General Management

A leader has to keep many things in mind in order to make sustainable and strategically relevant decisions. WHU Management Essentials Program provide participants who are transitioning into a leadership position or have done so recently, with the fundamental skills of General Management.

You can choose 3 out of 4 of the following programs: Leadership Essentials, Strategy Essentials, Financial Literacy and Innovation & Corporate Entrepreneurship Essentials.

Each of these programs focuses on different skills that are essential for successful leadership. In combination with a personality profile, the programs can be scheduled flexibly. You will receive a WHU Certificate of Excellence in General Management after successfully completing the program. Optionally, you can earn 6 ECTS credits, if you decide to write exams.

WHU’s Leadership Essentials Program explores the foundations of leadership by comparing effective and ineffective leadership behaviors – and by challenging you to (re-)consider who you are as a leader and why anybody should be led by you. During the 3-day interactive leadership seminar, you will develop a greater understanding of your own leadership, critical team dynamics as well as the strategic value of leadership at an organizational level.

We use exercises, group work, and case studies to illustrate the behaviors of highly effective leaders. The program concludes with reflections on what you have learned and a forward plan that will help you apply the insights you gained during the business leadership program.

The Financial Literacy Program is all about how to read, derive, and apply relevant financial information to decision-making situations. Created for managers who are not financial specialists, this program provides a solid foundation in finance and accounting.

This financial literacy training will help you to read, understand, and interpret income statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets. An overview of types of financing will be presented and you will develop an understanding of the characteristics of different financing instruments. You will be able to effectively apply financial analysis techniques and through that understand the strategic performance goals.

In today’s complex and disruptive world, innovation management is key to staying relevant to customers, keeping ahead of the competition, and taking advantage of emerging digital technologies. The Innovation & Corporate Entrepreneurship Essentials Program will equip you with insights, skills, and tools to act as a frontrunner in innovation and corporate entrepreneurship within your organization. Renowned WHU faculty members and experienced practitioners, with extensive international experience, will share with you the latest research results, practical tools, strategic approaches, and agile methods for fostering an innovative mindset. The program is designed to engage all aspects of innovation and entrepreneurship through guest lectures, group work, case studies, and a Serious Lego Play Session. Special attention will be paid to generative AI and the practical applications of ChatGPT. You will learn how to utilize it effectively in your business development strategies through real-life examples.

When taking on a general manager position, strategy formulation and strategy implementation become a vital part of your responsibilities. WHU´s Strategy Essentials Program is a fast-paced program providing you with the essential knowledge and tools to develop and implement a strong business strategy. By analyzing and discussing the different facets of business strategy formulation, you will gain an understanding of the importance of a company’s resources, capabilities, and limitations.

A leader has to keep many things in mind in order to make sustainable and strategically relevant decisions. WHU Management Essentials Program provide participants who are transitioning into a leadership position or have done so recently, with the fundamental skills of General Management.

You can choose 3 out of 4 of the following programs: Leadership Essentials, Strategy Essentials, Financial Literacy and Innovation & Corporate Entrepreneurship Essentials.

Each of these programs focuses on different skills that are essential for successful leadership. In combination with a personality profile, the programs can be scheduled flexibly. You will receive a WHU Certificate of Excellence in General Management after successfully completing the program. Optionally, you can earn 6 ECTS credits, if you decide to write exams.

How good is our strategy? Which markets are profitable for us? How valuable is our market positioning? How can we achieve operational excellence? WHU’s Strategy Execution for Organizational Growth Program will help you find answers to these questions. Test your strategic mind, implement a business strategy and execute it in a competitive environment. WHU’s Strategy Execution for Organizational Growth Program challenges experienced professionals to enhance their strategy implementation skills.

This development program is designed for experienced professionals who aim at learning and employing the art of strategy to improve decision-making. Over the course of this intensive program which is designed as a “training camp”, participants will be engaging in experiments, role plays (e.g., war gaming), and AI-based computer simulations to experience how thinking, deciding, and acting strategically can help achieve desired outcomes.

The Executive Education divisions of three leading European Business Schools – WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), and ESSEC Business School – join forces to offer a new pioneer program for (future) leaders in sports business. Over 3 x 3-day modules, participants learn how to systematically look into the future and develop a strategy for growth (at WHU in Düsseldorf). Furthermore, they study how to turn strategy concepts into commercial success (at SSE in Stockholm) and they will learn about the role of leadership, goal setting, and culture in managing change (at ESSEC in Paris). Participants will not only discover new skills and explore new ways of thinking, but also have the opportunity to expand their network through a diverse group of international peers and world-class experts.

A leader has to keep many things in mind in order to make sustainable and strategically relevant decisions. WHU Management Essentials Program provide participants who are transitioning into a leadership position or have done so recently, with the fundamental skills of General Management.

You can choose 3 out of 4 of the following programs: Leadership Essentials, Strategy Essentials, Financial Literacy and Innovation & Corporate Entrepreneurship Essentials.

Each of these programs focuses on different skills that are essential for successful leadership. In combination with a personality profile, the programs can be scheduled flexibly. You will receive a WHU Certificate of Excellence in General Management after successfully completing the program. Optionally, you can earn 6 ECTS credits, if you decide to write exams.