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Write a Business Plan

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Instructor: Google for Education Course

Define and organize your business’s growth by writing a business plan.

Harvard Business School

Dynamic, immersive education for learners at every level

A two-year, full-time residential program with a focus on real-world practice.

Doctoral Programs

Eight full-time programs leading to a PhD degree for scholars interested in academic research.

Executive Education

Programs for individuals and organizations that help experienced executives expand their global perspective and lead at a higher level.

Online certificate courses, led by award-winning faculty, to help you master essential business concepts.

Rigorous research, rooted in practice

The most pressing challenges and interesting opportunities facing the world today cannot be addressed without business playing a significant role. At Harvard Business School, faculty-led initiatives and projects engage practitioners, students and alumni to develop insights that drive impact today.

• Browse All Faculty & Research
• Explore Initiatives & Projects

The research conducted by Harvard Business School faculty fuels insights at the intersection of business and today’s most pressing issues.

What makes Harvard Business School distinctive?

At Harvard Business School, real-world leadership challenges come to life. Our programs and courses will help you learn how to think expansively, act decisively, and inspire those around you to achieve great things.

Dynamic and immersive learning experiences

Our discussion-based approach to learning brings real world leadership challenges to life.

A tight knit community

The scale of HBS, from large-format classes to intimate sections and curated study groups, is intentionally designed to foster growth and learning.

Global perspectives

The world is profoundly connected, that’s why we pride ourselves on bringing students together from around the world and studying cases with global impact.

A lifetime of connection

It’s not just the people you meet during your time at Harvard Business School, but the network of alumni that’s 86,000 strong and ready and willing to support your journey. More about  Alumni .

A residential campus

Our campus, in the heart of one of the world’s great cities, is designed with the belief that daily interactions increase the potential for learning.

Baker for Executive Education Participants

Baker Library provides a range of resources and services to Executive Education participants to meet their research needs.

How to use Baker as an Exec Ed participant

Visiting and borrowing, database access, research support, still need help.

Our expert librarians are here to help you find what you’re looking for.

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management

Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)

• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team
• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Online Business Certificate Courses
• Business Strategy
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability

Global Business

Key concepts, who will benefit, forward-thinking strategists, entrepreneurs, professionals in heavily regulated industries.

What You Earn

Certificate of Completion

Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online

Earn by: completing this course

Certificate of Specialization

Prove your mastery of strategy or business in society

Earn by: completing any three courses within either subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization

Macroeconomic and Political Analysis

• The World Is Big
• Case: Unidentified Countries
• Beyond a Country's Borders

Featured Exercises

Economic conditions and your business.

• Fiscal Policy
• Monetary Policy
• International Influences
• Labor Productivity

Political Order and Disorder

• The Role of Government
• Democracy and Alternatives
• Long-Term Growth

Business and the Interconnected World

• Cross Border Investment
• Immigration
• Energy and Sustainability
• Peace and War

How to Be a Purpose-Driven, Global Business Professional

Our difference, about the professor.

Forest Reinhardt Global Business

Dates & eligibility.

No current course offerings for this selection.

All learners must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.

Learn about bringing this course to your organization .

Learner Stories

Global Business FAQs

What are the learning requirements, and how are grades assigned.

Participants in Global Business are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online.

Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This will mean completing each course module and fully answering questions posed therein by the required deadline. This course also features recommended weekly deadlines to help ensure participants proceed through the course at a similar pace and can take full advantage of social learning opportunities. In addition to module and assignment completion, we expect you to offer feedback on others’ reflections and contribute to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course.

More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Global Business. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.

What materials will I have access to after the course?

You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends 60 days after the final deadline in the program.

How should I list my certificate on my resume?

Harvard Business School Online Certificate in Global Business [Cohort Start Month and Year]

List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page:

School: Harvard Business School Online Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program] Degree: Other; Certificate in Global Business Field of Study: Leave blank Grade: Complete Activities and Societies: Leave blank

For the program description on LinkedIn, please use the following:

Global Business is a 4-week, 24-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. Global Business provides a grounding in the economic, political, and social factors driving global change to help participants assess opportunities, manage risk, and create and capture value for their organization. The program was developed by leading Harvard Business School faculty and is delivered in an active learning environment based on the HBS signature case-based learning model.

Related Programs

CLIMB enables new and experienced leaders to ignite their careers with a combination of vital and forward-looking business skills, self-reflection, and an immersive cohort-based learning experience with a diverse global network.

Sustainable Business Strategy

Become a purpose-driven leader by learning how to influence key stakeholders and integrate values into your work to catalyze system-level change.

Economics for Managers

See the world through the lens of economics and gain the knowledge and skills to craft successful business strategy.

Disruptive Strategy

Strengthen your capacity to create winning strategies and bring innovations to market by discovering customer jobs to be done and aligning your business’s resources, processes, and profit formula.

The University of Chicago The Law School

Meet the class: adrianne kehne, ’27, harvard grad turns to law after researching opioid addiction.

Originally from Takoma Park, Maryland, Adrianne Kehne, ’27, graduated from Harvard University with a degree in chemistry. She spent the next few years researching healthcare policy related to opioid addiction, work that deeply influenced her perspective. It exposed pressing policy challenges that Kehne hopes to help address in her new career as a lawyer.

Please describe your professional background and path.

Though my undergraduate degree is in chemistry, I realized after graduating that I was more interested in policy than working in a lab. I’ve spent the past five years researching health policy at the University of Michigan, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Mathematica, with a focus on opioid addiction treatment and other behavioral healthcare.

What key experiences have shaped you?

While researching opioid addiction at the University of Michigan, my team supported the launch of an addiction consultation team at the university’s flagship hospital. This multiyear process deepened my understanding of the structural and financial disincentives to providing vital care to a vulnerable and stigmatized population.

What motivated your decision to go to law school?

In studying the opioid epidemic, I learned how massive regulatory failures led to tragic consequences. At the time, policies limited patients’ access to treatment and discouraged doctors from providing much needed care. I want to learn the tools of the legal system to improve policies misaligned with the evidence base.

Why did you select the University of Chicago Law School?

I was drawn to the strength of student-faculty relationships, the curiosity and engagement of the student body, and the range of coursework permitted by the quarter system.

What do you plan to do with your legal education?

Public service is a priority. Though I’m not sure where that will take me, I wouldn’t be surprised if I work in government again at some point, at the state or federal level.

What is the thing you are most looking forward to about being a law student?

Taking classes! I’ve had a long break from school, and I’m excited to be a full-time student again.

What are some of your hobbies or interests?

I love to get outside, especially backpacking, biking, kayaking, and cross-country skiing. I’ve been lucky enough to hike in Denali and the Andes. In the flatter topography of the Midwest, I’m looking forward to exploring Chicago by bike lane!

What is a “fun fact” about you?

I know how to ride a unicycle and juggle, though not at the same time.

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