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Strategic Planning and Leading Change - Virtual
14 Instructional Hours

Strategic Planning and Leading Change - Virtual

Establish the winning conditions for successful strategic planning and organizational change

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Strategic Planning and Leading Change - Virtual

About the program

Your organization's strategic plan is its game plan for change. This highly practical program is led by Canada's two leading practitioners in the subject, each with extensive change leadership experience across industries.

This session will enable you to develop and implement a focused and action-oriented strategic plan to drive successful change and, more importantly, establish the conditions for long-term success.

A new framework for change

Today's fast-paced business environment renders much of the conventional wisdom surrounding managing change outdated, and in some cases, downright dangerous. It's no surprise that most attempts at organizational changes (culture change, integrating acquisitions, launching new products, or integrating new IT platforms) end in failure.

To beat the odds, it is imperative to establish the winning conditions. This Program will help you identify and implement these very elements – guidance, speed and momentum – and develop the execution plan to drive their implementation.

This workshop will enable you to:

  • Establish the winning conditions for successful organizational change
  • Diagnose the challenges associated with organizational change
  • Create a game plan for change

Dynamic virtual classroom

Participate in the program from anywhere. Our online learning platform combines live, interactive video instruction with breakout sessions, panel discussions, and expert Q&A.

Who should attend

This program is designed for business professionals, managers, and leaders who are looking for fresh perspectives on strategy and embracing and implementing change.

This program is designated an approved recertification program by the HRPA.

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Discounts Available

Registered Charities

Queen’s Executive Education is pleased to offer a limited number of discounted seats in every program to employees of Canadian registered charities. Check your eligibility to receive a registered charity discount

Volume Discounts

Queen’s Executive Education is pleased to offer a 15% discount for organizations that pre-pay for five or more seats on any of our programs within a 12-month period. Check your eligibility to receive a volume discount

Digital credential for Strategic Planning and Leading Change - Virtual

A Recognized Symbol of Excellence

Participants who complete the program earn the Strategic Planning and Leading Change digital badge credential.

Personal benefits

  • Learn how to recognize the need for change in your organization or department
  • Move from awareness to tangible change outcomes
  • Define the essential tools for implementing change
  • Discover how to realign resources appropriately through an organizational change

Organizational benefits

  • Gain knowledge on how to form and deliver an effective change strategy
  • Be better positioned for successful change initiatives

The program is divided into two themes:

Creating the Game Plan for Change

  • Correctly diagnosing your specific change challenge
  • Designing your planning process to maximize buy-in to and understanding of the changes you need to make
  • Creating an executable game plan, one that drives accountability, effort, and results
  • Aligning resources and activities to demonstrable and tangible outcomes

Establishing the Winning Conditions for Success

  • Using project management techniques and discipline to enable implementation
  • Communicating your ‘change’ story
  • Understanding what it takes to effectively lead change efforts
  • Creating speed and establishing momentum around change efforts
  • Leveraging the ‘human flywheel’ to its fullest

Dynamic Virtual Classroom

Participate in the program from anywhere. Our online learning platform combines live, interactive video instruction with breakout sessions, panel discussions, and expert Q&A.

Our learning platform is fully encrypted, allowing you to connect securely from home, office or anywhere in between.

Virtual programs are designed to fit within your schedule, allowing you to learn new skills and immediately put them to work.

Please note: Our Executive Education Virtual Classroom leverages Zoom for content delivery and participation collaboration. Please consult with your IT administrator if you have any concerns about platform access or setup requirements.

This program is available in an alternate format: View in-person program

Session Leaders

Session leaders include senior professors from Smith School of Business and knowledgeable experts from industry. These outstanding teachers are constantly in touch with today's business world through real-world business experience, Board memberships and their own consulting practices.

Elspeth Murray has served as the Associate Dean - MBA and Master’s Programs from 2012-2022 and has been a professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Smith School of Business since 1996. She also holds the CIBC Fellowship in Entrepreneurship, and founded Smith's Centre for Business Venturing. She is the Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Social Impact. Prior to joining Smith, she worked in industry for 7 years for several firms including IBM, and Canadian Tire. As an integral part of her work in the strategy and new venture fields, Dr. Murray specializes in the management of change. In 2002, she co-authored a best-selling book, Fast Forward: Organizational Change in 100 Days, Oxford University Press, with Dr. Peter Richardson. She has recently co-developed (with Dr. David Saunders) the Analytics Climate Assessment Tool (ACAT), which is used to assess organizations technological capacity, skill sets, and analytics culture. Current research is focused on best practices in leading and managing change to create an analytics culture.

Dr. Murray teaches on many MBA and Executive Education programs, and consults widely with a diversity of firms including BMW, Detour Gold, Wawanesa Insurance, Versacold Logistics and the Auditor General for Canada. She serves as a Director for several firms and is an advisor to several start-ups and CEO's. Dr. Murray received an undergraduate degree in computer science and mathematics, and an MBA, both from Queen's University. Her doctorate in Strategy and Management Information Systems was completed at the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Peter Richardson has been a faculty member of the School of Business for 37 years. He teaches both introductory and advanced strategy courses in the School of Business on the Executive MBA programs and on a number of the School’s one and three week Continuing Education programs.

Together with Elspeth Murray, Peter has authored a book, entitled Fast Forward: Organizational Change in 100 Days, published by the Oxford University Press in 2002. An accompanying Guide was published early in 2003. Through his research and associated consulting activities, he has developed a unique concept of Strategy as Action, and has written several papers on this topic. During his 30-plus years at Queen’s University, Peter has authored over 90 papers and case studies on strategic management. In his previous book, Cost Containment: The Ultimate Strategic Advantage, one of the few books written on cost improvement, Peter described a novel strategic approach to cost improvement that has been adopted in many organizations in both the public and private sectors. At present, Peter is exploring the impact of the increasing demand for speed in business, which he believes has profound implications for organization change, strategy implementation, risk management and organization processes.  

Peter consults widely with both public and private sector organizations, working closely for extended periods with senior executives on strategy development and deployment. Corporate clients have included Codelco, Vale, Anglo-American Corporation, Alcoa, BHP Billiton, Barrick Gold, Bell Canada, CIBC, CIBC-Mellon, De Beers Canada, Ivanhoe Mines, Ivanplats, Redpath Mining, Quadra Chemicals, Gibson Energy, and Xerox. In the Public Sector, clients have included the Supreme Court of Canada, The Office of the Auditor General for Canada, The Surveyor General of Canada, Health Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Health Canada. He has also been retained as a consultant on more than 20 major international mining projects including the successful development and construction of the Collahuasi copper mine in Chile which is to-date the world’s largest and highest single mining project, and the Victor Diamond Mine in Canada – designated globally as the ‘Mine of the Year in 2009’.    

Peter has also carried out strategic planning assignments for a number of Associations including the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO), the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors, The Consejo Minero de Chile, the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada, the Zinc Association, and the Mining Association of Canada.

Upcoming Sessions

Session Date Apr 22 to 23, 2025  - Module 1 Apr 29 to 30, 2025  - Module 2 View detailed schedule
Location Virtual Classroom
Program Fees $2,900 CAD (plus applicable taxes)
Session Date Nov 17 to 18, 2025  - Module 1 Nov 24 to 25, 2025  - Module 2 View detailed schedule
Location Virtual Classroom
Program Fees $2,900 CAD (plus applicable taxes)

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