You will learn:
- How to apply strategic thinking on a daily basis.
- How to start the planning and execution processes off correctly.
- The importance of external environment scanning and how to do it.
- How to create your unique strategic positioning and use it for competitive advantage.
- About Strategic Risk Management.
- Building support for your plan into your process through early key stakeholder involvement.
- Creating clarity for your long-term vision.
- Setting and using measures to ensure success.
- Strategies for cascading strategic plans throughout the organization and aligning all work units in a single strategic direction.
- Practical tools and techniques for making change stick.
- How to create an ongoing strategic management system in your organization for long-term business success.
- The common mistakes of strategic management and how to avoid or overcome them.
Our overarching goal
To provide managers and strategic planners within organizations with a good understanding of the process of strategic planning. When strategic planning is fully understood by senior management, and when they have selected and applied high leverage activities, an organization will stay relevant and competitive over the long term. By the end of this course, students will be able to use The Systems Thinking Approach® to preparing for, creating, executing and leading the strategic management process.
Watch-Try-Do Simulations
Adult/experiential learning is learning that occurs naturally when a person engages in some activity, looks back at the activity from a critical stand point, extracts some useful insight or knowledge from the analysis, and puts the result to work through a change in behavior. Of course, this process is experienced spontaneously in everyone’s ordinary life as we reflect and adapt to events: what happened; so what are the implications for me; and now what am I going to do.
WATCH (Experiencing)
In the WATCH (Experiencing) mode, we show you how to work with the systems thinking approach®. For this, we have recorded the step-by-step actions that need to be performed in a series of modules. These steps are demonstrated using case studies, examples and whiteboard/flip chart explanations as a video or through a reading in the online course.
TRY (Processing)
Participants are encouraged to try executing the demonstrated steps in the TRY (Processing) mode. They will see options and highlights illustrated in the readings to help them. This acts as reinforcement and facilitates learning by doing.
Adult learners like this very much as they love experiential learning - to learn by doing. Even if they miss the order of the steps or forget in between, hint options and highlights come to their rescue. In a way, this engages participants in learning the procedure.
DO (Generalising & Applying)
In the DO (Generalising & Applying) mode, participants execute the steps in the process on their own, without any hints. If someone gets stuck at any point, there are readings and case studies to refer to. We also include an optional quiz at the end of each module so that you can test if are on track with your self-paced learning.
Practice makes perfect. Participants can view the simulation videos and try any number of times till they gain the confidence to perform the steps in the systems thinking approach®. Over the next six months they can always go back and view the whole strategic management cycle for reinforcement.
ABC Model For Best Results
Five questions to be asked in this sequence:
PHASE A: Where do we want to be?
PHASE B: How will we know when we get there?
PHASE C: What are the inputs required for action?
PHASE D: How do we get there?
PHASE E: Ongoing: What will/may change in your environment in the future?
Secret to Successful Systems
Three goals and three premises:
Goal #1: Achieve clarity of purpose and direction
Goal #2: Ensure successful Transformation
Goal #3: Sustain high performance over the long- term
First premise: Planning AND change are the PRIMARY jobs of leaders
Second premise: People support what they help create
Third premise: Focus on the customer
Practical Ten Steps
Follow our practical 10-step application of systems thinking which integrates risk, governance and strategy into a single, understandable and flexible management and reporting system.
Six months to work through fifteen self-paced modules
Your first step towards Gold Mastery certification
Once you have completed this course OR attended our two-day foundation workshop OR completed the webinar series, you have completed your first step towards Gold Mastery Certification
Your pathway to mastery
Phase 1: Self-paced online Learning Workshop
Phase 2: In-Depth Focus and Demonstrating Mastery
Phase 3: Flexible practicum
Self-paced online learning
Before acquiring the certification, you must complete a this course as a prerequisite in Strategic and Systems Thinking Foundation tools and techniques.
Masterclass in Strategic Management
Immersion in Facilitating Strategic Planning & Management. Develop into a strategic leader and demonstrate your knowledge of The Systems Thinking Approach® applied to strategic planning and change management. Get feedback from Global Partners and hone your knowledge and facilitation skills.
Gold Mastery Certification
The candidate must demonstrate significant
progress and high potential for mastery of
the principles and processes learned through
participation in the foundation and master class
workshops, and practice on an approved project
such that the Global Partners are confident the
individual is able to apply the principles in an
actual work situation. Skills are enhanced
through facilitation practice.