Establishing a Competitive Mindset

Business Issue

A company was moving from a monopoly market to a more competitive environment. In the past, the government controlled rates and little or no competition was permitted within the geographical footprint of the company. New regulations meant many customers, especially business customers, would now be able to choose providers. In order to succeed in this environment, the company recognized that its people would need to be competitive and customer-focused, a difficult charge for an organization accustomed to having a guaranteed pool of customers. The company elected to use education to as a key lever to develop a competitive mindset and teach its people how to operationalize that mindset to excel in the new market.

Approach

In response to these needs, Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE) collaborated with the company to design a development program for the firm’s mid-level executives, numbering approximately 200 of the firm’s top people. Duke CE and the client co-designed a two-week curriculum-based program to enable the company’s leaders to think and act competitively, focus on the customer, and be financially responsible in this new landscape. The program was designed to: 1) Dramatically improve understanding of key business concepts in the areas of finance, marketing, strategy, and operations, within the context of the company and the industry, 2) Assess and give personal insights into each executive’s individual leadership strengths and weaknesses, and to build a plan for improvement, and 3) Provide a deeper understanding of the industry and the particular challenges facing the industry and the company at this point in time.

Learning Experience

Key academics from the targeted areas of business acumen paired with key senior executives within the client company to lead sessions focused on a particular subject (e.g., finance) within the context of the company’s strategy, philosophy, and processes. Also, as part of the business acumen component, executives participated in a rigorous two-day business simulation. Industry experts and financial analysts, as well as internal company experts, illustrated topics such as strategy and brand development. To help participants gain insight into their leadership capabilities, facilitators administered a series of leadership development inventories. Participants learned about the importance of the leadership dimensions inventoried, and each participant received individual feedback on his or her instrument results. As a result of this process, each executive developed a plan for improvement of his or her leadership capabilities.

Execution

Executives have completed the program in seven groups of about 30 each. The program has been executed over the course of the past two years and still occurs annually. Each time the program is delivered, the content is updated to address the company’s current needs and reflect the most recent industry challenges. Because it is viewed as a key driver for the company’s strategic vision, virtually every company executive has collaborated in the design or planning of this program and the company’s senior executives are heavily involved in the actual delivery of the program. In addition, the CEO has been a part of the teaching team of each program.

Outcome

This program is one of the key linchpins in a successful human development and succession plan set forth by the company. It has enabled the company leaders to become proactive change agents in the organization, as they effectively implement new processes to operationalize the competitive mindset needed to succeed in the new industry landscape. Importantly, the program has provided a continuing forum for executives to engage in dialogue about the strategic direction of the company. The new leadership capability gained through the program has created bench strength for the organization that will prove key to its succession planning in future years.

 

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