Thinking Tools

One of the greatest challenges facing managers and their organizations today is the development of the critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed to adapt quickly and effectively to change. This seminar explores how managers can learn to think more critically and productively by identifying their typical thinking style, evaluating how well their dominant thinking style performs (e.g., affects outcomes), and learning and practicing some new approaches, including mind mapping.

Practical Creativity

A creative approach to strategy making is critical to business success. Yet even though its contribution is well recognized, the factors affecting the management of creative individuals and organizations remain poorly understood. Some managers seem to be able to kindle the creative spark at will, while others struggle with creativity. Because creativity is a core asset of the organization, it must result from design, not chance. In this seminar, participants will learn to recognize when strategic challenges are not amenable to standard answers and thus require unique approaches, generate wide-ranging possibilities to come up with breakthrough solutions, and identify and apply effective creativity techniques for specific strategic purposes.

Managing Complexity

Creating and implementing strategies in uncertain and dynamic environments requires understanding, predicting and influencing complex systems. Strategy failure rates remain high, however, because strategy making all-too-often leads to counterintuitive system responses. A systems approach enables managers to move beyond analysis of cause and effect to consider more complex patterns in the chaos around them and deal more effectively with the inherent ambiguity of strategic situations. Participants in this seminar will develop an understanding of the attributes of complex systems in business, explore systems thinking and how it relates to strategy making, and investigate tools for managing complexity.

Strategic Decision Making

Some managers make better strategic decisions than others. Why? Is it simply luck or do some managers make decisions with the aid of better resources, tools, and procedures? This seminar focuses on identifying key decision making principles and techniques that can help ensure selection of optimal strategies from amongst multiple alternatives.

Envisioning Strategy

Strategic thinking is a futile effort if it fails to result in ideas that are easily understood and communicated. This seminar is all about identifying and mapping the key elements of strategy. Managers will learn concepts and techniques to help them clarify and translate their vision and strategies into action using vivid visual images.

Understanding and Building Effective Teams

This course is designed to assist team members and managers in understanding the stages of team development and the issues presented at each stage. The course also examines the various types of teams and how to assess the viability of a team for the task. The various maintenance and production roles in teamwork are examined in detail. The characteristics of highly effective and mature teams are presented.

Power and Influence Strategies

Influencing others, particularly those you need to rely on who are outside your formal chain of command (lateral relationships) is a key interpersonal skill and the sine qua non of leadership. Your ability to influence others depends on the strategies you use, and when and how you implement them. Self-assessments and group exercises will be used to help you identify and enhance your influence strategies.

Managing Remote Teamwork

 Managing Remote Teamwork (MRT) is designed to enable or improve the ability of individual remote team members and those managing teams remotely to: 

•  Understand the conceptual and practical issues involved in participating in and managing remote teamwork

• Set well-supported remote teamwork expectations among team members and managers

• Identify and select appropriate strategies and tactics for achieving remote management objectives, along with performance measures

• Lead and build support for remote teamwork initiatives

 Average In-House Pricing for 1-Day Seminar:

$2,500 per day, up to 15 participants.  $350 for each additional participant.