Innovation Career Lessons from a Master (Coursera)

Innovation Career Lessons from a Master (Coursera)

This course, which is Part Three in the series of Startup Entrepreneurship specialization, offers Life Lessons from a Master Innovator, with proven achievements. During this course you will listen to conversations and interviews with Mr. David (Dadi) Perlmutter, who until recently was Executive VP of Intel corporate. Dadi will talk about 10 life lessons, based on his 34 years as a rebel innovator and entrepreneur.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

We will share with you the following lessons:
Love and Knowledge are infinite: grow and share;
Learn from Failures and Successes;
Nothing Moves without a Vision;
Have a Differentiated Market Transforming Strategy;
Dare to Take Action; Fight Resistance;
It is All About the Ecosystem;
Build a Team;
Keep it Simple and Work Hard.
By the end of the course the learner will:

  • Know how to lead a process of innovation and implement ideas through all its phases from discovery to delivery in your own field of choice.
  • Know how to apply creativity to generate creative ideas in a wide range of strategic management issues.
  • Know how to solve problems in general, with a high degree of innovative creative thinking, to widen the range of possible choices
  • Identify new and unfamiliar challenges and needs, reflect on them from a creative point of view (zoom in), decide on the action they require (zoom out) and generate a novel and useful solution
  • Transform ideas into real value-creating products, services and processes.
  • Be able to analyze both success and failure and draw conclusions from both, for improving future innovative efforts.
  • Be able to identify and create key features of innovative products and services and in doing so, generate strategically differentiated innovations that are unique
  • Be able to present your ideas persuasively and overcome resistance.
  • Know how to simplify a complex product and make it user friendly.

Course assignments will include participation in two discussion groups and four assignments. In each assignment you will be asked to deal with a question relating to an interview you have seen.

Course 3 of 4 in the Startup Entrepreneurship Specialization

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Introduction
A science has laws and rules. But art has no laws or rules. In fact, art is about breaking the rules, to create wonderful new works. Innovation is an art, not a science; it is about breaking the rules intelligently, to create value through novel, useful ideas. The best way to learn the art of innovation, or indeed to learn any art, is from those who have mastered it at the highest level and are willing and able to share their wisdom. In this course, a master innovator, Dadi Perlmutter, shares with Coursera learners what he has learned during 34 years of world-changing innovation at Intel Corp., where he served until recently as Executive Vice President. Perlmutter summarizes over three decades of innovation in ten key lessons, recounted in conversation with Prof. Shlomo Maital. Our hope is that these ten lessons will significantly improve your chances of success as an entrepreneur. At the end of this module you will be able to analyze situations of failure and success, and to draw conclusions for future situations.

WEEK 2
Strategy, Action & Resistance
Many highly creative people never get beyond vaguely talking about their ideas. Don’t be like them, Perlmutter counsels. Take action to implement at least some of your ideas. The bigger your idea, the more resistance you will likely encounter. Perlmutter explains how he overcame such resistance, in order to help you do the same. At the end of this module you will be able to define key features of your product or service in order to differentiate it. You will also be able to focus on key ideas in order to fight resistance.

WEEK 3
Ecosystem, Team & Simplicity
Innovators and their innovations rarely stand alone. Most innovations are part of large complex ecosystems. Perlmutter counsels you to design your ecosystem to enhance your innovation and offers examples of how he himself did this with the Centrino chipset. He then discusses how innovators can build powerful, effective teams. At the end of this module you will be able to design an ecosystem and build a powerful and effective team. You will also be able to simplify a complex product or service.

WEEK 4
Summary & Final Assignment
We began by observing that innovation is about breaking the rules. Nonetheless, experience shows that there are some basic lessons that can be learned from long years of experience, lessons that can help young startup entrepreneurs improve their chances of ultimate success. We hope and trust that Coursera learners have integrated these ten lessons, adapted and expanded them to fit their needs and personalities, and will make them part of their personal toolbox as they set out to use their creativity to change the world. The capstone project, the fourth of four courses in this specialization, will help them learn how to do this.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

New Product Development - develop your own new product (Coursera) Coursera
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

New Product Development - develop your own new product (Coursera)

New product development is essential for the survival of many companies in the Hi-Tec sector, as well as other sectors. The percentage of sales of successful business organizations tied to the successful Introduction of new products and services is high. However, the failure rate of new products development projects is also high and therefore there is a need for a methodology based on a well-designed process as well as tools and techniques to manage New Product Development (NPD) projects. Since most companies develop new products, it is important to you as a manager to be familiar and understand the basic concepts and terminology of NPD projects. This course will give you holistic view of the new product development arena and will help you gain specific knowledge in how to select, plan, monitor and control a new product development project, using the proper tools and techniques.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Innovation: From Creativity to Entrepreneurship Capstone (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Innovation: From Creativity to Entrepreneurship Capstone (Coursera)

The capstone for the specialization will provide a learning experience that integrates across all the courses within it. It will involve analysis of a situation concerning a new enterprise – a venture of one’s own or within a larger organization – to develop the current business model and compare against alternative business models so as to identify potential opportunities and challenges.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Unleashing the Impact of your Social Enterprise (Coursera) Coursera
Copenhagen Business School

Unleashing the Impact of your Social Enterprise (Coursera)

In Course 3 of this Specialization you will first of all learn about Social Impact Assessment. Hence you will be able to develop a method to evaluate the social mission that you achieve while implementing your business plan. Next you will outline an appropriate communication strategy for your social enterprise and will demonstrate how to market your products and services to beneficiaries and other customers. Here you will employ an adaptable communication strategy as you move from early adopters to a broader market share.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Music for Wellness (Coursera) Coursera
Berklee College of Music

Music for Wellness (Coursera)

You love music. You listen to music all the time. Maybe you sing, play an instrument, or compose music. You don’t need to have musical talent to use music to enhance your well being, and even your health. Learn simple techniques to enrich your mind, body, and spirit through music. The methods can be applied in your daily life, particularly when you are feeling down or stressed out.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Our Share: Employee Ownership as a Wealth Sharing Tool (Coursera) Coursera
Rutgers University

Our Share: Employee Ownership as a Wealth Sharing Tool (Coursera)

In this course, you will learn about a well-researched tool for building a more equitable economy: “employee ownership.” You will learn what it is, how it differs from traditional business ownership models, and the forms it can take. You will learn how employee ownership can share wealth and profits with employees--while making businesses more productive. You will learn what the research shows about the benefits of this tool for employees, retiring business owners, and the economy.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences (Coursera) Coursera
UNSW Sydney - University of New South Wales

Transmedia Storytelling: Narrative worlds, emerging technologies, and global audiences (Coursera)

Transmedia storytelling is the practice of designing, sharing, and participating in a cohesive story experience across multiple traditional and digital delivery platforms - for entertainment, advertising and marketing, or social change. Have you ever read a book, seen a movie, watched a television show, or played a game that centred around different aspects of a larger story or universe? You may be familiar with popular examples of such universes like Star Wars, Marvel, and The Walking Dead (to name a few). How do the professionals develop such expansive narratives? How do they ensure that each element stays true to the original story? How do they innovatively use different technologies to share the stories, grow audiences and create an active and involved community of fans?

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form (Coursera) Coursera
University of Rochester

The Blues: Understanding and Performing an American Art Form (Coursera)

The blues is an American art form and the most important musical form in jazz. Although there are other formal paradigms of the blues, such as 8-bar or 16-bar, this course focuses on different incarnations of the 12-bar blues. There are considerable differences between Early Jazz blues, Swing blues, Bebop blues, Modal blues, and Post Bop blues.

Sep 7th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship (Coursera) Coursera
University of Maryland, College Park

Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship (Coursera)

This course assists aspiring and active entrepreneurs in developing great ideas into great companies. With strong economies presenting rich opportunities for new venture creation, and challenging economic times presenting the necessity for many to make their own job, the need to develop the skills to develop and act on innovative business opportunities is increasingly vital.

Sep 7th 2026
4 Weeks
Business Models for Innovative Care for Older People (Coursera) Coursera
University of Copenhagen,Copenhagen Business School

Business Models for Innovative Care for Older People (Coursera)

This course will introduce you to healthcare innovation within the field of healthy living and active aging. By following two specific cases on diabetes and rehabilitation, this interdisciplinary course will provide you with key theories, tools and concepts for analyzing and developing viable innovative solutions for aging populations. The lectures will cover demographic, biological, economic, social and cultural aspects of active aging and healthy living, along with lectures on current innovation theories and methods.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Social Business Model and Planning for Social Innovation (Coursera) Coursera
Copenhagen Business School

Social Business Model and Planning for Social Innovation (Coursera)

In this course we will take the social business opportunity that you have identified in the first course to a higher level. Specifically, you will develop a business model using the Business Model Canvas. Gradually you will also start writing your business plan. Moreover, you will be able to assess different organizational forms and select the one that is appropriate for your developed business model.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
The Nature of Genius (Coursera) Coursera
Yale University

The Nature of Genius (Coursera)

Today "genius" is all around us. Celebrities, athletes, child prodigies, even your local Apple employees, all are referred to as geniuses. But are they? And if not these individuals then who? In this course, Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music Emeritus and author of The Hidden Habits of Genius, Craig Wright, will begin by giving you his definition and prerequisites for true genius and challenge you to come up with your own.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks