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In today’s fast-paced corporations, decision empowerment is the norm. Managers and staffs are being called on to participate in making strategic decisions that shape the future of the business — decisions about marketing programs, pricing policy, major customer and supplier contracts, acquisitions, new products, R&D investments, enterprise risk management; the list goes on. These decisions require leadership skills, understanding of value metrics, innovation to expand the range of choice, astute and unbiased judgment, and reasoning about competitive response and uncertain consequences.
The Stanford Center for Professional Development, in partnership with Strategic Decisions Group, is creating a new certificate program, Strategic Decision and Risk Management, to give experienced managers the insights and tools to sharpen their own decision-making skills and to lead others in reaching sound decisions. To solicit input to the design of this new program, speakers from Stanford University, from the Center for Professional Development, and from SDG presented this Executive eBriefing.
Skills to Be Taught
The program designers have outlined the skills they believe the Strategic Decision and Risk Management certification program should convey. In the eBriefing, we ask participants to add any missing skills to this list:
Work on the right problem, in the best way, with the right people, and make a timely decision
Be both creative and thorough in identifying attractive and attainable options
Collect and analyze critical information
Let risk and uncertainty be advantages — not disadvantages — by actively considering risk instead of making simplistic assumptions
Establish clear value metrics that untangle issues of conflicting goals and differences in timing and risk tolerance
Watch for and avoid common analytic and behavioral decision failures
Achieve alignment on decisions from key players within the organization and gain true commitment to effective execution
Make good decisions under pressure
Do what is most important, not just what comes naturally
Drive the organization to higher levels of value creation by focusing its creative energy with insight from good analysis.
The Courses to Be Included
The program designers currently envision participants taking six courses to earn a Stanford certificate in Strategic Decision and Risk Management:
Four required core courses
Decision Quality and Dialogue Decision Process
Foundations of Decision Analysis
Decision Modeling for Insight
Decision-Making Practicum
At least two elective courses
Strategic Innovation
Enterprise Risk Management
Behavioral Decision Science
Ethical Choices
Converting Strategy into Action.
The presenters describe the program and its objectives, making use of interactive audience polling and online Q&A to involve participants.
About the Speakers
Paul Marca is Director of the Stanford Center for Professional Development.
Ronald Howard, Stanford University, is Academic Director of the Strategic Decision and Risk Management certificate program.
Carl Spetzler is chairman of SDG.
Bruce Judd is Executive Director of SDG's Client Education Practice.
Jim Lang, moderator, is President and COO of SDG.
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