Course Syllabus
Contact Information
About the Professor
Russ Browder teaches global entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial leadership at the undergraduate and graduate levels at OU. Dr. Browder’s academic research examines the roles of technology and learning in entrepreneurship and innovation. He studies these topics in a variety of settings, including emerging digital technologies, the maker movement, and crises. His research has been published in the Journal of Business Venturing, Entrepreneurship Theory & Practice, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Academy of Management Discoveries, and Journal of Small Business Management. Dr. Browder completed his PhD in Entrepreneurship and MDiv at Baylor University. He received an International MBA from IE Business School in Madrid, Spain as a Fulbright Scholar. His industry experience includes decades as a global marketing leader in medical technology, in development in the non-profit sector, and as founder or co-founder of two companies.
Course Details
For a list of course activities, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Course Description
To lead ventures in new or established organizations, you will need to cultivate entrepreneurial leadership. This requires you to expand your worldview and continually learn to better lead yourself and others. Entrepreneurial leadership involves a mentality of coordinating resources to improve the world around you by collaboratively turning problems into opportunities that create economic and social value. Entrepreneurial leaders value character, relationships, curiosity, communication, action, and the processes by which impactful outcomes are achieved for multiple stakeholders.
Course Design
In this intensive one-week course, you will be immersed in experiences designed to help you intentionally consider your entrepreneurial journey—past, current, and future. Together, our cohort will think critically and deeply about what it looks like to put the words “entrepreneurial” and “leadership” together and what the implications are for your life and career. We will do this through a series of living case studies that help us learn by seeing and doing—looking through a shared lens and building a framework to practice entrepreneurial leadership going forward. The course adopts a tiered grading system, giving you control over your desired outcomes. It includes deliverables due both before and after our one week of in-person residency. Course delivery is in-person/face-to-face.
Course Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Articulate and enact your definition of and approach to entrepreneurial leadership.
- Understand an entrepreneur’s opportunities and responsibilities at the intersection of individual character, organizational culture, and stakeholder value.
- Develop and practice skills for coordinating resources, co-creating, adapting, and creating value in the face of uncertainty.
- Design and engage systems (personal/organizational, internal/external) to lead oneself and others well.
MS Program Learning Outcomes
This course is designed to complement all other courses in the MS degree to help you learn to:
- Conceive, launch and sustain successful ventures or corporate innovations through entrepreneurial thinking and action.
- Drive innovation by identifying opportunities, generating creative solutions, and implementing disruptive strategies to address new and existing business challenges.
- Strategically develop and scale new ventures or corporate innovations for long-term personal and business success.
- Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different entrepreneurial ecosystems and the role they play in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation.
- Effectively convey entrepreneurial ideas and initiatives persuasively to a variety of audiences through both written and verbal means.
Required Materials
- A notebook, journal, or notetaking app.
- Assigned readings/videos/podcasts will be available on Canvas.
Evaluation and Deliverables
Grading in this course may be different than what you have experienced previously. Many courses have points allocated to different deliverables and the student’s job is to avoid losing points while the professor’s job is to decide how many points to take away. Instead, this course is designed to let you determine the grade you want to earn based on the level of engagement you choose. Below are the three (3) grade tiers with their corresponding requirements.
|
Grade |
Required Activity/Deliverable |
Due Date |
|---|---|---|
|
C |
Attend and participate in 80% of class sessions* and online discussions | |
| Residency week memos and entrepreneurial journey reflection |
Aug. 31 |
|
|
B |
Satisfactory completion of all above C requirements plus: | |
|
|
Attend and participate in 90% of class sessions and online discussions |
|
| LinkedIn post (x1) |
Aug. 25 |
|
|
|
Entrepreneurial leader interview: Recorded interview |
Sept. 11 |
| Entrepreneurial leader interview: Survey |
Sept. 12 |
|
|
A |
Satisfactory completion of all above B and C requirements plus: | |
|
|
Attend and participate in 100% of class sessions and online discussions |
|
| LinkedIn post(s) (1+ more) |
Aug. 25 |
|
| Entrepreneurial leader interview: Written interview reflection |
Sept. 11 |
|
| Entrepreneurial leader interview: Peer response |
Sept. 12 |
*A class “session” is defined as a morning or afternoon such that each day during residency week consists of two (2) sessions. Thus, there are ten (10) sessions during the five (5)-day residency week. Per our schedule, sessions may vary in length and may combine activities with other courses.
All deliverables will be graded as either Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. If a required activity or deliverable is deemed unsatisfactory, then no credit will be given for completion. It will be up to the discretion of the professor (and the practical constraints of the course schedule) if a student will be given the opportunity to improve and re-submit one (and only one) unsatisfactory deliverable. No late submissions will be accepted. If a student fails to achieve satisfactory performance on the C requirements, a grade of D or F will be assigned at the professor’s discretion.
Course Policies
Communication
- Canvas will be used for class communication. I suggest you change your Canvas notification settings so that you have every opportunity to stay informed.
- Email is the best method for contacting the professor.
What You Can Expect From Me
You can expect me to:
- Put my time, energy and passion into facilitating your learning through this course.
- Play to my strengths, while trying to develop them further and improve in my weaker areas.
- Facilitate this course in an interactive discussion format that depends on your engagement.
- Give you an opportunity to learn from real-world examples.
- Introduce you to practitioners, representing important relationships from my own professional network.
- Grade materials promptly.
- Be excited, willing and available to coach you, but not to solve all your problems for you.
- Have high academic expectations of all OU students.
My Expectations and Policies
I expect you to have perfect attendance during residency week so you can take full advantage and be fully engaged in this intensive and interactive course. I expect you to be mentally and physically present during all sessions and activities during the week. Prior to any physical absence, I expect you to communicate with me and negotiate alternative arrangements. Missing class due to professional activities (e.g., business travel) or personal bereavement (e.g., attending a funeral) are not considered excused absences without prior approval from the professor. Regarding illness, you are encouraged to stay home and seek medical care as needed if you are sick. If you provide a note from a medical professional, missing class due to illness may be counted as an excused absence.
I expect you to demonstrate outstanding classroom and global citizenship. Given the nature of this course, you will encounter different people and perspectives. Disrespect or discrimination against anyone inside or beyond our class will not be tolerated. It is recommended that you consult with a professor or another university official if you need assistance meeting these expectations.
I expect you to conduct yourself with the utmost academic integrity and honesty. Plagiarism or any form of cheating involves a breach of student-teacher trust, devalues the degree you are pursuing, and is strictly prohibited. Any work submitted under your name is expected to be your own. Be sure to quote phrases that you did not personally write and properly cite all ideas that are not your own. Penalties for serious offenses include a zero on the assignment and egregious offenses can even result in expulsion from the university. For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries. As a member of the OU community, it is your responsibility to protect your educational investment by knowing and following the rules. For specific definitions on what constitutes cheating, review the Student’s Guide to Academic Integrity. Should you see someone else cheating, I encourage you to report it to me or directly to the Office of Academic Integrity Programs. It is my professional obligation to report instances of academic misconduct.
The Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Division faculty recognize the increasing role of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools—such as ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, etc.—in entrepreneurship and innovation. Division faculty therefore encourage the transparent, responsible, and ethical use of AI tools. In this course, AI is viewed as a potentially useful tool to inform and help you develop vital skills such as ideation, critical thinking, and decision-making. Students are responsible for understanding and following provided instructions regarding the use of AI. Specific assignments may have different instructions regarding its appropriate use in the situation/context. Appropriate AI use entails:
- Transparency: Use of AI tools must be transparent. You must acknowledge in all assignments the use of AI tools. Minimally, students are expected to report when and how AI tools were used in the completion of assignments. If you use AI tools, you should include a “Use of Artificial Intelligence” statement at the end of your assignment (i.e., on the last page or slide) just like you would include a “References” section. In the statement, briefly include: which AI tool(s) you used, a description of which prompt(s) were most useful to you, and a reflection on how you used the AI-generated results to advance your own work.
- Accountability: Students are responsible for all assignment content regardless of its source. In using AI tools, understand that you are responsible for any fabricated, inaccurate, biased, or otherwise flawed content you submit. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility to additionally consult sources outside of AI to ensure the information is accurate before including AI-generated content in assignments.
Regarding technology in class, you are permitted to use laptops and other electronic devices for legitimate classroom learning purposes. There are times in class when we will use technology for our work. If I see you looking at a screen during class, I expect that it is helping you learn and not distracting you or others from learning. As such, I will assume that you are an engaged learner and ready to contribute to our conversation at any moment if called upon. If technology prevents you from living up to these expectations, then you will be asked to cease using it, discontinue bringing it to class, and to accept the inconveniences that this may cause to you for the rest of the course.
Professional online etiquette should be used in all digital communication and interactions, including social media, Canvas, email and video conferencing (such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Webex, etc.). If you use video, plan your surroundings: choose a background that limits distraction and contributes to a safe and respectful environment for all meeting participants. Consider how what is visible to participants might be interpreted, especially without context.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Access the University Academic Policies Document.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|