Strategic Thinking Training for Operational Management

Add value to your organisation by aligning department goals with your organisation’s strategic vision and mission. In this Strategic Thinking training course, you learn to plan and implement change to meet stakeholder needs, create an innovative culture that takes advantage of the department's core competencies, and gain the leadership skills to effectively integrate strategic thinking with daily operations.

• Experience at the level of:
  • Management Skills Training • course 290 , or
  • IT Management Skills Training • course 906

Strategic Thinking Training for Operational Management Delivery Methods

• After-course instructor coaching benefit
• Learning Tree end-of-course exam included

Strategic Thinking Training for Operational Management Course Benefits

• Leverage strategic thinking at the operational level to add value
• Maximise operational core competencies to implement organisational strategy
• Bridge the gap between organisational and operational goals
• Foster an innovative culture to overcome strategic challenges
• Develop an effective change process that satisfies stakeholder needs

Strategic Thinking Course Outline

Introduction

• Strategy: everyone's concern
• Identifying the strategic challenges facing operational managers
• What strategy means to operational managers

Defining Strategic Thinking

The key aspects of strategic thinking

• Distinguishing between strategic thinking and planning
• Identifying the impact of strategy on operational activity
• Aligning the organization's vision with reality
• Creating sustainable competitive advantage

Creating value for stakeholders

• Recognising the importance of stakeholders in the strategy process
• Satisfying the needs of the stakeholders

Applying strategic-thinking tools

• Positioning yourself within the four cycles of operational effectiveness
• Decoding your environment with PESTLE
• Analysing the ecosystem with Porter's Five Forces

Leveraging Operational Strengths

Evaluating operational capabilities

• Differentiating between organisational and operational competencies
• Taking inventory of the key strengths within your operation
• Rating competencies against strategic goals

Maximising your unique operational strengths to deliver stakeholder value

• Optimising internal processes
• Shaping opportunities by scanning the external environment

Executing Strategy at the Operational Level

Getting real about the vision

• Qualifying the gaps between operational and organisational vision
• Establishing the foundation for realising goals

Bridging the strategic gap

• Questioning assumptions to uncover new solutions and drive new discoveries
• Managing operational strategic assets
• Rigorous planning through scenario assessment
• Quantifying the impact of proposed solutions

Creating an Innovative Culture

Employing an innovation framework

• The importance of innovation in strategic thinking
• Promoting nonlinear thinking
• Generating solutions through value engineering
• Optimising solutions by challenging the status quo

Adapting your culture to satisfy strategic demands

• Meeting the five preconditions for an innovative culture
• Facilitating team innovation

Innovating to create competitive success

• Qualifying innovation traits
• Benchmarking objectives against actual performance

Quantifying the financial metrics

• Verifying decisions through financial analysis
• Incorporating a stakeholder perspective

Planning for Operational Change

Weaving change into the fabric of the culture

• Being proactive in a reactive environment
• Implementing operational change through people, processes and culture
• Motivating the team to adopt the change

Constructing a change process

• Configuring your resources to encompass change
• Measuring results through balanced scorecards

Securing Stakeholder Commitment

Communicating for buy-in

• Applying influencing techniques to overcome resistance
• Negotiating for resources using win-win approaches

Maximising your impact

• Earning support with entrepreneurial techniques
• Articulating an elevator pitch that secures commitment