Leadership in Complex Global Systems

Explore what it takes to lead amidst uncertainty, rapid technological change, and global interdependence. The module examines decision-making in complex stakeholder environments, alignment across global organizations, and the leadership capabilities required for digital and platform-driven markets.

Futures Thinking & Strategic Foresight

Examine the forces reshaping industries and economies, from AI and geopolitics to climate and regulation. Participants will engage with scenario thinking to understand how organizations anticipate disruption, prepare for multiple futures, and balance strategic vision with resilience and execution.

Singapore as a Strategic Case Study: Corporate & Ecosystem Site Visits

Using Singapore as a living laboratory of innovation and competitiveness, participants will engage with organizations across financial services and FinTech, technology and innovation ecosystems, logistics and port operations, and advanced manufacturing and smart-nation initiatives to understand how leadership, policy, and ecosystem design drive global success.

Gamified Experience: Leadership Simulation

This award-winning leadership simulation places participants in a high-stakes wilderness expedition where teams must navigate uncertainty, resource constraints, hidden challenges, and complex group dynamics while attempting to summit a treacherous mountain. Taking on distinct team roles, participants make critical decisions under pressure, balancing competing priorities such as risk, health, speed, and information sharing. The experience is designed to strengthen collaboration, strategic thinking, decision-making, and leadership effectiveness in high-pressure environments.

Pit Crew Challenge @ Cornell Campus

Participants will engage in the immersive Pit Crew Challenge, a high-energy, hands-on experience inspired by the fast-paced world of professional stock car racing. Working together as a pit crew under intense time pressure, participants will explore the dynamics of collaboration, communication, agility, and execution in high-performance environments. Designed to move beyond traditional team building, the experience challenges participants to break down silos, strengthen coordination, and cultivate a mindset of continuous improvement while uncovering the principles that drive exceptional teamwork and leadership under pressure.

Innovation and Strategy Blueprint

The immersion culminates in the development of an Innovation and Strategy Blueprint, a structured articulation of strategic choices grounded in field insights, business realities, research, and faculty frameworks, with direct application back in the workplace.

Framing Complex Problems with Systems Thinking

Develop the ability to approach complex business and organizational challenges through a systems-thinking lens. This course equips participants with frameworks to identify interdependencies, uncover root causes, challenge mental models, and navigate ambiguity in dynamic environments.

Key Takeaways:

• Apply systems thinking to complex and “wicked” problems

• Recognize patterns, interdependencies, and feedback loops

• Improve decision-making by challenging assumptions and biases

• Develop more adaptive and holistic problem-solving approaches

Problem Solving Using Evidence and Critical Thinking

Strengthen the ability to make thoughtful, evidence-based decisions in complex business situations. The course introduces a disciplined approach to problem-solving that combines analytical rigor, critical thinking, and practical decision-making.

Key Takeaways:

• Diagnose underlying causes rather than surface symptoms

• Evaluate evidence and assess competing perspectives

• Structure and analyze complex business problems effectively

• Develop practical, defensible, and implementable solutions

Value Creation and Profitability

Explore how organizations create sustainable value and drive profitable growth in competitive markets. The course examines the strategic and operational decisions that influence financial performance, competitive positioning, and long-term business success.

Key Takeaways:

• Understand the drivers of value creation and profitability

• Evaluate strategic and operational trade-offs impacting growth

• Strengthen commercial and financial decision-making capabilities

• Align business strategy with sustainable performance outcomes

Cross-Cultural Communication

Build the awareness and adaptability required to communicate effectively across cultures, leadership styles, and global teams. The course helps participants strengthen interpersonal effectiveness and navigate diverse workplace dynamics with greater empathy and influence.

Key Takeaways:

• Recognize how communication styles are perceived across cultures

• Adapt communication approaches for diverse global contexts

• Improve collaboration, trust, and interpersonal effectiveness

• Navigate cross-cultural interactions with greater confidence and empathy.

CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

Develop strategic leadership skills essential for guiding organizations to success, covering topics such as Applying Strategic Influence, Identifying and Evaluating Risk, Preparing for Digital Transformation, Setting Internal and External Conditions for Success and many more.

CAIO (Chief AI Officer)

Explore cutting-edge approaches to AI leadership and enterprise transformation, focusing on areas such as: AI Strategy and Governance, Responsible AI and Ethics, Generative AI and Business Innovation, AI-Driven Operating Models, Data Architecture and AI Readiness, and many more.

CFO (Chief Financial Officer)

Dive into financial management strategies and techniques critical for driving business performance, including topics such as Aligning Performance Measures with Business Strategy, Fundraising and Revenue Generation, Managing Business Capacity with Activity-Based Costing, Trends in FinTech and many more.

CTO (Chief Technology Officer)

Master technology-driven innovation and digital transformation strategies, exploring topics such as Creating Data Visualizations with Tableau, Cryptocurrencies and Ledgers, Privacy Structure and Risk Assessment, Strengths-Based Technology Leadership and many more.

COO (Chief Operating Officer)

Gain insights into operational excellence and process optimization, covering areas such as Counteracting Unconscious Bias, Leading Organizational Change, Measuring and Improving Efficiency, Strategic Stakeholder Management and many more.

CMO (Chief Marketing Officer)

Explore cutting-edge marketing strategies and consumer insights, focusing on areas such as Brand Purpose, Data Privacy in Marketing, Distribution Strategy and International Marketing, Growth Marketing With AI and many more.

CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer)

Focus on human capital management and organizational development strategies, covering topics such as Applied Predictive Analytics in HR, Diagnosing Workplace Conflict, Hybrid Work Strategy, Using Design Thinking in HR and many more.

Managing Complexity

In this immersive module, participants will gain insights into how the brain learns, how to learn more quickly, why we frequently make poor judgments and how to learn from both successes and failures. Through real-life examples and interactive activities, participants will learn how to make more deliberate and informed decisions while potentially doubling their learning capacity. Participants will also learn how to systematically think back on their experiences and draw lessons from them.

AI-Enabled Transformation

This module explores the accelerating impact of AI and emerging technologies on organizations, leadership, and business strategy. Participants will examine how leaders are leveraging AI to drive innovation, productivity, and transformation while developing the mindset and capabilities required to lead in an AI-enabled future. The module also explores the evolving role of leaders in fostering innovation, managing disruption, and building AI-ready organizations.

Creative Leadership

In this intensive module, participants will develop an understanding of how to boost individual and collective creativity and get an appreciation of why so many organization look at creativity as an important strategic capability. Learn techniques for boosting individual and collective creativity towards achieving higher levels of organizational innovation. Unleash your personal and organizational creative potential with interactive lectures, case study discussions and experiential exercises.

Commercial Acumen (Simulation — 5 sessions)

The goal of this module is to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of how and why operational decisions are integral to the success of an organization. First participants explore the question of how a firm's operations should be structured so as to be consistent with the firm's chosen way to compete. Then participants will consider the question of what operational activities should remain in-house and what should be done by a business partner and the long-term implications of these decisions on competitive advantage and the issue of managing the business relationships with supply chain partners. The module will force participants to consider key decision categories in operations, e.g., capacity decisions, process choices and managing networks, and shows how these decisions can lead to distinctive capabilities.