Strategic Planning

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I. — Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures

Companies are finding that the competitive landscape is changing dramatically as the pace of global business continues to accelerate and customers become more sophisticated and demanding.  More and more, businesses are looking to increase their value through “deals” (mergers, acquisitions and divestitures) – usually for reasons such as cost, speed, new market or technology access.  These deals can provide a powerful competitive advantage but can also be difficult to carry out.  Building on leading-edge research, this workshop will focus on the critical aspects of deal making.  This workshop was created for people and firms involved with mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, joint ventures, cross-licensing, technology transfers, franchises, and other aspects of the merger phenomenon.

Objectives

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the elements of mergers, acquisition and divestitures from strategy development to post-deal integration, from sourcing and valuation to negotiating and deal structuring
• Link the deal to the company’s strategic intent
• Determine how to source the deal through choosing strategic partners, writing confidentiality agreements, electronic searching, etc.
• Select valuation methods by choosing comparables, discount rates, quantifying synergies and evaluating sensitivities
• Perform negotiations by understanding fiduciary obligations, what is a deal-breaker versus a dealmaker, and contract administration
• Understand the various structures of the deal, acquisition or divestiture, licensing alternatives, strategic alliances, majority or minority investments
• Run the deal effectively through a deal making and a clear understanding of letters of intent, definitive agreements, escrows, non-competes
• Manage the (business, financial, technology) due-diligence process
• Prepare the company’s internal business case per its deal policy
• Describe lessons learned from other deals: ethical issues, proper communication, Hart-Scott-Rodino
• Describe the elements of a successful post deal integration

II. — Implementing a Strategic Planning Process

You can drive your organization to greater profits and growth by implementing a structured, high involvement planning process.  This workshop will equip you with a step-by-step process to sharply focus your efforts on what is most important to your organization’s future success.  You will learn the key factors that must be in place before beginning the planning process, the level of planning and a simple and effective planning process.  

Objectives

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify and overcome barriers to effective planning
• Define key planning terms
• Use a planning framework including situation analysis, strategic analysis, short and long term plans, and contingency plans
• Implement a planning process that results in plan commitment
• Communicate the plan effectively
• Implement a follow-up process to assess results

III. — Problem Solving

Organizations often spend significant time and resources implementing “solutions” that only address the symptoms of a problem.  Effective problem solving requires that the right people are involved in determining and implementing the solution.  Many problems involve cross-functional or department boundaries and need to be addressed in an integrated fashion.  This workshop provides tools and processes for effectively identifying and addressing problems. 

Objectives

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Select the appropriate problem solving tools or technique
• Determine the right people to include in the problem solving process
• Implement a six step problem solving process
• Use tools to identify root causes
• Follow-up and track implementation of solutions to verify that the problem is solved