Montreal West Island Human Resources Professional Network
Invitation to the November 24th Conference
The most misunderstood words and concepts in business
Today’s selections: Strategy and Strategic Planning
Any organization, no matter the size or mission, has a strategy or plan for success. These plans run the gamut …
- from … a series of short-term activities in a business-owner’s head
- to … a multi-national company with a fully-aligned cascade of strategic plans with tactical considerations, at the corporate, business-unit and functional levels, encompassing a set of strategies which leverage core competencies for a sustainable competitive advantage that creates long-term value for all stakeholders. Whew!
And therein lies the problem.
- Every organization has a plan or roadmap that management is following, whether the plan is implicit or explicit.
- There are many different types of plans. Not all plans are strategic plans.
- A single strategy is not a plan. A plan consists of several strategies that are linked together in a meaningful way.
- There’s a LOT of jargon!
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this interactive two-hour session, customized specifically for this occasion, participants will understand:
» Why most strategic plans fail.
» Why it’s difficult to develop great strategies.
» A clear definition of strategy and its 4 components.
» The difference between strategic thinking and strategic planning.
» The 3 types of strategic plans and the 5 phases common to each.
» The difference between strategic plans, tactical plans, projects, activities, and tasks.
» A new approach to strategic thinking.
» The role of Human Resources.
» How to diagnose the current level of strategic thinking, and action steps for improvement.
Tools required for the session
Please bring your smartphone for the audience participation exercises.
Speaker
Dawn Sutherland is president of the firm Sutherland & Associates Inc. As an expert strategist, business coach and group process facilitator, she helps Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer organizations and teams be more effective and more strategic. Her primary services encompass consulting on business strategy and strategic thinking, as well as facilitating strategic planning and other planning processes (including healthcare advisory boards, change management, and benchmarking), problem solving (including process improvement and survey feedback), relationship building approaches (including customer service improvement, team start-up, new leader integration), creative brainstorming, and public and stakeholder consultations.
A seasoned professional
Dawn has more than 25 years of experience in senior management roles at several multi-national companies in strategic planning, marketing, product/brand management, communications and advertising. She is also a Certified Professional Facilitator. Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) is a designation granted by the International Association of Facilitators.
Experience in a broad range of industries and functional areas
She works with individuals at many levels of the organization (executive management to the front lines) and with many different divisions (Corporate Head Office, Research & Development, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, Human Resources) at a global, national and local level. Dawn has experience in many industry sectors, including medical technology, bio-technology, pharmaceuticals, information technology (IT, IM, BI), consumer packaged goods, government, professional services, academia (tertiary / post-secondary education) and advertising / communication.
Education and Book
Dawn holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree (High Honours) with a minor in psychology (Carleton University) and an MBA (McGill University and Institut Supérieur des Affaires–HEC, Paris, France). She is an active member of the International Association of Facilitators (IAF). She is currently writing a business book which combines best practices in strategic thinking and planning, strategy models, and team-based problem-solving and decision-making. Publication date: 2016