Translating Strategy into Action: Middle East

This program will equip you with all the necessary tools to turn strategy into action and get results for your organization, including how to:

• Design a strategy implementation process
• Translate the strategy into the right things for the right people to work on
• Align an organization to its strategy
• Harness the power of your people (and assess where the resistance is)
• Keep the pressure up and push through the obstacles
• Approach risk and assess the weakness in an implementation plan
• Secure synergies when integrating functions

Benefits to you and your organization There is strong evidence that well thought-out, robust strategies that are well communicated will not have an impact unless they undergo a management process which we call translation.

Effective translation of strategy involves a type of goal setting and staff engagement. Some organizations excel at this and managers who \'translate\' strategy well are more effective than those who simply communicate it.

By the end of the program you will have a practical, stress-tested and carefully refined plan of action. In addition, you will have the skills, knowledge and confidence to repeatedly get results for your organization.

• You are a manager tasked with implementing strategy and you need to equip yourself with the necessary tools to turn strategy into action in order to achieve results for your organization.

Awarded an Ashridge Certificate. Ashridge is triple accredited, holding AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA accreditations.

Pre-program In preparation for the residential phase, you will need to identify an execution challenge you are looking to resolve in your organization. During the residential phase you will relate your learning directly to this challenge.

Residential Phase

With a mixture of taught sessions and small group work, you will cover:

• The execution challenge: assessing your blockers to change - resources, politics, and mental models; assessing the state of the organizational readiness
• The requirements of successful translation: the translation model
• Working with goals: strategic thinking, the pyramid principle and mapping goals; managing goal setting processes and goal analysis; planning for every facet of the organization
• Achieving productive collaboration: getting attention and communicating vision; designing social mechanisms (meetings and other events); understanding and managing culture
• Securing commitment and accountability: using incentives; winning support and influencing actions
• Managing the change program: using tools to direct traffic, monitor progress and mange risk; using method when there are no clear answers
• Making improvements in your organization: working out which tools and techniques could work for you, assisted by Ashridge tutors to help you assess ongoing projects, plans and papers

Post-program

Tutors will facilitate a webinar for the group six weeks after the residential phase. This will allow you and the other participants in the group to review your actions and support you all to make further progress.

You will become a member of the Ashridge Alumni network, which is an excellent opportunity to continue your personal development and networking.

You are also given continued access to you online program portal and Virtual Ashridge content for six months after your residential stay. Ongoing support and further learning opportunities are available with Ashridge Momentum.

Established in 1959, Ashridge is one of the world’s leading business schools from the UK for senior working professionals with an international reputation for leadership development. With its history dating back nearly 800 years and once a royal residence, Ashridge really understands the nature and importance of exceptional service. It is in the 1% of business schools globally accredited by AMBA, EQUIS and AACSB; these are the highly-regarded benchmarks of quality and standards in business education worldwide.

Each year Ashridge works with over 6,000 managers from 850 organizations in 60 countries by helping them to develop their leadership capabilities.

Regionally, Ashridge has over 20 years experience in the Middle East, designing and delivering senior leadership assessment and development projects.