COURSE OVERVIEW:

A strategic plan is a document that establishes the direction of an organisation. It can be a single page or fill up a binder, depending on the size and complexity of the business and work.

Most managers can benefit from having a strategic plan. The process of developing a plan helps the manager (and the team) step back and examine where they are, where they want to go, and how they are most likely to get there. In the absence of a plan, work still gets done on a day-to-day basis but often lacks a sense of purpose and priority.

The strategic plan gives you a place to record your mission, vision, and values, as well as your long-term goals and the action plans you’ll use to reach them. A well-written strategic plan can play a pivotal role in your business’s growth and success because it tells you and your employees how best to respond to opportunities and challenges.

Strategy is about creating and delivering the future. It is about leading your team or your organisation to a future in which you are able to compete more effectively and to achieve prosperity and sustainability. The skills of strategic management are applicable to those leading a team or planning the direction of any size of organisation in all sectors—private, public, and voluntary.

Strategic planning is an ongoing commitment. Even if you go through an initial round of strategic planning and it leads to the development of your business’s first strategic plan, it’s still not finished. The plan has to be implemented.

Strategic Management is for those taking, or wanting to take, their first steps to developing and implementing strategic changes. It gives you the tools you need to make effective strategic decisions, by helping you analyse your organisation and the world it operates in, plan your strategic approach, and implement the changes. It provides insight into how to gain a competitive advantage, which is at the heart of good strategy.

The aim of this course is to encourage you to think strategically and develop your powers of strategic thinking so that they become second nature. Creating a strategic plan is easier than many suggest, yet not all managers take the time to master it. If you do develop the ability to think strategically and learn the skills needed for strategic planning, you will make yourself a valuable asset to your organisation.

The first part of this course discusses what a good strategy looks like and how it can be used to create the future for your team or organisation. Then explains how to understand and analyse what is happening inside your organisation and what is happening outside, in the market to devise a successful strategy. Then explains how to create a strategy and evaluate your options and create a vision with a plan to achieve it. Then discusses how to make that plan work.

The second part explains how to implement your planned strategy without mistakes. Also, explains how to lead your team confidently into a new future and keep track of your progress along the way. Finally, discusses how to write what is included in the strategic plan such as; the executive summary, the company description, the mission and vision statements, the company’s core values, your industry, the strategic plan goals and objectives, the company’s capacity, the operations plans, marketing plans, financial plans and performance indicators.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:

• What is a strategic plan?
• The importance of strategic plans
• How to plan for change?
• When to change your strategy?
• How to define the organisational internal and external triggers?
• How a good strategy acts as a road map for a company?
• How a clear strategy attracts interest and funding from third parties?
• How a clear strategy acts as a unifying force within an organisation?
• How to gain a sustainable competitive advantage over your competitors?
• The sources of sustainable competitive advantage
• The major forces that impact your organisation, your competitors and your marketplace
• The sources of control you need to give you power within your operating environment
• How to shape your strategy depending on the sector in which your organisation operates?
• How to link strategy to the market?
• How to gain first-mover advantage?
• How to analyse your environment?
• How to perform a SWOT analysis?
• How to use PESTLE analysis?
• How to assess the market in which your organisation operates in?
• How to use Porter’s 5 Forces?
• The inside-out approach of strategy
• The outside-in approach of strategy
• The fitting and stretching strategies
• How to choose your customers?
• How to attract the right customers?
• The possible characteristics of good customers
• How to avoid competition?
• The cost-leadership strategy
• The differentiation strategy
• How to create a good strategy?
• How to set the priorities and define the ingredients of the strategy?
• How to assess the suitability, acceptability, and feasibility of strategic options?
• The techniques that will help you visualise and plan for the future?
• The importance of involving stakeholders who might influence your strategy
• How to link strategy to organisational structure?
• How to work with others for strategy implementation?
• The different forms of strategic relationships
• How to demonstrate leadership?
• How to achieve cultural fit when creating and implementing your strategy?
• How to prepare others for change?
• How to communicate your strategy effectively?
• How to overcome resistance to your plan?
• How to monitor progress?
• How to manage knowledge?
• The steps for writing a strategic plan
• How to write an executive summary?
• How to write about a company description?
• How to write mission and vision statements?
• How to write about your company’s core values?
• How to write about your industry?
• How to write about goals and objectives?
• How to write about capacity, operations plans, marketing plans, and financial plans?
• How to write performance indicators?

COURSE DURATION:

The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.

COURSE DELIVERY:

Purchase and download course content.

ASSESSMENT:

A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.

CERTIFICATION:

Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.