Extension Tier 2: Business Essentials
Extension Tier 2: Business Essentials
8-Week Deep Dive into Business Fundamentals
This tier covers practical business skills - productivity, strategy, marketing, and personal branding.
Overview
| Module | Duration | Primary Books |
|---|---|---|
| Project Management | 2 weeks | Getting Things Done, Scrum |
| Strategic Thinking | 2 weeks | Good Strategy Bad Strategy, Playing to Win |
| Digital Marketing | 2 weeks | Contagious, Hooked |
| Personal Branding | 2 weeks | Show Your Work, Steal Like an Artist |
Daily Time: 30-45 minutes
Weeks 1-2: Project Management
Goal: Build personal productivity systems and understand team agility
Week 1: Getting Things Done
Day 1 (Monday)
| Activity | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read GTD Part 1, Ch. 1-2 | 45 min | The GTD philosophy |
| Action | 15 min | Start a “capture” list |
Key insight: Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them. Capture everything.
Day 2 (Tuesday)
| Activity | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read GTD Ch. 3-5 | 45 min | Capture, Clarify, Organize |
| Practice | 30 min | Set up your inbox system |
Key practice: Ask “Is it actionable? What’s the next action?” for everything in your inbox.
Day 3 (Wednesday)
| Activity | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read GTD Ch. 6-8 | 40 min | Reflect and Engage |
| Action | 20 min | Schedule your first Weekly Review |
Day 4-5
Complete GTD and begin implementing the system.
Week 2: Scrum & Agile
Day 6-10
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Read Scrum book | 45 min daily |
| Learn Scrum ceremonies | Throughout |
| Complete quiz and case study | 45 min |
Key framework: Sprint → Daily Scrum → Review → Retrospective → Repeat
Weeks 3-4: Strategic Thinking
Goal: Learn to think strategically and make better choices
Week 3: What Strategy Really Is
Day 1 (Monday)
| Activity | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read Good Strategy Bad Strategy Ch. 1-3 | 45 min | What is (and isn’t) strategy |
| Reflect | 10 min | Examples of “bad strategy” you’ve seen |
Key insight: Most “strategies” are just goals in disguise. Real strategy requires diagnosis + guiding policy + coherent actions.
Day 2 (Tuesday)
| Activity | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read Ch. 4-7 | 45 min | Sources of power |
| Practice | 15 min | Diagnose a challenge in your own life |
Day 3-5
Complete Good Strategy Bad Strategy.
Week 4: Playing to Win
Day 6-10
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Read Playing to Win | 45 min daily |
| Apply Strategy Choice Cascade | Throughout |
| Blue Ocean Strategy (overview) | 30 min |
| Complete quiz and case study | 45 min |
Key framework: Winning Aspiration → Where to Play → How to Win → Capabilities → Management Systems
Weeks 5-6: Digital Marketing
Goal: Understand why things go viral and how to build habits
Week 5: Contagious
Day 1 (Monday)
| Activity | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read Contagious Ch. 1-2 | 40 min | STEPPS framework intro |
| Observe | Throughout day | Notice what makes you share things |
Key framework: Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories
Day 2-5
Read one STEPPS element per day, observing examples in real life.
Week 6: Hooked
Day 6-10
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Read Hooked | 40 min daily |
| Analyze habit-forming products | Throughout |
| Complete quiz and case study | 45 min |
Key framework: Trigger → Action → Variable Reward → Investment
Weeks 7-8: Personal Branding
Goal: Learn to share your work and build your professional presence
Week 7: Show Your Work
Day 1 (Monday)
| Activity | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Read Show Your Work (entire book) | 2h | It’s short! |
| Action | 15 min | Identify what you could share |
Key insight: Good work that nobody knows about might as well not exist. Sharing isn’t bragging - it’s how people find you.
Day 2-5
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Read Steal Like an Artist | 2h total |
| Create content pillars | 30 min |
| Share something online | 15 min |
Week 8: Building Your Brand
Day 6-10
| Activity | Duration |
|---|---|
| Define your personal brand statement | 30 min |
| Update LinkedIn or portfolio | 60 min |
| Create 30-day content plan | 30 min |
| Complete all assessments | 60 min |
Completion Checklist
- Read Getting Things Done
- Read Scrum
- Read Good Strategy Bad Strategy
- Read Playing to Win
- Read Contagious
- Read Hooked
- Read Show Your Work
- Read Steal Like an Artist
- Set up GTD system
- Complete all quizzes and case studies
- Share something publicly