Strategic Planning Certificate (Online at your own pace)

Strategic planning is an activity that all leaders do, and only leaders do. It is an essential skill to acquire for emerging and developing leaders. As some 70% of strategic plans fail or are not implemented fully, unearth the secrets and tactics for the successful strategic planning.

Solidify your skill set and conquer this challenging and exciting area of leadership. Courses in this certificate are:

  1. Introduction Strategic Planning
  2. Communicating Your Vision
  3. Implementing Your Strategic Plan

Courses are online and asynchronous, meaning students may login to the classroom anytime during the course session, day or night, 24/7. For more information, go to our Online Professional Development Certificates & Courses FAQ


Class Details:

Introduction Strategic Planning
Unit 1: Think differently
    What Strategic Planning Is, and Isn’t
    Strategic Planning is What Leaders Do
    How to think strategically - - it’s different
    Why strategic plans fail
    Unit 2: The 6 Components of Strategic Planning
      Building the approach
      Constructing objectives
      Forming strategies
      Assigning tactics
Unit 3: Needs assessment, Market research, Environmental scanning
      Finding trends and industry directions
      Scanning the environment
      An 8 Stage Model for Needs Assessment and Marketing Research
      Scoping out your competition for strategic planning
Unit 4: Your Vision as a Leader
      Matching the market with your vision
      Never have one idea (and why)
      When hunches work, when they don’t
      Where do you want to go
Communicating Your Vision
Unit 1: Communicating Effectively
    The communication process.
    Overcoming barriers to effective communication.
    Delivering positive messages.
    Delivering negative messages.
Unit 2: Public Speaking and Presentations
      Practical PowerPoint tips.
      Structuring an effective presentation.
      Avoiding death by PowerPoint.
      Putting it all together: persuading your audience.
Unit 3: Using Storytelling to Communicate More Dynamically
      The elements of story.
      How to incorporate storytelling techniques in any context.
      Using narrative to craft persuasive messages.
      Avoid passive voice and other language pitfalls.
Unit 4: Beyond Mission and Vision: The Strategic Narrative
      What is a strategic narrative?
      Developing your narrative collaboratively.
      Communicating your strategic narrative.
      How a strategic narrative engages everyone.
Implementing Your Strategic Plan
Unit 1: Implementing Your Plan (Collaboratively)
    From plan to action.
    Collaborative decision making.
    Deadlines and deliverables.
    Empowering your staff with real ownership.
Unit 2: Monitoring Progress
      Reporting back (tracking progress).
      How to use email (and when not to).
      Group communications tools.
      Effective meetings.
Unit 3: Managing Change
      When things go wrong.
      How to respond (adjusting the plan).
      Getting back on track.
      Setting the tone.
Unit 4: Building a High-Performance Team
      Principles of personal productivity.
      From individual to group: maximizing staff productivity.
      Gaining institutional support.
      We’re all in this together.
William A Draves
William A Draves

William A. Draves, CAE, is a chief executive officer of his organization, a Certified Association Executive, leader in his field, and acclaimed futurist.


In 2000 he and his colleague, Julie Coates, laid out nine shifts that would happen by 2020, in their book Nine Shift: Work, life and education in the 21st Century.
The BBC flew their global business reporter from China to their home to interview them for a half-hour program that aired worldwide to millions.
Draves has been in management and leadership positions in a variety of work and volunteer situations. He has taught online for over twenty years, including teaching at the graduate level. With a particular interest in mentoring young people, he teaches a variety of leadership courses. He has been interviewed by Wired.com, The New York Times, NPR, NBC Nightly News, Washington Post, Virtual University News, Chronicle of Higher Education and other national media. Draves has spoken around the world, including Japan, Russia, Australia, Germany, Slovenia, Mexico, England and throughout Canada and the U.S. His TED talk has been heard by thousands.
Daniel Thorpe
Daniel Thorpe

For more than forty years Daniel's professional life has focussed on the twin themes of leadership and lifelong learning. This started with two decades' service in the Canadian Army, during which he ran numerous trades and tactical courses, organized collective training, commanded an armour squadron, and deployed to Bosnia with a Multi-National Brigade Group during the troubles there.

After retiring from the service Daniel built a second career at the Continuing Studies division of Langara College. In twenty plus years there he progressed through every operational CS role, from Coordinator to Dean. He hired and managed instructors and staff, developed courses and programmes in multiple subject areas, and successfully marketed cost-recovery certificates and diplomas to the public. During his seven years as Dean, Daniel pioneered public-private partnerships and international education within a CS context, turned CS into a valued and high performing unit within the College, and more than doubled CS margins (making Langara’s the largest and most successful such operation in western Canada). Daniel currently lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Since retiring from Langara, he has continued to focus on leadership and lifelong learning, both as a trainer and consultant. Daniel's other interests include amateur photography, wilderness backpacking, travel, and reading literature and history.
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12:01 AM - 11:59 PM
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Price: $495.00 Min Age 18 yr.
Instructors:
  • William A Draves
  • Daniel Thorpe
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Tue, Sep 2nd 2025 12:01 AM - 11:59 PM Online
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