Every manager in an organization must understand strategic planning, as this process is typically central to setting annual budgets and reporting for each department. Thus, Human resources (HR) managers, sales and marketing managers, financial managers, and other department heads need to be able to provide useful inputs into the planning process as well as participate in its ongoing implementation.

Strategic planning skills are especially important for top-level executives, such as chief executive officers (CEOs), chief operating officers (COOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), and other “C-suite” positions in a company. These executives are responsible for devising the overarching strategy for the company, establishing the policies required to meet them, and ensuring that managers understand and follow through on their implementation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, chief executives earned a median salary of $184,460 in May 2019, making this a very highly compensated skill set.

Yes. Coursera offers a wide range of business courses as well as Specializations online, including opportunities to learn about strategic planning specifically from top-ranked schools like the University of Virginia and Copenhagen Business School. You can even learn about this skill as part of Coursera’s full-fledged online MBA programs offered by schools like the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Macquarie University.

Regardless of what your career goals are, or the educational strategy you’re pursuing to achieve them, Coursera lets you learn online on a flexible schedule. Thus, you can learn about strategic planning while continuing to work at your existing job, making this an excellent choice for mid-career professionals as well as business-minded students that want a high-level skill set as they begin their career.