Strategic thinking for sustainable growth

Monday, 24 March 2014 00:35 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The first in the series of ‘Way-Forward’ Management Development Workshops was successfully concluded on 20 March at Renuka Hotel with over 50 senior managers and executives attending the event. The workshop titled ‘Strategic Thinking for Sustainable Growth’ was presented by Gihan Talgodapitiya of the Human Resource Management Institute (HRMI) in association with The Management Club and the Daily Financial Times; the first in the Way Forward series organised by The Management Club.

All participants without an exception rated this workshop as an outstanding learning experience and an awesome presentation illustrated with a multitude of examples taken from leading local and international companies. Participants highly commended the organisational efficiency of The Management Club and Human Resource Management Institute, supported by The DFT, the joint presenters of the program. Talgodapitiya in his delivery focused on the critical importance of developing strategic thinking as competency for all levels and stressed on the necessity to think strategically to ensure sustainability and growth in any enterprise. He quoted many examples from world-class companies where strategic thinking has brought about exponential growth and sustained through economic ups and downs. The steps in building strategic thinking skills and possible pitfalls and traps were also discussed at length through many illustrations and case examples. Talgodapitiya made several references to the lessons to be learned from the making and marketing of Tata Nano and its positioning as the cheapest car. He also referred to C.K. Prahalad’s belief in the ‘Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid’ and how many companies have evolved their strategies on this philosophy. The discussions focused on critical importance of innovation and the need to create a paradigm shift in the way we look at strategy and product-market options. Amongst the topics discussed were business models, blue ocean strategy, innovation related KPIs and the distinction between strategic thinking and strategic planning. During several short syndicate discussion sessions, the participants identified the gaps in their corporate strategies and how innovation and strategic thinking could be applied to bridge such gaps to ensure sustainable growth. Pix by Upul Abayasekara