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Overview

Throughout the Credential of Digital Innovation and Strategy, you will complete four activities that build toward your Capstone project. Each activity will comprise a mix of individual components and team discussions that will allow you to reflect on your organization’s potential and will help provide practical application for your work. On this webpage, we have provided you with a brief overview of each activity. You should refer to your workbook for explicit instructions.

Activity 1 should be completed once you finish Leading in the Digital World. This activity is the kick-off to build your team connections within the program, and essential for laying the foundation for the remainder of your work over the next six months. Activities 2, 3, and 4 can be completed at any time, and in any order, prior to commencing work on your Capstone project. 

There are three components to each activity, some take place in your workbook, and some take place with your team. Read on below to review activity details and information about your Capstone Project.

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Workbook

All of your activities and instructions are located in the workbook you downloaded from the Introduction Module of Leading in the Digital World. You will add to the workbook throughout the program and submit it at the end of the program upon completing your Capstone. Be sure to save this workbook where you can easily access it throughout the program. 

Each activity has two parts to complete in the workbook: 

1. The main activity
2. Your individual reflection 

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Team Conversations

At the start of your credential journey, you were asked to agree on a preferred method of communication with your team (e.g., the Teams tab in Leading in the Digital World, WhatsApp, Zoom meetings, etc.). As you move through the activities, be sure to use that agreed-upon platform to discuss and collaborate with your teammates. While some conversations will be tied to workbook activities, you’re also encouraged to use this space to engage more broadly—from sharing ideas to asking each other questions or discussing key concepts from your courses. 

As part of your activities, you will be asked to review work from your teammates. In your responses, aim to provide constructive feedback. You are offering tips, tools, and suggestions from an outside perspective to spark new ideas for your teammates. 

Note: Due to the flexible nature of this program, you may need to check back periodically for responses.  

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Activities

In order to receive your credential, you’ll need to complete four external activities and a Capstone project. Once you finish Leading in the Digital World, you should begin Activity 1.  When completed, you can move on to Activities 2, 3, and 4 in any order that you like, in the same fashion as your courses. Some of these activities include a reading to accompany it. You can find a PDF version of the readings below each activity. You should either save these files for when you need them to start your activities, or you can return to this landing page to download them at a later date. Remember, your activities are detailed in your workbook. 

The activities for this program are as follows. You should plan to spend between 1–2 hours on each activity. 

• Activity 1: Willingness and Ability - In this activity, you’ll reflect on your team’s willingness and ability to innovate by evaluating key factors such as shared purpose, creative agility, and decision-making. You’ll assess a real (or imagined) innovation experience, share insights with your team, and explore ways to strengthen innovation culture.

• Activity 2: Innovation, Customer Expectations, and Trust - In this activity, you’ll explore how failing to meet evolving customer expectations—such as trust and innovation—can erode a platform’s relevance. You’ll reflect on your own industry’s approach to digital trust and share strategies with peers to improve customer engagement and platform credibility. 
  • Reading: SonaliBloom. “Craigslist: A Platform Eroded by Platforms” Harvard Digital Innovation and Transformation (2017), accessed May 2025.

• Activity 3: Customer Engagement and Personalization in Digital Marketing - In this activity, you’ll examine how companies are using AI to enhance personalization and creativity in marketing, and what happens when they fall short. You’ll reflect on your own experiences as a customer and consider how your organization can better leverage technology to deliver relevant and engaging digital experiences. 
  • Reading: “How AI Can Scale Personalization and Creativity in Marketing” Harvard Business Review (2023), accessed May 2025.

• Activity 4: The Curse of Knowledge - This activity explores the “curse of knowledge”—the challenge of communicating clearly when we’re too close to a topic. You’ll reflect on how this bias affects innovation and communication in your workplace, then discuss with peers how to make information more accessible, relevant, and impactful across teams and stakeholders. 
  • Reading: “Visionary or Cross-Eyed? Why Google Glass Never Lived Up to the Hype” Harvard Digital Innovation and Transformation (2017), accessed May 2025.

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Capstone Project: Digital Innovation & Strategy Roadmap

The Capstone project is a culmination of all that you have learned up until this point. You should not complete your Capstone until you have finished all of the required courses and Activities 1–4. You should plan to spend anywhere from 5–10 hours on your Capstone project.

Capstone Project: Digital Innovation & Strategy Roadmap - For your Capstone, you’ll create a visual roadmap that outlines a specific, measurable, and actionable plan for implementing a digital transformation initiative within your organization. You’ll present your plan to peers for feedback, refine it based on their insights, and submit your final workbook as the culminating step in the credential. Ideally, you will present to your peers synchronously (via Zoom etc.), so you should plan this early to avoid conflicting schedules. 

In order to help give you an idea of where to start on your Capstone presentation, we have provided an exemplar roadmap, which you can download here. The roadmap is for your thinking and learning purposes and does not need to be submitted when you complete your Capstone project; you will only need to submit the workbook for the Capstone to be considered complete. When you are ready to begin any of these activities, turn to your workbook to get started.