About This Course

COVID-19 is a serious challenge to business as usual.  The need for resiliency, flexibility, and finding new ways to do business are prevalent.  Yet what do these terms of ways of doing business mean?  What specific strategies and practices make a business resilient?  Flexible?  Able to find new opportunities?  And how can businesses become more valuable and adaptable?  COVID-19 will not be the last major shock to businesses so having the skills, tools, and mindset to confront these serious shocks can make the difference between staying in business and not surviving.

You can’t predict the future and even if you could predict the near term once you start acting the world changes and you must change your strategy anyway. So, the core assumption of this strategy class (that leaders design for the future) is flawed! Stick to implementation and core business processes and forget about strategy. Oh really? The real benefit of strategy may be thinking systematically about your business – not the prediction. And who says that all strategy work is done and then you proceed without changes? It is a constant process of analysis and decision making. And strategy is not a monolithic concept that applies to every organization or every situation in the same manner.

Professional Credits Available:

Professional Credits

Webinars – For More Information

November 19, 2020 @12PM

December 10, 2020 @12PM

Course Logistics

  • Location: online 
    Asynchronous
    Synchronous, occasional TH 10:30AM/6PM
  • Duration: February – March 2021
    Strategy 1, 4 sessions ($1800)
    Strategy 2, 4 sessions ($1800)
  • Total Cost: $3600
    *May elect to complete 1 or both sessions

Strategy I start date: February 4, 2021
Strategy II start date: March 4, 2021

**REGISTRATION CLOSED**

*Must complete Strategy I & II to receive a certificate

Partnership discounts available
3-6 persons per organization, per course, 15%

Bundling Discounts available
Register for more than one course in the 2020-2021 academic year, 5%

The Wake Forest University Certificates Program is an open-enrollment, non-credit bearing program.

 online  in person

Take-Aways & Learning Outcomes:

Strategy 1 (4 sessions)

Course will focus on handling times of uncertainty in strategy formulation and implementation.

  • What is strategic thinking?
  • Organizational competencies and their role
  • Macros Trends and their impact
  • Resiliency and risk

Strategy 2 (4 sessions)

Course will focus on strategic thinking applied to healthcare.

  • Macro trends in healthcare
  • Value based healthcare
  • An alternative view – disruptive innovation
  • Technology in healthcare strategy

We will discuss how some healthcare organizations can earn persistently higher rates of return than their industry rivals. Industry structures and environments change at different rates so not all healthcare sector industries or business environments offer equal opportunities for firms to obtain high returns. A firm that consistently gains a competitive advantage understands its environment’s dynamics, understands itself, creates ambitious, clear yet flexible goals, and can set an organization in motion to offer services with superior patient value while balancing opportunities and risks.

We will cover current examples that reflect the vibrancy of the healthcare sector with a leadership approach that maintains an emphasis on your skills development, your knowledge of markets, and your business acumen.

Course Designed For:

Strategy 1

Designed for professionals at every level. Whether you are a top level executive or manage a smaller team, having a well constructed strategy is key for the success of your organization.

Strategy 2 is designed specifically for healthcare professionals.

Why healthcare?
What is the big deal operating in the largest sector of the U.S. economy?
Isn’t it simply like operating in any industry?

The U.S. healthcare sector accounted for over 17% of U.S. GDP in 2019. This economic activity involves a diverse set of players: various industries; various organizational forms; various regulatory agencies. Organizations that operate in this sector require strategies that are sensitive to the external and internal dynamics, many of which are unique to this sector.

For example, the U.S. federal and state governments represent most of the spending on healthcare. Patients rarely directly pay for services, quality is difficult to observe, the same information is not commonly held by market participants, access is not universal, and value is often best provided as a coordinated set of economic players who have different incentives.

The sector size, the diversity of players, and the sector dynamics require unique leadership skills and knowledge. This course addresses one set of skills and knowledge, strategic thinking.

Certificate Course Detail


For More Information

For more information or to speak with a program advisor, please contact us.

A classroom experience that’s outside the box
Interactive and targeted skill building
Supportive learning community
Build your professional network