Strategic Leadership and Decision-Making

Most strategic plans assume the future will look reasonably similar to the present. But competitive conditions shift. Policies change. New technologies emerge. Assumptions that once made sense stop holding up.

Strategic Leadership and Decision-Making gives you a structured way to plan beyond a single expected future.

Through case discussion, a strategy simulation, and a hands-on scenario planning workshop, you'll examine the forces that could change the conditions around a strategy. You'll build different scenarios, test assumptions against them, and explore how strategic choices hold up under changing conditions.

The goal is to recognize where strategies may be vulnerable, understand what needs to be reconsidered, and make more informed decisions.

Revisit what strategy actually requires and why a focused value proposition matters more than a long list of strengths.

A strategy simulation gives you a chance to explore how different strategic choices affect business outcomes. You'll also look at how the activities of a business need to support the value it intends to create.

Look critically at the attractiveness of an industry and what can give an organization a lasting advantage within it.

Using a case built around a strategic inflection point, you'll examine what happens when the environment changes and an existing strategy no longer fits. The focus is on deciding what needs to change and what deserves priority.

Learn how to spot shifts before their implications are obvious and make sense of signals that may initially seem unrelated.

You'll examine which trends could materially affect an organization's strategy, then use them to build plausible scenarios you can plan against.

Explore how different future scenarios can expose weaknesses in strategic assumptions and help organizations prepare for uncertainty.

Working in a small group, you'll examine the assumptions behind strategic choices and identify what would have to be true for different approaches to succeed. By the end of the program, you'll have practical experience using scenario planning to evaluate strategy rather than relying on a single expected future.

The learning continues after the in-person program.

Three to four weeks later, you'll meet virtually, one-on-one with a member of Ivey faculty. By then, you'll have had time to reflect on what you've learned and consider how the frameworks and approaches could apply within your organization.

This short session is an opportunity to revisit key insights, discuss questions that may have emerged, and explore where you may want to adjust your thinking.

This is dedicated faculty time rather than another class or online module.

Strategic Leadership and Decision-Making is designed for emerging and experienced leaders who want to strengthen their ability to think strategically and contribute to organizational decisions.

You don't need a VP title or direct responsibility for organizational strategy. Whether you're already shaping strategic decisions or preparing to take on greater responsibility, the program will help you develop the judgment and perspective to navigate complex challenges.

Participants commonly include: