STRATEGIC THINKING

What is Strategic Thinking? Strategic thinking is defined in many different ways: It is a particular way of thinking which analyzes opportunities and problems from a broad perspective It is understanding the potential impact your actions might have on the organization Strategic thinkers visualize what might or could be, and Take a holistic approach to how to expand or improve on what they, or the organization they represent, are doing

Why is it Important? To ensure that an organization does not stagnate or become stuck in products, processes and the past It is necessary to think beyond what is the present and how we are doing things now It does not dismiss what we do well It is focussed on continuous improvement and what we can do better It serves to actuate the vision of where we need to be in the future.

Strategic Thinking - Focus Finding and developing unique opportunities to create value Enables provocative and creative dialogue among key people who can affect the organization’s direction It is the input to strategic planning Uncovers potential opportunities and challenges assumptions about the organization’s value proposition Targets these opportunities Demands understanding of the fundamental drivers of educational institutions and actively challenges conventional thinking about them

Alignment An organization’s strategies must fit with its: Mission Vision Competitive Situation Operating Strengths

Goal-oriented Strategies are the means by which a company sets out to achieve its goals Effective strategies set clear expected outcomes and makes explicit links between these outcomes and the corporate goals

Fact-based The best strategies are based on and supported by real data While strategic thinking by its very nature requires assumptions about the future, these assumptions must be highly informed guesses, based on facts, i.e. actual performance data or results of some kind of pilot test or experiment The logic behind the strategy must be clear Effective strategies tell believable stories

Based on Broad Thinking Organizations that are strategically nimble are: able to consider multiple alternatives at once and consider a range of scenarios in making strategic choices

Focused No PSI can do everything or be all things to all people Strategy setting involves making choices about: what the organization WILL do and as important what it will NOT do.

Agreement In a larger, complex organization, successful strategies must gain the support of multiple stakeholders This requires a process of developing strategies that are interactive in gathering multiple points of view and in sharing the thinking behind the strategy as it evolves

Engagement Strategies that will need to mobilize broad resources must be easily articulated so that they can capture the attention of the people who will be asked to carry them out

Adjustment Strategies need to be able to be adjusted to build on learning from experimentation, errors, and new information at the same time There needs to be some thoughtfulness in these adjustments so that they are responsive without being overly reactive or “knee-jerk”

Implementable Because effective strategies draw on the particular strengths and skills of an organization, they include explicit considerations of how they will be implemented Implementable strategies provide clear guidance for decision making in order to shape behavior throughout the organization

Strategic Thinking - Key Factors For PSI’s 1.Competencies and Skills 2.Products, Services and Offerings 3.Economic Environment and Industry Considerations 4.Markets and Customers 5.Competitors and Substitutes 6.Stakeholders and Partners

Competencies and Skills What are your Post Secondary Institution’s (PSI’s) strengths? How can these be used to create a unique competitive advantage? What are your PSI’s weaknesses that might leave you vulnerable?

Products and Offerings What is the portfolio of offerings of your PSI? (programs, services, tuition/pricing options, off-site projects) What are the overlaps/redundancies among the offerings? How can these overlaps/redundancies serve to an advantage? What are the unique branding opportunities associated with your PSI’s portfolio of offerings? How does this branding fit with your PSI’s image? How do they fit with each other?

Economic Environment and Industry Considerations What is the overall economic context in which the PSI competes? What is the regulatory or governmental environment and how does it impact you? What is the structure of PSI’s in your area? Where is the Post Secondary Education sector headed and where do you want it to be? What is your position amongst all of the PSI’s and what do you want it to be? How do PSI’s in general connect with other sectors, the community, other levels of education and what are the implications to how you are positioned?

Markets and Customers Who are your target clients, students or sectors for your offerings? What are their needs? How is your PSI uniquely suited to meet these particular needs? Are there other potential clients that you are not serving?

Competitors and Substitutes What is the nature of competition for the offerings? What other PSI’s have offerings that could meet the same needs? (Build, Buy or Sell?) What are their unique strengths and strategies? How are they similar to or different from you? How might they respond to your strategies? Are there PSI’s not yet “in the game” that might be considering to do so? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What market conditions might lead to action on their part?

Stakeholders and Partners What other organizations (agencies, government departments, industry, community and civic partners) do you need to work with in order to develop and market your offerings? What is their relative power compared to you? What are their strategies and strengths and are they aligned with you? What’s in it for them?

VISION 2020

Context Through numerous public forums, over 2000 people contributed thoughts and creativity Question: if BVC were at its best in the year 2020, what would it look like? Huge volume of conceptual data guided development and design of our plan

Appreciative Inquiry: The Process Engaged Board, Executive, and College Leadership Major public event – Opened by the Mayor to more than 1500 of the College’s staff, faculty, students, alumni, and donors Also, community visionaries, government officials, business leaders, and the public Subsequent consultations, facilitated by Dr. Joan McArthur- Blair, former President of Nova Scotia Community College. Consultation sessions included another 500 internal and external stakeholders (over 2000 persons in total).

Strategy Behind Vision 2020 A long-term strategic plan Long view allows college to: o implement the plan over extended timeline o in coherent fashion o facilitates sequential and cumulative actions that bring us closer to vision each year Plan calls for new capacity-building investments as well as nurture and sustain previous investments

Engagement – Community Inquiry (or appreciative inquiry) Important exercise to engage broader community Community inquiry brings people together with different frames of reference to share dialogue o More participants – more options on table o Assumptions otherwise taken for granted or invisible (those close to college) challenged and brought into open o Problems are complex; inviting broader participation leads to fully dimensional dialogue on strategic issues and consideration of alternatives and solutions When people have role in creating something – more willing to support it and promote success o Process builds shared vision and fosters shared ownership

Strategic Advantage of the Plan When people participate in a strong, collaborative, and respectful process about the future of an organization, there are legacy impacts. People will: o Expect greater involvement o Foster deeper sense of community o Think more strategically more often o Share a vested interest in the plan’s successful implementation

Bow Valley College There is an assumption in Vision 2020 that we are not merely responding to our environment but actually shaping it o BVC is promoting a future by design rather than left to chance Vision 2020 calls for an approach to adult education that starts to separate BVC from its peers There is an opportunity (through learning partner for life or concept of tri-partite agreements) to establish distinctive excellence in adult education and training

Bill DuPerron, PhD Dean Health, Justice and Human Services Programs BOW VALLEY COLLEGE 332 – 6 Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta T2G 4S

Presenting today on behalf of Dr. Bill DuPerron Frank G Dungen Project Officer Health, Justice and Human Services Programs BOW VALLEY COLLEGE 332 – 6 th Avenue S. E. Calgary, Alberta T2G 4S