Course Objectives
The Certified Strategist: Advanced Tools and Techniques
Course Methodology
This is a highly interactive course that focuses on the application of each strategic framework to a different business case study. The techniques used in this course include team exercises, group discussions, videos and group presentations. In addition, this course offers participants the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned by passing an exam that will earn them the ‘Meirc Professional Certification’ (MPC).
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
Apply essential strategic thinking and planning tools and techniques
Employ models and frameworks to strategically analyze the internal and external environment of an organization
Plan future strategic moves based on industry characteristics
Identify and build organizational competencies, capabilities and a competitive position
Define a corporate culture that promotes good strategy execution
Target Audience
All levels of managers and company personnel who are involved in charting and supporting the execution of the company plans to achieve its strategic goals and objectives.
Target Competencies
Strategic thinking
Strategic planning
Strategic analysis
Competitive analysis
Trend analysis
Driving customer value
Analytical thinking
Course Outline
Developing a strategic perspective
The 20 mile march
Murphy’s law
What does strategy mean?
The three big strategic questions
The blind men and the elephant
What is the purpose of strategy?
Strategy and the quest for competitive advantage
What distinguishes great companies?
Competitive advantage examples
Strive to be the industry’s low-cost provider
Outcompete rivals on a key differentiating feature
Focus on a certain market niche
Develop capabilities not easily imitated by rivals
The importance of strategy
Case study: Build a company
Using strategic frameworks
Using frameworks for analysis
Frameworks for situation analysis
Overview of Porter’s 5 forces
Impact of Porter’s 5 forces
Creating and capturing value
SWOT analysis
The SWOT matrix
Linking SWOT to objectives and initiatives
Fundamentals of the PEDESTL framework
The strategy canvas
Innovating using the strategy canvas
Future foresight
The link between strategic management and futures research
Futures wheel
Futures table
Weak signals
Black swans and wild cards
Futures toolkit
The Delphi method
Axes of uncertainty
Policy stress-testing
Backcasting
Organizational strategies
The most important asset
Optimizing people processes
Streamlining processes
Optimizing information systems
Measuring results