Strategic Planning Essentials for IT Leaders

Lead IT with Vision, Not Just Technology - and Drive Strategic Outcomes

Master the strategic acumen essential for IT leadership; elevate your strategic thinking beyond code.

Course Description

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, IT leaders are much more than just tech experts; they're strategic partners vital to their organisation's success. This intensive one-day seminar will equip you with the essential skills to be a Business Strategist; the tools and the frameworks to transform your IT department from a support function into a powerhouse of innovation and growth. We'll delve into the core principles of strategic planning, translating business goals into actionable IT and business change initiatives, and ensuring your technology investments deliver maximum value.

Key Learning Areas

Good Strategy – Bad Strategy: What is a Strategy? Understand, parse and extract ‘strategy’ from the corporate word-salad. Understand the pitfalls that result in bad strategy, and what constitutes the kernel of a good strategy. Be alert to the risks, and impediments to coherent action.
Lead IT with Vision, Be the strategic IT Leader: Distil the essential IT Vision with concise plain-speaking clarity! Build a strategic mindset for long-term leadership success. Be the IT leader as a business partner, not just a technology specialist. Understand the importance of communicating with influence to drive IT and business-change initiatives.
Align with the Business, Distil Strategic Objectives: Setting clear, measurable SMART goals and objectives for the IT organisation that support the broader business strategy. Ensure strategic alignment - Align IT strategy with overall business objectives and goals to ensure maximum value and impact.

Core Principles of Strategic Planning. Apply frameworks for analysing internal strengths and weaknesses, and the techniques for assessing external opportunities and threats - SWOT. Translate strategic business goals, and IT issues and challenges into coherent action plans. Understand and apply planning and prioritisation methods for maximising resource allocation effectiveness and efficiency.
Develop Coherent Action Plans; Execute; Evaluate; Adjust: Understand and allocate resources (financial, human, technological) to execute the plans. Use: Work Breakdown Structures; IT project Cost Accounting frameworks; and Responsible-Accountable-Support-Consult-Inform RASCI resource allocation templates. Develop contingency plans to address potential risks and uncertainties that could impact IT strategy implementation.
IT Strategy and Coherent Action Plans: This is what it looks like. Review and discuss a model IT Strategy and action plans.