How to Think Strategically and Apply Business Acumen with Greg Githens
What You Will Learn
Upon completion of this training, learners will be able to:
- Describe how strategic thinking differs from operational thinking.
- Practice and improve the microskills of strategic thinking.
- Engage better with stakeholders to focus on essential resources and decisions that are critical to enterprise success.
Description
Research shows that the next generation of leaders must be able to think strategically, understand their specific business model, and drive change.
This training is for anyone who seeks to better understand competent strategic thinking and wants to better demonstrate that they understand the art of crafting good strategy and how it moves the needle in well-managed organizations. Because good strategy and competent strategic thinking are rare, those individuals who think and act differently are better able to recognize opportunity, show the value adds, and collaborate at higher levels. Past participants have found that that even a few behavioral changes have resulted in lasting career benefits.
The format stresses an interactive discussion of real-world examples and applications, including:
- The four pillars and the four X-factors of strategic thinking
- What good strategy is and is not (it's not goal setting and is seldom found in a strategic plan)
- How to interpret weak signals in the strategic environment of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity)
- How to identify and generate strategic insights
- How to map a business model and how individuals and departments (for example, project management offices, HR, IT) contribute to the value proposition
- Practical approaches to being more proactive
- Tips for being an extraordinary leader of strategic change and “moving the needle”
- The difference between strategic decisions and tactical decisions
- Three fundamental activities of strategic thinking: sensing, sense making, and programming. Personal leadership is a choice to step into the leadership zone
- Your personal development plan
AGENDA
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- How is the enterprise environment changing, and what are the implications for projects and talented people who want to advance their careers?
- Since strategic thinking is the number one need of the next generation of leaders, what does it mean to be strategic and to think strategically?
- What is my learning style? How might it enhance my ability to think strategically?
- If I am uncomfortable with ambiguity, how might I manage it?
- What is good strategy and how might I tell if my project is aligned?
- What are the microskills of strategic thinking?
- What are the differences between strategy, goal setting, and planning?
- What is an organizational value proposition and how do I develop a winner?
- What is the difference between a strategic decision and a tactical decision?
- How is strategic planning different from strategic thinking?
- How do I design experiments to remove strategic uncertainty?
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- How do I recognize a VUCA environment?
- When are best practices illegitimate and irrelevant to management?
- Why do organizations become chaotic?
- What are pockets of the future and why are they significant?
- What are some real-world examples of good strategy?
- What habits do I need to develop to make strategic thinking part of my daily practice?
- What can I do to make myself more alert for opportunities?
- How can I become more insightful?
- What are some signals of impending disruption?
- How can I effectively communicate a proactive vision to an organization stuck in the status quo?
- What can I do to improve my personal branding to positively affect my career?
- What is the role of strategic thinking in agile business innovation?
- Why is it important to develop a personal perspective?
I walked away with some great topics, ideas and behaviors that I can focus on in my job both short-term and long-term.
June 2023 Attendee
Excellent real examples from business and individuals around ‘crafting’ a strategy and challenging the status quo.
June 2023 Attendee
Helped me think differently about how I approach work.
August 2023 Attendee
PDU Allocation Table
| Ways of Working | Power Skills | Business Acumen | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPM® / PMI-CP™ / PMP® / PgMP® | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14.00 |
| PMI-ACP® / Agile* | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14.00 |
| PMI-SP® | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14.00 |
| PMI-RMP® | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14.00 |
| PfMP® | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14.00 |
| PMI-PBA® | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14.00 |
 |  |  |  |
Instructor(s)
Gregory D. Githens PMP
Greg Githens’ mission is to upskill individuals to make positive impact by delivering useful ideas and new perspectives. His engaging enthusiastic style has earned him the reputation as one of PMI’s most popular speakers.
Greg is the author of How to Think Strategically: Sharpen Your Mind. Develop Your Competency. Contribute to Success. This highly rated book explains that strategic thinking is an individual competency composed of 20 microskills. Because strategic thinking is rare and valuable, those who demonstrate it have more value to their organizations and are more promotable.
Greg has been a featured speaker at PMI congresses, PMI chapters, The Management Roundtable, and elsewhere. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University (USA) and a master’s degree from Miami University (USA).