Strategic Planning and Thinking for Project Managers

According to PMI, "leadership and business intelligence skills are imperative to support long-range strategic objectives that contribute to their success."¹ If you want to make the most of business opportunities presented to you, you must possess a strong ability to think and plan strategically. This will not only make you more valuable to your organization but it can also propel your career forward.

How You Will Benefit

The fundamentals presented in this course will provide you with a roadmap for conducting effective strategic thinking and planning sessions. Additionally, you will gain an understanding of how strategic planning can offer a variety of benefits to your projects and career. The processes of Project Management and Strategic Planning will be compared, in order to show how these two practices can mirror one another. Students will also complete a small case study to better understand the Strategic Thinking process more clearly.

What You Will Learn

In this course, you will learn important Strategic Planning and Thinking concepts including:

Defining Strategic Planning and Thinking in both formal and informal ways
Gaining insights into why Strategic Planning and Thinking are important according to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)
Understanding the six steps of the Strategic Thinking process
Learning a nine-step process for Strategic Planning

Who Should Attend

This course is intended for anyone looking to achieve both project and professional success through conducting both a strategic thinking and planning process.

Format

Video-On-Demand; includes 6-months digital access to all training materials.

Duration / PDU Value

This course has been approved by PMI for 1 PDU.

Outline

Introduction

Course Overview

Why Strategic Planning and Thinking?

Strategic Planning According to the PMBOK® Guide
A Project's Relationship to Company Objectives
Strategic Planning Exercise
Project Advantages
Your Professional Advantages
Strategic Planning Definition
Strategic Thinking Definition

Strategic Thinking Process

Overview – Strategic Thinking Process
- Engagement
- Cultivation
- Insight
- Appicability
- Validation
- Articulation
Mini Case - Strategic Thinking

Strategic Planning Process

Overview – Strategic Planning Process
- Understanding Company Goals and Objectives
- Understanding the Current State
- Understanding Potentially Unmovable Constraints
- Defining Your Future Vision
- Performing a Gap Analysis
- Defining Objectives to Reach Your Vision
- Develop an Implementation Plan
- Implement the Plan
- Monitor and Measure the Results