Strategy & Execution: Leading in Times of Uncertainty & Change
Program Details
About the Program
Enhance your ability to implement effective strategies during uncertain times. Effective leadership relies on your ability to develop and execute successful strategies. Yet in practice, this is rarely straightforward. Many strategies are built on the assumption of a stable environment—but today’s reality is defined by constant uncertainty. Technological shifts, policy and regulatory changes, and economic volatility make the strategic process more complex than ever. Adding to this challenge, leaders frequently underestimate the difficulty of implementation. Even the most well-crafted strategies can falter due to active and passive resistance to change, unforeseen obstacles, failure to keep people focused on the effort, and a variety of other challenges.
During this 2-day program, you’ll acquire the tools to navigate this complexity with greater skill and confidence. Through immersive exercises and dynamic discussions, you’ll enhance your ability to craft competitive strategies using proven frameworks that account for uncertainty from the start. In addition, you’ll learn how to execute strategy more effectively by designing tracking processes, applying tactics to overcome resistance, and developing the skills needed to lead people through this process. By the end of the course, you’ll return to work better equipped to lead through complexity and translate strategic vision into lasting results for your firm.
Experience
The program begins with an overview on the fundamentals of crafting high-impact strategies that drive competitive advantage for your organization. Using technological change such as AI, robotics, and other emerging disruptions as context, day one will focus on incorporating uncertainty into the strategy development process in order to sharpen your strategic thinking and strengthen your organization’s market position. You’ll examine how the entire strategy process must evolve during periods of significant uncertainty and change, gaining practical tools to lead with clarity even when the future is uncertain.
Day two turns to the challenge of execution, where many strategic efforts fall short. You’ll begin by exploring why implementation often fails, followed by the three core challenges that determine success. First, you’ll strengthen your effectiveness as a leader by learning how to expand your organizational and personal power, enhance your credibility, and utilize a more persuasive communication style. Second, you’ll learn how to understand and overcome resistance to change. Finally, you’ll focus on keeping people aligned and engaged by applying a framework that sustains momentum and ensures your initiative stays on track through completion.
Learn how you can customize this program for your organization.
Program Contact
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 612-625-5412
- REQUEST COURSE CATALOG
Who Should Take This Course & Why
- Executives seeking to deepen their strategic thinking and execution capabilities in order to drive success for their organizations in uncertain and complex environments
- Managers and directors who are navigating uncertainty that is driven by technological change, economic volatility, and shifting political and policy landscapes
- Strengthen your ability to create competitive advantage for your organization by developing successful strategies in complex, uncertain environments
- Learn how to integrate uncertainty and change into strategy development to improve your chances of successful implementation
- Expand and deepen your portfolio of leadership skills through specific tactics to increase your power, effectively enhance, manage, and use your credibility, and communicate more effectively
- Overcome resistance to change both by understanding its source and learning specific tactics to address and neutralize individual resistance
- Develop tracking systems that incentivize accountability and foster a culture of shared learning even in the face of setbacks
Faculty
John and Nancy Lindahl Professor for Excellence in Business Education
Senior Lecturer, Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship
Schedule
Session Overview
The Fundamentals of Crafting High-Impact Strategies: In this opening session, you’ll learn what strategy really means, why it’s essential for your organization’s success, and how to develop an effective strategy to drive competitive advantage.
- Why Traditional Models Fall Apart During Periods of Disruption: Through examples and case studies, examine how the entire strategic process must evolve during periods of uncertainty and change.
Session Overview
Adapting in Times of Uncertainty: Using technological change such as AI, robotics, and other emerging disruptions as context, learn how to sharpen your strategic thinking and strengthen your organization’s market position.
- Leading with Clarity: Through a variety of hands-on exercises, you’ll deepen your understanding of how to design strategies that remain flexible and resilient in uncertain conditions, giving you the confidence to lead your organization into the future.
Session Overview
The Challenges of Executing Strategy in Times of Uncertainty: Explore the core obstacles managers encounter when implementing strategic ideas, especially during times of uncertainty and disruption. We will lay out a framework for navigating these challenges, which will then shape the discussions and activities throughout day two.
- Essential Skills for Leading the Implementation Effort: This session will expand your portfolio of essential skills and tactics needed to increase your power, build credibility, and communicate more effectively to increase the probability of successful implementation.
Session Overview
Managing Resistance to Change: Discover the underlying reasons behind both active and passive resistance to change within organizations. Learn actionable strategies to anticipate, address, and reduce resistance as you implement new strategic initiatives.
- Keeping the Strategic Implementation Effort on Track: Maintaining focus on the implementation effort is challenging as competing demands and passive resistance can often derail progress. This final session will introduce you to a framework that incorporates psychological incentives to foster engagement and information flows. This framework will include aspects to allow for ‘failure analysis,’ where things that have gone wrong can be discussed without shame or a need to detect blame.