Strategic Planning Training Course

Participants can clarify the purpose, mandate and ambition that guide strategic choices.

• Purpose statement distinguishes enduring contribution from current products and services
• Mission statement specifies beneficiaries, mandate, value proposition and operating boundaries
• Vision statements tested for strategic relevance, credibility and decision usefulness
• Strategic ambition expressed through future position, scale, reach and performance
• Values translated into observable behaviours, governance expectations and leadership standards
• Mandate constraints identified from legislation, regulation, ownership and funding arrangements

Participants can produce an evidence-based external assessment of forces shaping strategy.

• PESTLE analysis identifies political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental forces
• Porter’s Five Forces assesses industry attractiveness, rivalry and profit pressure
• Market segmentation separates customer needs, purchasing behaviour and service requirements
• Competitor profiles compare positioning, capabilities, economics, partnerships and likely moves
• Regulatory horizon scanning records proposed rules, policy shifts and compliance implications
• External evidence rated by source quality, timeliness, relevance and decision impact

Participants can assess internal performance, resources and capabilities against strategic needs.

• Value-chain analysis locates activities creating cost, quality and differentiation advantages
• Capability maps distinguish core capabilities, enabling capabilities and capability gaps
• Resource assessment covers assets, talent, data, technology, capital and relationships
• Performance trends tested against peers, targets, historical baselines and customer outcomes
• SWOT analysis converts evidence into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
• Root-cause analysis separates symptoms from structural performance constraints and failure modes

Participants can analyse stakeholder interests and build an engagement approach for strategic decisions.

• Stakeholder mapping identifies influence, interest, expectations, dependencies and potential resistance
• Power-interest grids determine engagement priorities, communication intensity and escalation routes
• Customer journey mapping exposes service failures, unmet needs and moments of truth
• Board, regulator and funder expectations translated into planning requirements and constraints
• Alliance partners assessed for strategic fit, contribution, governance and delivery risks
• Engagement plans define messages, consultation methods, feedback loops and decision points

Participants can frame the few strategic issues that require leadership choices.

• Strategic issue statements define tension, evidence, consequences and decision required
• Issue trees break broad challenges into testable drivers and decision questions
• Critical uncertainties separated from predictable trends and operational planning assumptions
• Assumption logs record confidence levels, evidence sources, owners and review triggers
• Materiality assessment ranks issues by impact, urgency, uncertainty and reversibility
• Problem framing avoids solution bias, vague ambition statements and unsupported causal claims

Participants can construct plausible scenarios and test strategic choices against uncertainty.

• Scenario axes built from high-impact uncertainties and independent driving forces
• Narrative scenarios describe coherent futures rather than optimistic and pessimistic forecasts
• Signposts identify observable indicators showing which scenario is becoming more likely
• Wind-tunnelling tests strategic options against each scenario’s operating conditions
• No-regret moves selected for value across multiple plausible future conditions
• Contingency triggers specify actions, thresholds, authority and communication requirements

Participants can generate, evaluate and select strategic options using transparent criteria.

• Strategic options generated through growth, focus, partnership, transformation and exit choices
• Choice criteria define strategic fit, feasibility, value, risk and stakeholder acceptability
• Weighted decision matrices compare options using agreed evidence and scoring rules
• Trade-off discussions expose opportunity costs, displaced priorities and resource consequences
• Strategic themes group related choices into a coherent direction of travel
• Executive decision papers present recommendation, alternatives, assumptions and required approvals

Participants can define value propositions and business-model implications of chosen strategy.

• Value proposition canvas links customer jobs, pains, gains and service offer
• Business Model Canvas maps customers, channels, activities, partners, costs and revenues
• Customer value quantified through outcomes, service quality, access, trust and price
• Revenue and funding models tested for sustainability, concentration and policy constraints
• Make-buy-partner decisions assess control, capability, economics and delivery dependencies
• Strategic differentiation articulated through distinctive capabilities, experience and market position

Participants can convert strategic choices into measurable objectives and causal performance logic.

• Strategy maps connect financial, customer, process and learning objectives causally
• Balanced Scorecard objectives written as outcomes rather than activities or projects
• Key performance indicators specify formula, source, owner, frequency and target
• Leading indicators distinguish future performance drivers from lagging outcome measures
• Target-setting uses baselines, benchmarks, capacity constraints and planned intervention effects
• Measure dictionaries prevent inconsistent definitions, duplicate reporting and metric manipulation

Participants can design and prioritise initiatives that deliver strategic objectives.

• Initiative charters define outcomes, scope, sponsor, milestones and expected benefits
• Benefits maps connect initiative outputs, capability changes and measurable outcomes
• Portfolio scoring ranks initiatives by strategic contribution, value, risk and readiness
• Dependency mapping identifies sequencing constraints, shared resources and critical path risks
• Roadmaps sequence initiatives across horizons, milestones, decision gates and benefits realisation
• Stop-start-continue reviews remove low-value work and protect priority delivery capacity

Participants can identify operating-model changes and capability investments required by strategy.

• Target operating model defines processes, people, technology, governance and service channels
• Capability heat maps compare current maturity with strategic capability requirements
• Organisation design choices clarify spans, layers, accountabilities and decision authority
• Process redesign identifies handoffs, controls, bottlenecks and customer-facing service failures
• Digital strategy assesses data architecture, automation opportunities and technology debt
• Workforce plans address critical roles, skills gaps, succession and workforce capacity

Participants can align strategic priorities with resources, funding and financial decision criteria.

• Resource allocation links strategic priorities with budgets, people, assets and technology
• Driver-based planning models costs using demand, capacity, productivity and unit economics
• Business cases quantify costs, benefits, risks, assumptions and payback timing
• Capital allocation criteria compare return, strategic fit, risk and funding availability
• Zero-based reviews challenge inherited spending and release resources for priorities
• Financial sensitivities test affordability under demand, inflation and funding scenarios

Participants can integrate strategic risk assessment, assurance and controls into planning.

• Strategic risk registers describe causes, events, impacts, controls and accountabilities
• Risk appetite statements define acceptable exposure, thresholds and escalation requirements
• Bow-tie analysis links threat causes, preventive controls and recovery measures
• Control design distinguishes preventive, detective, corrective and compensating controls
• Three Lines Model clarifies management, risk oversight and independent assurance roles
• Early warning indicators connect strategic risks with measurable trigger conditions

Participants can establish governance, communication and review mechanisms for strategy execution.

• Execution governance assigns sponsors, accountable executives, delivery leads and review forums
• Quarterly business reviews examine performance, decisions, risks, dependencies and corrective actions
• OKRs align team commitments with strategic objectives and measurable key results
• Strategy communication narratives explain choices, implications, priorities and required behaviours
• Change impact assessments identify affected groups, adoption barriers and support actions
• Annual refresh processes revisit assumptions, performance evidence and strategic relevance

Participants can build, review and present a complete strategic planning pack for executive decision.

• Strategic diagnosis consolidates external forces, capabilities, stakeholders and material issues
• Strategic choices tested against scenarios, constraints, evidence and selection criteria
• Strategy map links ambition, objectives, measures, targets and accountable owners
• Initiative portfolio demonstrates sequencing, dependencies, benefits, costs and resource requirements
• Risk treatment plan integrates appetite, controls, contingencies and assurance responsibilities
• Executive presentation defends recommendations, trade-offs, implementation governance and immediate decisions