Client need
The world is moving faster, businesses need to look outward and leaders need to stay smart and agile to create value and meaning from complexity to deliver the bottom line. We know that ‘what is good enough for today will not be good enough tomorrow’.
Business schools have a lot to offer in the field of executive development, it is however traditionally based on hindsight, looking and learning from what other businesses have done in other times. Our aim with this event is to provide a non-competing environment for executives to take a fresh look at their challenges in the light of emerging trends in business, real-time experiences in their organizations, and implications for leadership.
Solution
Together with fifteen executives from our client organisation and twelve executives from a number of non-competing industries, we have explored the latest thoughts on Innovation, Cost Leadership, Customer Intimacy and other strategic goals that could be perceived, at first instance, as conflicting in nature.
Taking a consortium type approach to this event, the programme is based primarily on peer to peer conversations stimulated by a world class speaker and two highly experienced facilitators.
The main objective was to enable executives to consider their leadership challenges in relation to disruptive change and the mindsets that are essential for ‘new game’ thinking. We are in a world where dilemma resolution becomes increasingly important. Organizations talk more and more about innovation, customer centricity and cost management; what these actually mean for each organization – and how to deal with the tension inherent across the three areas – is often less clear.
The programme avoided an academic feel, and instead offered a real space for peer exchange and peer coaching to support consideration of the big issues and personal development.
The programme content flowed through environment (economic and social), innovation and creativity, strategic dilemmas, leadership in the future and personal excellence. Specific sessions included:
- Future Scenarios, “where next?” with globalisation, markets, trade?
- Dilemmas in strategic renewal – new mindsets for new games. Dr Gordon Hewitt CBE, Distinguished Professor at Ross Business School, University of Michigan
- Open Space Sessions (peer discussions – self organised)
- Fast consulting sessions
- Discovery field trips and report back on insights gained
- Personal Reflection, Planning Time and Team discussions
Impact
The outcome for all delegates was a stronger sense of perspective around strategic dilemmas and what it will take to build from where we are in the key areas of innovation, customer centricity and cost management – not least understanding the complex dynamics involved in combining all three into a future agenda.
