Converting Strategy Into Action
An Executive Perspective

This streamlined, executive-level version of the foundation course for the Stanford APM curriculum gets you up to speed on the latest thinking in strategic execution in just one day

Converting Strategy Into Action - an Executive Perspective, introduces a framework for aligning your organization’s project and program initiatives with its strategic objectives by treating strategic execution as an overall system. This fast-paced, one-day course covers strategic management concepts, as well as a high-level understanding of associated techniques and tools for building a strong and effective organization.

If you’re an executive responsible for large programs and portfolios of projects, you need to understand how the organization’s environment as a whole affects each project’s results. You also need to understand the big picture of how projects contribute to your organization’s long-term strategies and goals. Do you really understand how strategy is translated into coherent action at the project layer? Practicing strategic project management requires a whole new set of tools.

Part of our corporate learning solutions, you’ll see why it’s imperative that your organization’s strategy, structure, and culture all align; what the payoffs can be; and how to get there. You’ll explore what alignment really means and the social dynamics of work, as well as the knowing-doing gap, including its causes and remedies. And you’ll discover how an organizational mastery model can help organizations embrace a more comprehensive view of strategic execution. You’ll emerge with a working knowledge of what it takes for your organization to execute business strategies consistently through a portfolio of projects and programs. And you’ll know what it takes to leverage your organization’s managerial and technical expertise to the greatest strategic advantage through a perspective based on alignment.

Benefits to the Organization

As a result of the Converting Strategy Into Action - An Executive Perspective, your organization will benefit from:

Successfully executing business strategies by doing the right projects right
Better use of scarce resources
A stronger and more productive matrix organization
Consistent high performance

Learning Objectives

After attending Converting Strategy Into Action - An Executive Perspective, you will understand what is involved in:

Appreciate organizational complexity and the challenges of strategy execution
Analyze strategy execution through the use of a systems model: The Strategic Execution Framework (SEF)
Apply SEF concepts to pinpoint and address your organizational execution challenges
Determine approaches to improve organizational alignment
Develop action plans for achieving improved organizational performance

Target Audience

This executive project management course is designed to benefit business executives seeking to gain a basic understanding of the concepts and techniques covered in more detail by the full version of this course and the Stanford APM curriculum as a whole.

Prerequisites. This course has no prerequisites.

Note: This class is not applicable toward SCPM credential. The executive project management course, Converting Strategy Into Action – An Executive Perspective, is a condensed version of the first core course in the Stanford Advanced Project Management curriculum. As such, it cannot be applied toward the Stanford Certified Project Manager (SCPM) credential.

Course Topics

Introduction

What is advanced project management?
Challenges to executing strategy

The Strategic Execution Framework

The Strategy-Implementation-Operations model (S-I-O model)
The Integrated Project System
The Strategic Execution Framework

What is Strategy?

Three approaches to strategy identification

Strategy and Culture

How organizational culture influences strategy
Four types of organizational culture

Aligning Strategy, Structure, and Culture

Contingency theory of organizational structure
Weak matrix vs. strong matrix: pros and cons

Deep Dive

"Deep Dive": Exploring the culture of IDEO

Project Portfolio Management

What is portfolio management?
The portfolio management process
Establish the environment
Prioritize the project work
Determine the resource capacity
Optimize the project portfolio
Manage the project portfolio

The Knowing-Doing Gap

What is the knowing-doing gap?
Five causes of the knowing-doing gap
Remedies for the knowing-doing gap

Strategic Execution Framework: Mastering the Project Organization

Applying the SEF

Mastering the Project Organization

The world of fractals
The Strategic Execution Framework (SEF) revisited
SEF domains

To learn more about our corporate learning solutions and a full array of strategic consulting solutions that use the same process models taught in the Stanford Advanced Project Management program, please contact us today.