The Neuroscience of Business: Innovations in Leadership and Strategic Decisions

As technological advances reshape business in nearly every industry, many companies are still basing important decisions on questionnaires, focus groups, card swipes, and GPS tracking. But there are new, more accurate sources of information. Recent breakthroughs in neuroscience are helping us understand more about what holds people's attention and what motivates them. The real and potential business applications are astounding.

Grounded in the latest research of the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative and based on Wharton’s Introduction to Brain Science for Business MBA course, this program presents a unique opportunity to learn directly from the scientists who are making new discoveries.

The Neuroscience of Business: Innovations in Leadership and Strategic Decisions will show you how the brain works and how to apply neuroscience principles in your organization to shape and improve management, team-building, and innovation.

This highly interactive and fully immersive program will show you the latest scientific discoveries that can have a direct impact on your organization. Designed to stimulate your thinking, it leverages the expertise of world-class faculty through lectures, discussions, application exercises, and demonstrations of cutting-edge neuroscience technology. Program content will also directly address the new normal of remote work and how to enhance results through more effective communication and motivation leadership strategies.

Together with a select group of participants, you will explore research as it applies to persuasive messaging and advertising, team chemistry, decision making, social influence, innovation and creativity, and more. A high level of engagement is required, and extensive networking with faculty and peers takes place throughout the program and beyond. Expect to apply new insights, brainstorm, and connect through interactions in and out of the virtual classroom. You will leave with a new network of highly experienced peers and faculty experts that you can access well into the future.

In addition to informing and enhancing your own future business practices and strategies, you will also work closely with fellow participants and faculty on a project to develop new ideas for neuroscience applications. The project culminates in a pitch session on the final day that will be critiqued by the group. Past projects have led to continued teamwork on entrepreneurial endeavors. Session topics include:

Professor Michael Platt talks about The Neuroscience of Business: Innovations in Leadership and Strategic Decisions on Wharton Business Radio, SiriusXM.

Under the Hood: Professor Michael Platt says this program goes beyond scientific theory to understanding human behavior.

Participants in this program are executives responsible for driving top-line growth, managing portfolios, leading innovation, or creating new business models. Specific industries that will benefit from program content include but are not limited to pharmaceuticals and health care, marketing, manufacturing and consumer products, and financial services.

Potential job titles and roles include:

Fluency in English, written and spoken, is required for participation in Wharton Executive Education programs unless otherwise indicated.

Participants by Industry

Participants by Job Function

Participants by Region

This program is held at the Steinberg Conference Center located on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. Meals and accommodations are included in the program fees. Learn more about planning your stay at Wharton’s Philadelphia campus .

To further leverage the value and impact of this program, we encourage companies to send cross-functional teams of executives to Wharton. We offer group-enrollment benefits to companies sending four or more participants.