Your organization’s future depends on how its leaders think. As leaders move into senior roles, success depends less on running their area well and more on making high-stakes choices about where to compete, how to win and where to invest.
Yet many strong leaders struggle to make that shift. They solve symptoms instead of root causes, chase every good idea instead of making clear trade-offs, and lose their teams in strategies that are hard to explain. The problem is rarely a lack of experience. It is a lack of strategic thinking capability.
You will leave with:
- A clearly framed strategic challenge from your own organization, separated from its symptoms
- A toolkit of proven strategic frameworks matched to the decisions you face most
- An explicit set of trade-offs and priorities that clarify where to compete and invest
- A clear, compelling strategy narrative that aligns your stakeholders
Business Challenges you will Solve
Are you facing one of these challenges? If so, this program is designed for you:
- You’ve moved into a senior role, but still spend most of your time running your area
- Too many priorities compete, and hard trade-offs go unmade
- Teams solve symptoms instead of the underlying problem
- Uncertainty makes major investment and growth decisions harder to call
- Your strategy is clear to you but hard for others to follow
- Leaders lack a shared approach to enterprise-level thinking
Key Takeaways
Participants will be able to:
- Frame strategic problems clearly and separate symptoms from underlying issues
- Make explicit trade-offs about where to compete, how to win, and where to invest
- Select and apply proven strategic frameworks based on the decision at hand
- Navigate uncertainty and risk with scenario planning and staged commitments
- Communicate strategic logic in clear, compelling narratives that align stakeholders
- Lead as credible, enterprise-focused strategists rather than functional operators
Who Should Attend
- Senior Leaders and Executives making high-stakes choices about growth, investment, and resource allocation
- Business Unit Leaders who need to connect their unit’s decisions to enterprise-level strategy
- High-Potential Leaders moving into roles with broader strategic responsibility
- Functional Leaders ready to shift from running their area to shaping organizational direction
- Organizations building a stronger strategic bench and a more enterprise-oriented leadership culture
Faculty
Jon Canger, PhD - Program Facilitator
Jonathan Canger, PhD is a senior human capital and organizational effectiveness executive with more than 40 years of experience at companies including Verizon, Motorola, Coca-Cola, Monster.com, and Marriott. He is Managing Partner of Zennia Research and serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Florida, where he teaches in the Muma College of Business and the Department of Psychology.An Investment in Performance, Not Just Professional Development
When one leader attends, the whole organization gains. Participants return with a diagnostic, a prioritized plan and a shared framework their teams can apply immediately.
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Business impact |
What changes in your organization |
|---|---|
|
Clearer strategic choices |
Leaders frame issues around real choices and trade-offs, not competing priorities. |
|
More disciplined investment decisions |
Growth, investment and portfolio decisions hold up under uncertainty. |
|
Faster, more aligned execution |
Strategy communicated clearly moves teams in one direction sooner. |
|
A stronger strategic bench |
Senior and high-potential leaders become ready for enterprise-level responsibility. |
|
Lasting organizational capability |
An enterprise-focused leadership culture that extends beyond functional silos. |
What you will learn
This program gives you the practical habits and tools senior leaders use to think at the enterprise level. Drawing on proven strategic frameworks and real executive experience, you will learn how experienced strategists see, decide and act differently, from framing the right problem and recognizing patterns to making explicit trade-offs and communicating strategy with clarity.
You will develop the skills to:
- Recognize what changes in strategic expectations as you move into senior roles
- Analyze industry dynamics, profit pools, competitive positioning and business models
- Frame the right strategic problem and avoid premature solutions
- Separate signal from noise and recognize patterns in complex environments
- Make growth and portfolio decisions under uncertainty using scenario planning
- Communicate strategy clearly and sustain discipline amid operational pressures
program details
Dates: Feb. 5 and Feb. 19, 2027
Time: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET (Feb. 5); 1 – 6 p.m. ET (Feb. 19)
Format: Hybrid: one in-person session (Feb. 5) and one live, interactive online session (Feb. 19)
Investment: $2,495 per participant · 12 contact hours
Curriculum & Topics
Module 1: Why Strategic Thinking Matters More with Seniority
Explores why strategic thinking is a critical executive differentiator and what changes as leaders move up, including common failure modes of non-strategic leadership.
Module 2: What Strategists Know
Covers industry and organizational insight, profit pools, competitive dynamics, strategic fit, and core strategic decision domains such as market positioning, business models, and capabilities.
Module 3: Core Strategic Thinking Skills (Part I)
Builds skills for framing the right strategic problem, avoiding premature solutions, and recognizing patterns in complexity while separating signal from noise.
Module 4: Growth, Uncertainty, and Portfolio Choices
Examines growth pathways, portfolio decisions, and how to make strategy under uncertainty using tools like scenario planning and staged commitments.
Module 5: Leading Strategically & Sustaining Strategic Discipline
Focuses on making explicit trade-offs, communicating strategy with clarity, developing strategic mindsets over time, and sustaining strategic discipline amid operational pressures.
Program Format
This program is delivered in an immersive, interactive format designed to maximize engagement and peer learning. A detailed agenda will be shared with registered participants in advance.
Certificate & Pathways
Participants will receive a USF Executive Education Certificate of Completion.
Logistics
Detailed program information, including the agenda, parking instructions, and recommended hotel accommodations, will be provided to registered participants prior to the program start date.
All cancellation and substitution requests must be submitted in writing.
Cancellations
Cancellations received 14 days or more prior to the program start date will receive a full refund, minus a $250 administrative fee. Cancellations received within 14 days of the program start date are non-refundable.
Substitutions
Substitutions may be made at any time prior to the program start date at no additional cost. If pre-program assessments have already been completed, associated assessment fees are non-refundable.
Program Changes
The University of South Florida reserves the right to cancel or reschedule a program. In the event of cancellation by the University, registered participants will receive a full refund.
Group Pricing & Custom Options
Discount Eligibility
USF alumni, active-duty military members and veterans, and USF faculty and staff are eligible for a 10% discount on all open-enrollment programs.
Please enter the appropriate discount code at checkout. Discounts are offered in good faith. Proof of eligibility may be requested prior to program start.
Discounts cannot be combined with other promotional offers.
USF Alumni
USF alumni receive 10% off open-enrollment programs with code USFALUMNI10.
Military & Veterans
Active-duty military members and veterans receive 10% off open-enrollment programs with code MILITARY10.
USF Faculty & Staff
Current USF faculty and staff receive 10% off open-enrollment programs with code USFFACSTAFF10.