Strategic planning for professional service firms in the time of COVID-19 (FutureLearn)

Plan strategically for a “new normal” by evaluating opportunities and risks in complex and challenging markets. Strategic planning is a fundamental process used to drive business success. While organisations always need to navigate and plan for challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has shattered stability and continuity and upended both social norms and ways of doing business – creating a “new normal”.

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Prior to the pandemic, professional service firms (such as lawyers, accountants, management and technology consultants, architecture, engineering, among others) were already facing technology disruption, new business models and new ways of working, increased competition, globalisation and changing client demands.

COVID-19 has further accelerated change and professional service firms need to prepare for the “new normal” by evaluating opportunities and risks in increasingly complex and challenging markets. Business decision-makers need to make informed (and sometimes difficult) strategic choices, including setting clear strategic objectives against which to execute.

This course covers foundational elements around strategy mindset and the strategic planning process for professional service firms. In the course, learners will consider current challenges professional service firms are facing. The adage, ‘If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” remains as relevant as ever during this time.

What topics will you cover?

- What is strategy? Introduction to thought leaders.

- Elements of the ‘strategy process’ and a strategic plan

- Analysis of pre-COVID-19 trends (eg client sophistication, governance, connectivity)

- Strategic analysis in a PS firm context. Internal/external environmental analysis tools applying the following frameworks – SWOT, PESTLE and Porters 5 Forces

- Strategic choice – key growth strategy models

- The Strategic plan – pulling it together; SMART objectives

Learning on this course

You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

- Explain foundational business strategy concepts

- Apply common strategic tools to analyse the current business state of a professional services firm

- Explain key strategic business models

- Develop basic elements of a strategic plan for a professional services firm

Who is the course for?

Business strategy impacts all leaders across the business, given the strategic plan determines resource allocation. Accordingly, this course is applicable to owner-operators of small-medium businesses, individuals in leadership roles at an organisation or business unit level, business analysis and strategic planning roles.

This course is also applicable to entrepreneurs and start-up businesses.