Business-Driven Strategic IT Planning Training

Introduction

Business-Driven Strategic IT Planning is the vital compass that guides organisations through complexity and competition toward long-term success. The Strategic Planning Specialist course explores the critical factors that drive strategic success and failure, providing participants with the knowledge to harness these forces for both organisational and personal career advancement. This course is specifically designed for professionals who may not be directly involved in high-level strategy formation but who need to understand how strategy fundamentally impacts their company's trajectory. It offers a crucial perspective and a shared vocabulary for strategic decision-making, empowering participants to not only understand and support their organisation's strategic direction but also to apply these powerful principles within their own teams and roles. By bridging the gap between overarching corporate strategy and daily operational execution, this training enables individuals to become catalysts for alignment and performance, enhancing their value and accelerating their career success in the process. Participants will acquire a robust framework for strategic thought and action, learning to see the bigger picture while understanding their pivotal role within it.

This Strategic Planning Training Course will highlight:

• The principles of successful strategic thinking and action
• The principal models of strategic theory and the history of strategic thinking
• How to identify strategic moves by competitors
• How to contribute to strategic success in daily actions
• Why and how their own organisation undertakes strategic change
• How to apply strategic thinking to their own job and that of their team

Objectives

This Strategic Planning Specialist training course will enable you to:

• Understand how strategic thinking has developed and evolved over the past fifty years
• Comment effectively on strategy and its implementation within your own organisation
• Differentiate strategy from tactics
• Link strategic decisions to Return on Capital (ROCE) through Value Creation and Market Focus
• Learn the key models and vocabulary to “talk strategy” effectively with others
• Link daily actions and team performance to headline strategy
• Recognise some of the key factors that lead to changes in strategy
• Create your own personal strategy for success

Training Methodology

This training course is a dynamic and interactive mixture of expert-led lecture, facilitated discussion groups, collaborative team activities, and practical application on real-world case studies. It utilises the latest instructional technologies and methodologies to ensure delegates can not only learn the concepts but also immediately apply the skills and techniques covered during the training. This hands-on approach ensures the learning is relevant, engaging, and directly transferable to the workplace.

Who Should Attend?

This course in Strategic Planning Specialist is suitable for a wide range of professionals who influence or are impacted by organisational direction.

• Department Heads, Team Leaders, and Managers required to make decisions that support strategic goals.
• Project Managers and Product Managers responsible for executing initiatives with strategic importance.
• High-Potential Employees and Specialists being groomed for leadership roles and greater responsibility.
• Any professional who wishes to learn the principles of strategic thinking and apply them effectively in their own job to enhance their career trajectory and contribute more significantly to their organisation's success.

Course Outline

Day 1: Strategy Concepts

• Recognise How Strategic Thinking Has Developed and How it Influences Strategies Within Your Organisation

• Understand the Importance of Vision and Values to Communicating Strategy in Organisations

• Identify the Key Strategies for Every Organisation

• Distinguish Between the Process of Creating Strategy and the Content of Strategy

Day 2: The Evolution of Strategic Planning and Strategic Thinking

• Follow the Progression of Strategic Thinking in Business, Anticipate Where Strategy May Next Develop

• Identify the Different Conceptual Frameworks from Which Strategic Thinking Has Developed and Identify Which are Active in Your Organisation

• Recognise the Commonalities that Exist in Different Approaches to Developing and Implementing a Strategy

• Articulate the Conceptual Framework of Strategy that Your Organisation Uses Today

Day 3: A Process for Creating and Updating Strategy 

• Recognise Different Approaches to Creating and Updating Strategy Within an Organisation

• Identify the Applicability of a Particular Approach with the Characteristics of a Firm and of the Environment the Firm Faces

• Match Different Processes to Specific Issues or Situations that Could Develop in your Firm

• Strategy in the Organisation

  • Connect the Relationship Between Strategy Formation and Implementation and Day-to-Day Activities

  • Recognise How Strategy is Created and Implemented at Multiple Levels of the Organisation

Day 4: Strategies for Growth, Profitability and Value Creation 

• Articulate the Link Between Growth and Profitability in Public and Private Sector Organisations

• Understand the Key Factors that Make the Difference Between Strategic Success and Failure

• Relate Action Plans to Strategic Initiatives and Individual Performance

• Create Conditions that Foster Achievement of Strategic Initiatives Within the Firm When Strategy Changes

• Recognise and Communicate to Others the Drivers for Strategic Change Within Your Organisation

• Use Insights from Past Experiences with Business and Personal Change to Support the Process of Strategic Change in Your Company

Day 5: Engaging your Organisation in Strategic Thinking 

• Ask Strategic Questions that Relate Your Work to the Organisation’s Direction and Strategic Initiatives

• Formulate Strategic Hypotheses that Suggest Directions for the Firm to Consider

• Explore the Strategic Conversations You Want to Have When You Return to Your Workplace