Strategy for impact certificate Strategy for impact certificate

Which people, governance, legal and financial mechanisms are up to the social, human, and environmental challenges we currently face? How can organizations and business models meet both individual values and needs, as well as collective challenges? How and to which extent can we build purposeful organizations, for a greater good? The aim of this certificate is to connect the dots, from leadership to purpose-based governance, through the necessary reflection on the company's role in the face of the challenges mentioned above.  

The certificate also aims to revisit the core disciplines of management to build the company of tomorrow. It focuses on four key building blocks – governance, strategy, finance/performance, and people/leadership - that together form the basis for becoming agents of change who can transform corporations into more responsible and better-aligned organizations.

This certificate is run in a five-week intensive format, focusing on how to become an agent of change with a broader vision of business. Each week focuses on one of the key building blocks – governance, strategy, finance/performance, and people/leadership – that together form the foundations to build more impactful corporations.  

The program combines a variety of theoretical and hands-on learning methods. Each week consists of four days of lectures and case studies, as well as one day of individual and group assignments (students work on a business transformation project throughout the certificate). Classes are delivered by high-profile inspirational speakers from academia, companies, and financial institutions.

The program focuses on the strategic, financial, accounting, and human levers to pull to repurpose business and make a positive impact.    

WEEK 1: FIRMS, SOCIETY AND PURPOSE 

• Purpose and the corporation: comparative corporate law history
• Old and new criticisms of firms, new challenges and responses

Corporate law and corporate history will structure your thinking and frame the discussion about the definition and responsibilities of the corporation, to determine what is new, or not, and with which purpose.    

WEEK 2: STRATEGY FOR POSITIVE IMPACT

• Making purpose strategic: impact on the P&L and balance sheet
• Revisting the strategy toolkit: business and corporate strategy, stakeholder analysis
• Conditions for building a purpose-based ecosystem  

Old analytical frameworks only offer outdated and barely effective solutions for current situations. You need to grasp the impact of current challenges (on resources, on risk, on returns) on your business plans, IRR and WACC calculations. We’ll equip you with hands-on tools and check-list questions to ask before developing positive impact strategies for success.

WEEK 3: ACCOUNTING FOR IMPACT

• Regulations and obligations: EU vs. RoW (&US)
• Multi-capital view of accounting
• Internal and auditable metrics
• Monitoring purpose: from purpose to KPIs  

Accounting and accountability are the two weapons that provide evidence of your impact. Accountability of impact while demanding procures your organization with cost and financial advantages. You must know the tricks, the traps, and the best-in-class practices to develop and defend your business case.    

WEEK 4: GOVERNING FOR PURPOSE

• Open governance frameworks adapted to the interests of stakeholders
• Simulation: tomorrow’s extraordinary General Assembly  

Not all legal forms impose the same constraints on impactful organized action. Some forms prioritize shareholder value maximization, while others are amenable to dual objectives, which include social and environmental impact. Legal forms of business therefore determine which kind of governance the impactful firm requires.    

WEEK 5: PURPOSE AND ME

• Purpose: from BS to success
• Purpose-based attraction and retention
• Why purpose is different from CSR from an HR perspective
• False promises and cynicism in management  

Purpose-based businesses place people at the heart of the organization. Employee attraction and retention, incentives, and culture must therefore be thought of and managed with care. Purpose-based firms can be the new face of management and a vehicle for a new form of sociability in the workplace.

Thanks to our partnership with Mazars, you’ll get the opportunity to work on a real-life business transformation project on strategy for impact. You’ll have carte blanche to apply the content of this Certificate along with your own knowledge to respond to the critical challenges of willing companies facing the tough reality of their journey to ‘strategy for impact’.