Chris Parry Masterclass

CHRIS PARRY
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Overview

In developing strategy and assessing risk and opportunity, too many companies and senior decision-makers believe that the future is like the present, only more so – they simply do not ‘do’ strategy.  When competing in a world of dynamic change, complexity and frequent shocks, the interpretation and analysis of masses of statistical data is often insufficient in divining those aspects of the future that should inform strategy and confer a competitive advantage.  Short-term pressures such as share price and the next quarterly return always prevent senior decision-makers from thinking strategically.  However, in order to acquire agility and build resilience, it is vital that strategy is underpinned by comprehensive futures analysis and assessment, based on a sophisticated understanding of critical long-term trends, imaginative interpretation and an intelligent exploration of future scenarios.  

Chris Parry 

Chris served 35 years in the Royal Navy and is a leading international expert in the fields of future forecasting, scenario development and in the strategic planning and assessment of complex, multi-national campaigns and enterprises.  He was, until recently, the UK Government’s blue-skies thinker and forecaster and has an enviable reputation for his penetrating insight and the accuracy of his analysis of events and the impact of long-term trends on the future.  He has also been responsible for the identification and analysis of strategic military campaigns from both the present and the past.

The masterclass covers…

Chris provides a tailored, interactive and entertaining package, in which he formulates and presents probable future scenarios, based on those geographic, commercial and cultural areas within which clients and companies are likely to operate.  In interactive, collaborative sessions and dynamic discussion, clients are invited and encouraged to deduce from the analysis and from their own specialist knowledge precisely what opportunities and risks the future might hold for their companies and themselves.  The aim is to inspire creative thinking by directors and managers in preparing for a range of plausible futures, in reducing the speed of response to unforeseen circumstances and in exploring beyond conventional linear thinking.   Most suited for workshops and seminars at Board level, his packages can be – and have been - adapted to help train, develop mentor senior managers and teams in both large and small organisations.

Benefits

• A refreshed approach to strategy and its crucial role in all aspects of commercial development and growth
• An understanding of the need for intelligent interpretation and assessment of all factors which are likely to impact on the future
• The ability to anticipate and understand risk in its broadest sense - and how to mitigate shocks
• The identification of opportunities and options that might not be apparent during conventional analysis (both at the global and project levels)
• Dealing with uncertainty and the unknown
• Indicators and warnings about how certain scenarios might be developing and playing out
• Making the most of Boards and senior leaders’ expertise and experience
• Stimulating thinking ‘outside the box’

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