Management Training, Training and Development for Managers
SESSION 1: Getting To Now - The Roots Of Modern Business
A century ago the modern corporation was in its infancy. Henry Ford had still not produced his first Model T. Yet the 20th century business world was shaped by the rise of corporate giants. In the early years it was Ford, General Motors, IBM, General Electric. In its mid-years aggressive Japanese companies came rushing onto the scene: Sony, Toyota, Panasonic. In later years it was explosive new arrivals: McDonald’s, Microsoft, Apple, Virgin, Walmart… What are the lessons of this first century of corporate management? What can we apply to 21st century management challenges? How did the business gurus interpret this first business century – and drive its agendas for change?
SESSION 2: Horizon 2015 -- Key Drivers Of The 21st Century Business Landscape
A new millennium does not necessarily open a new and different chapter. This time it is different. Accumulated trends in technology, demographics, consumer attitudes, regulatory pressures, global trading shifts and other factors are creating a radically different context for business managers. The consumer is fast taking over control of business strategy. The timeframe for corporate change is becoming increasingly shorter. The old ‘industrial model’ approach to management and to customer relations no longer guarantees business success. What are the major elements in this new business framework? What are the implications for business over the next ten to fifteen years?
SESSION 3: Winners And Losers – Case Studies in Corporate Success
The vital challenge for all managers is very simple: what determines success or failure? The common view is that business survival is more or less guaranteed. The facts tell a very different story. The average life-span of an enterprise is around 30 years. Few of the corporate winners of the early 20th century still exist. So what are the secrets of corporate survival? What is the magic ingredient [or ingredients] that ensured survival and success way beyond that 30-year average – Ford, IBM, Shell, GE, Unilever? Will they survive into the future? What do managers need to know about the art of survival? Looking at today’s business environment, where are the winners of tomorrow?
SESSION 4: The Path To Profits – The Key Role Of Strategy
For many managers ‘strategy’ is an obscure science best left to others in the business. But without a strategic view of the enterprise, its marketplace realities and its future direction no manager can be effective. This session explores the basic tools of strategic thinking: how to develop a vision and purpose for the company; how to identify and agree strategic objectives; how to assess competitive realities within your wider industry and evaluate important future drivers; how to devise an operating plan to achieve those objectives; how to measure progress.
SESSION 5: What Is A Winning Company?
This unstructured but facilitated session allows delegates the chance to apply lessons, insights and evidence from the day to build an ideal enterprise, geared for success in the 21st century marketplace. Delegates – possibly in small break-out groups – will brainstorm to challenge existing realities and climb aboard future trends. The aim is to construct a business plan that can harness the dynamics of the new marketplace to create the next Microsoft, Virgin, Amazon, easyJet, eBay……