates•10 minutes
- Track results•10 minutes
- Communicate Your Case•10 minutes
- Understand your audience•10 minutes
- Make your case with visuals•10 minutes
- Be a savvy presenter•10 minutes
- When you can’t present *•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Business Case Development Assessment•30 minutes
What's included
2 assignments
2 assignments•Total 60 minutes
- Course-End Assessment•30 minutes
- Course-End Project•30 minutes
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Instructor
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- Status: Free TrialH
Harvard Business Review
Specialization
- Status: Free TrialD
Duke University
Course
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- Status: Free Trial
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