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SDL™ | Today | Tomorrow |
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Home · FAQ |
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does Strategy Driven Learning™ mean? Most needs analyses start with an assessment of what individual managers need to learn. We start with what the business needs to learn. You help us understand the business objectives you have set and the strategies you have selected to achieve them. We then use our network to identify the most relevant resources to help you achieve your goals.
One example was a world no. 1 company who needed to change from acquisition-led growth to organic growth. During the week of the programme they learned about the latest thinking in strategy and then immediately applied it to their own business plans. Their business plans were the case studies.
Ultimately, strategy is how you increase prices and reduce
costs. This may be achieved by differentiation (through innovation or
branding), continuous improvement, process design etc. If you go to
strategy renewal workshops you will see a selection
of workshops which can be customised to help initiate and implement
key business strategies.
Why do leaders learn more rapidly through the LNS programmes? Programmes that are customised to your organisation or to the specific change situation that needs to be resolved lead to more rapid learning. Our programmes are timely (learning when you need to apply it) and targeted (learn only what you need to know).
Why do leaders implement change more effectively through the LNS programmes? Firstly, implementation of a change already begins during the programme, because the programme is customised to your organisation and because the change objective forms the centrepiece of the programme. Secondly, if intact management teams learn together, the "guiding coalition" is created during the programme. They have a shared vision, a common language and immediate goals. The result is effective change execution, because the leaders know what to do and how to do it. They have the mindset and the ambition to make it happen.
But how do you do that exactly? In Strategy Driven Learning, we design the programme to have both a learning and a business purpose. Theories and concepts are introduced and are applied to real business challenges or opportunities. What's more, the role of faculty changes. They become teachers and coaches. They bring to the discussion direct experience with other companies; they challenge participants' thinking, forcing them to deeper levels of understanding and they help build commitment to action.
Our programmes are designed around your company, your culture and the specific objectives and strategies the programme is meant to help implement. The content and the learning objectives are tied to what your leaders need to learn to be willing and able to implement the specific change objective. Your organisation and the changes it is trying to initiate and implement form the case studies of the programme.
Adults learn best by doing. Our learning process consists of activities which engage the participants to participate and to learn by doing: e.g. workshops, presentations, simulations. We also facilitate action research and action learning projects.
How do you ensure that your programmes have a return on investment? High returns on investment start with the design of the
programme (see ROLI). Programmes with customised
content, intact teams and active learning have the highest ROLI. We
can also provide effective follow-up to support a change implementation
beyond the programme. We equally can provide effective and easy to use
evaluation instruments to measure the impact of the programme.
Who teaches on your programmes? Our faculty are professors from major business schools in Europe and the US. In some cases they are consultants, who are experts in a particular field. Ideally, we also involve senior leaders in your organisation as an integral part of the programme, e.g to observe and give feedback on change proposals and action plans.
As far as LNS staff is conerned, we design and manage the programmes and facilitate the learning process during the programme. We also do one-on-one coaching or assessment feedback. Occasionally we also teach in our personal areas of expertise, namely Strategic Human Resource Management and Leadership Development.
How do you select your faculty? We select the faculty whose expertise fits the design and the desired content of a programme, who share our philosophy of 'customised learning by doing', who fit your culture and who have a successful track record working with demanding leaders ideally in your industry.
Are you not in competition with Business Schools? No. The leading academics we work with feel, strongly, that there is a dividing line between teaching and consulting. We work with these teachers to do highly customised programmes which are more like consultancy than teaching. They also feel this gives them the opportunity to get closer to companies and management teams which in turn enriches their teaching and can lead to new research opportunities or case writing. We do not run public programmes. Executives go to public programmes to learn and to discuss issues with peers. We help clients select executive education programmes. Business Schools also run in-company programmes and here some have a concern that we are competitors. In our experience, clients choose us because we provide different benefits.
What are these different benefits?
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