Babson Executive Education
Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Babson Academy
Innovation and Growth Leadership
Develop the mindset and skill set you need to drive innovation and lead effectively with the Innovation and Growth Leadership certificate. This collection of leadership and innovation courses equips executives and emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, and frameworks needed to drive innovation and business growth across industries.
Throughout this program, which includes three distinct leadership and innovation badge courses, you will work with real-world case studies and take a practical approach to ideation and innovation, ensuring you gain a strong entrepreneurial foundation that will serve you well across a wide range of dynamic environments.
Infused with Babson’s proven Entrepreneurial Thought & Action® (ET&A®) methodology, a proven framework that combines risk management, continuous learning, and deep collaboration, this innovation leadership training will help you explore all stages of innovation, from ideation to long-term scaling.
You will learn to experiment and iterate as you go, and by the end, you will be equipped to apply design-thinking principles, develop solutions that meet real-world needs, and drive meaningful change. Take the next step in your innovation leadership development with Babson’s action‑oriented approach to growth and innovation.
This innovation leadership development program is designed as hands-on innovation training for leaders who want to build practical, repeatable innovation capabilities inside their organizations.
What Is Innovation and Growth Leadership?
Innovation and Growth Leadership is an executive education innovation leadership program designed to help leaders drive sustainable business growth through experimentation, design thinking, and entrepreneurial action. Participants learn how to apply product, process, customer experience, and business model innovation to real organizational challenges, building the skills needed to lead change, scale ideas, and create long‑term value.
Learn How to Understand Different Types of Innovation
Leaders will explore how product process innovation, customer experience, and business model innovation contribute to a cohesive growth and innovation strategy. The program emphasizes when to apply each approach and how to scale them for sustainable business impact.
Participants become highly familiar with multiple types of innovation—including product innovation, process innovation, customer experience innovation, and business model innovation—and how each supports innovation and business growth.
You will:
- Learn to apply design-thinking principles to solve complex problems
- Utilize rapid ideation and iterative experimentation to strengthen ideas
- Align solutions with desirability, feasibility, and viability for real world impact
- Become highly familiar with the different types of innovation, including product, process, customer experience, business model, and more
- Detail the links between innovation and problem solving, and how they can be applied to possible solutions
- Gain a deep understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset and leadership qualities needed to drive innovation and lead change
- Discover how human nature can hinder innovation and develop strategies to overcome these challenges
- Develop practical skills to foster an entrepreneurial culture, continuously adapt to market changes, and drive long-term organizational success
The program is ideal for leaders seeking innovative leadership development programs that connect strategy, experimentation, and execution. This certificate supports ongoing innovation leadership training and professional development for leaders at all stages.
- Aspiring entrepreneurs with a new venture or entrepreneurial idea
- Entrepreneurs who want to take their business to the next level
- Executives looking to grow their entrepreneurial mindset to innovate in their current role
- Professionals looking to expand their skill set across industries and functionalities
- Recognition and Credentialing: A digital certificate that serves as verifiable proof of learning and achievement, which can be displayed on platforms such as LinkedIn and included on your resume and portfolio
- Course Content and Learning Outcomes: You gain industry-relevant knowledge, practical skills, and frameworks designed for professionals seeking career advancement or specialization
- Flexibility: Our self-paced digital courses allow flexibility for busy executives and professionals
- Expert Instruction: Experienced faculty, industry leaders, and professionals with real-world expertise teach our courses
- Networking Opportunities: You gain access to a network of peers, alumni, and industry professionals.
- Assessments and Engagement: To earn a credential for completing this course, you must complete assignments, quizzes, case studies, and/or interactive projects
Upon completion of this series of courses you will earn a digital certificate.
What you need to know
Course Listing
Costs & Program Discounts
Course Leaders
Craig Bida
Professor of Entrepreneurship
Professor Craig Bida’s work and teaching focuses on how people can turn ideas into real-world applications that create tangible impact. He is currently the Director of the FutureLab on Mobility, a collaboration between the Toyota Mobility Foundation and Babson College that seeks to create economic and social progress by collaborating across the sectors on cutting edge, community-centric mobility solutions. He is also the Founder and CEO of Think Design Disrupt, a purpose-driven brand-building consultancy that designs, reimagines, and activates brands to create world-changing social and environmental impact.
Gina O’Connor
Professor of Innovation Management and Fischer Family Term Chair in Healthcare Management
Professor Gina O'Connor’s research focuses on breakthrough innovation capabilities within large, mature companies. Previously, she spent 29 years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she held various leadership roles. She has published extensively in top journals, co-authored three books on breakthrough innovation, and received multiple best-paper awards. She has consulted and spoken for numerous companies globally. Passionate about developing innovation leaders, she also serves on the Board of Directors for Fostering Hope, a foundation supporting foster parents.
Jay Rao
Professor of Operations and Information Management
Professor Jay Rao teaches numerous Babson Executive Education programs. His executive teaching and consulting focus on the areas of innovation, implementation of innovation initiatives within firms, corporate entrepreneurship, and customer experience innovation. He has written several business cases on a range of topics: innovation strategy, innovation culture, leading innovation, customer service, and strategy execution. He also teaches in the Babson MBA program.
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