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Gain the insights, tools, and frameworks to make impactful decisions that steer your organisation towards success. Elevate your strategic thinking and drive results Course overview Duration: 1 day (6.5 hours) Strategic decision making is messy, complex and full of uncertainty. These are factors which work against the human mind when it comes to making effective decisions. This course provides delegates with insights into the factors influencing strategic decision making. Using psychometric profiles delegates will learn about their own preferences when making decisions, how to influence others and how to create the ideal conditions for successful strategic decision making. Objectives By the end of the course you will be able to: Explain the challenges of VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguous Use models of Strategic Thinking Understand the impact of perception, bias and judgement in decision making Understand personal preferences and approaches to decision making Speed read other people’s approach to decision making Use decision making models for strategic thinking Apply Mindsets, Skillsets and Toolsets for decision making Content The decision lifestyle - personal preferences Understand the human facts that influence decision making Understanding personal preferences and approaches to decision making Understand the impact of Perception, Bias and judgement in decision making Speed reading others’ approach to decision making Frameworks to provide context for decision making Understand the business factors that influence decision making – VUCA The Cynefin Framework – decision making in complex situations Understanding which business context you operate in – simple, complicated, complex or chaotic Models to improve strategic thinking How to understand yourself better How to improve your decision making How to understand others better How to improve other’s decision making Human centred decision making How to put humans at the centre of your decision making The art of Creative Problem Solving Using Design Thinking to reduce human complexity in decision making
We use the Insights Discovery® Personality profiling model, which adds a simple visual methodology that supports effective communication. Revitalise and inspire your sales team to a higher level of performance. Help your sales people be more effective at every stage of the sale. Build customer relationships quickly and effectively... Our Sales Effectiveness programme is ideal if you want to; assess the strengths and challenges of your sales people understand your sales team's style and how it impacts on customer relationships develop your sales team's interpersonal skills Insights Discovery - How it Works: Through Insights Discovery® and our own, in-house Insights Discovery® licenced practitioner, we use the Insights Discovery model to understand an individual’s unique preferences. Our Insights Discovery-based people development programmes are simple and deeply insightful. They provide immediate impact and enable positive, lasting change. Insights Discovery® is: Simple: easy to understand so everyone can apply what they learn. Universal: it speaks to everyone at all levels. Deeply Insightful: take you places you never expected. Positive: the supportive language is so engaging it empowers people to change. Fun! The memorable colour energy system that really sticks Using Insights Discovery® as part of a wider programme: Insights Discovery® is at the heart of everything that we do. This simple framework of four colour energies can be used to develop highly-tailored solutions to meet your unique business needs. Example solutions: Increasing communication and collaboration: learn how your team, department or organisation can work together more effectively in a series of Insights Discovery® Workshops. Improving personal effectiveness: as part of a programme of coaching, Insights Discovery can be used to identify areas of strength and help create a development plan tailored to each individual. Developing leaders and sales people: use an understanding of preferences to assess individual and collective strengths and enhance crucial business skills. Explore the concept of change and gain an understanding of the process Understand how different personality types respond to change Engage the wider organisation by building relationships with staff Motivate teams through change
Learn the basics of financial awareness and better understand the language used by accountants and how financial statements fit together within organisations. Course overview Duration: 2 days (13 hours) This workshop will provide participants with a grasp of basic financial awareness, to help them to better understand the language used by accountants and how financial statements fit together. Training is done in a jargon-free way that is aimed building attendees’ confidence in using financial terms and concepts within their organisation. Competent financial management has many aspects, it is wide reaching and requires multiple skills but if participants work to become organised and effective in planning, these skills can be easily acquired. There is a misconception that to be a good operational manager dealing with financial decisions people must be accounting or numerical geniuses. There are basic skills that attendees can easily learn that will support them in those areas. Objectives By the end of the course you will be able to: Identify the importance of financial management and its impact Identify the link between financial information and decision making Set, manage, monitor and review budgets Analyse financial statements Demonstrate the link between the statements, budgets and decision making. Content Financial Management Budgeting process (generic / client specific if possible) Forecasting and re forecasting process The need for accurate forecasting Accrual v cash accounting revisited Financial Objectives of the business Users of the accounts Financial Tools Depreciation and Amortisation Accruals and Prepayments Deferred and Accrued Income Costs, Opex and Capex Financial Statements The Income Statement The Balance Sheet Understanding capital employed The relationship between balance sheet and income statement The cash flow statement Profitability: gross, operating and net margins Review of client’s management information reports Building the Business Case Break even analysis Discounted Cash Flow Discount factors Net Present Value (NPV) Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Our Team Building Programmes are 'simply excellent' (quote from Unilever). They always deliver much greater energy' motivation and efficiently accelerates to a galvanised, integrated team for their Manager/Team Leader. They're great fun and very commercially orientated - the best of both key elements to a successful and long-lasting high performance team. A successful company is always made up of successful teams. Teams that can work autonomously with a clearly defined set of goals, roles, vision, responsibility and culture will always reach for and achieve far greater success than a team that works just as a group of individuals. Our team building solutions are individually built and geared towards teams at any level within an organisation, providing an independent and objective perspective to promote a common purpose such as the creation of a 'high performance team'. Out With The Old Traditionally, team building events have been restricted to certain levels of management where they head off site for a bit of archery, quad biking and paintballing or something along those lines. Then over some coffee and cocktails, business plans and more efficient ways to work are casually discussed. Whilst being out having fun instead of being at work may improve an individual person's mood, the effect will only be short-term, and will not go far in creating permanent and cohesive teams who are able to overcome challenges together and drive the business forward when back in the workplace. In With The New Today's business thinking is more strategic and certainly has to look for returns on the investment. That is why Dickson Training Ltd's team building programmes are bespoke and built to your requirements through research, understanding your business and, most importantly, what results and achievements you are looking to get out of the programme. Once "what success looks like" has been established, we create tasks and activities that will test your leadership, problem solving, communication and team work skills. When the tasks have been completed, the learning - both practical and theory - is debriefed to the group as well as how it will translate back in your business. Not only are our events great fun, but they provide participants with learning points they can act upon to improve or enhance the working practices/environment. Team Building That Gets Results We have a highly innovative team who design team builds to suit all budgets and time or space restrictions. Large or small, we will develop the perfect event to meet your commercial objectives, keeping in line with your values and company culture. More recently we have combined team galvanising events with ways to engage the participants with and support their local communities. This solution has proved extremely popular with our clients and we are continuing to develop more and more programmes doing exactly this. " Phil did everything in a very professional and focused manner, without losing sight of the overall aims or having 'fun'. When I moved to Airbus UK and subsequently European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), I had no hesitation in recommending Phil and the team to deliver the required training and team events. Without doubt Phil and his team are excellent providers of training, to suit even bespoke requirements, and I would not hesitate in recommending the team to any business in the future. " Glenn Brown, Systems & Expertise Manager, Airbus Personnel Service Augmented Skills – an Essay by Phil Dickson All of you, who are reading this, and all the people you meet and work with will have – ‘Augmented Skills’. So – if you are an IT Engineer or a Pharmacist; perhaps you are, or know, a Departmental Leader and you work with a Logistics Project Manager; these roles will demand core skills, whether they be technical know-how or qualifications in the discipline. But to be that bit better; more reliable; more effective & productive and therefore more valuable and, frankly, marketable – capitalizing on ‘Augment Skills’ comes into play. The I T Engineer who was a Chess Champion at Uni, which would indicate that they possess some key ‘Augmented skills’ including how they plan 3 steps ahead and are always prepared for the unexpected. The Pharmacist, who is a keen sportsperson in their private life, will likely be tenacious, team-orientated and disciplined – again these are superb qualities to have in this – or any – role. Your colleagues, as well as yourself, will have ‘Augmented Skills’ that will be an asset if only they are explored and applied to their role and indeed, career. Everyone has their own 'Super-power' If they love gardening, they are probably strategic, patient and inclined to research; if they cook or bake, they are usually well organized and comfortable with multi-tasking. A big reader will tend to be considered and possess good critical thinking faculties, and an amateur mechanic or keen DIY person will often be practical, resourceful and very determined. I have observed that many new Parents discover they have ‘Augmented Skills’ they didn’t know they had... such as getting order out of chaos and displaying industrial amounts of patience and good grace when they really do not feel like it. They very often become far more compassionate and empathetic. Most people have their very own ‘Superpower’. Invite your team members to offer their ‘Augmented Skills’ to your work-place – and just watch as it elevates the motivation levels and improves results. It’ll be very rewarding for all concerned – and for meeting the Team’s objectives, to encourage the person who is a talented artist to be a sounding board on some of the marketing imagery and layouts; for the team member who is great at Maths or resolving crosswords to be asked for their input to solving a problem that is causing logistical or operational headaches. Never exploit a Team member’s unique special skills at their expense I would like to stress, however, that it must never be an area where a team member gets exploited by harvesting their unique special skills to coerce them into taking on greater responsibilities and tasks without providing them with the commensurate salary and status. To do so would be immoral and, ultimately, counter-productive as it would lead to resentment and disenfranchisement. This is about encouraging people’s capability and inviting their input to boost confidence and enhance the team’s capability. Often, we need to be more than what our Job Description says It is also important to highlight that whatever a person’s role or function is – they will definitely need to have additional capabilities to be effective. The best example of this is when we designed and delivered a range of ‘Advanced Customer Care skills’ training sessions for the Met Office a few years ago…we met so many remarkably super-bright Meteorologists, many of whom were having to make significant adjustments to answering questions from Customers that seemed to be illogical and often, obtuse. It wasn’t enough for these Meteorologists to be highly skilled at interpreting data and identifying patterns – they needed ‘Augmented skills’ to make that information accessible to members of the public (and Council workers and Air Traffic controllers and Shipping agents) and many other people, as to what that particular weather system was going to be like in their area and at what time. They have to know how to ‘de-jargonise’ the material and provide succinct, clear, and yet temperate, descriptions without ever appearing exasperated, impatient or judgmental in response to sometimes quite silly questions. For a highly trained scientist – that can be counter-intuitive. Being Philosophical... and a wee bit pretentious At the risk of being a little Philosophical (and probably a wee bit pretentious) – in my own role of Trainer – my core skills have to include – being a very good communicator, an active listener and have innovative and engaging ways to convert an idea, or a model, into practical application that my Delegates and Clients gain tangible benefits from. This is how it applies to me... I really enjoy composing short, light classical-style piano pieces. Now, to do this well, you need to be able to find a transition from one chord or melody to a different theme or key. It has to be worked out very carefully to have incremental transitions and pleasant-sounding developments as the piece unfolds. I think I have become better at this as I have honed my skills as a composer. But I have realized that these very same skills have ‘Augmented’ my ability to help a Manager, or a Team, move from a state of conflict; tension; disfunction; disenfranchisement; lack of confidence to a place that is more harmonious with far greater productivity. The very same process of careful listening, considering options, taking well-considered steps, having a creative, sometimes brave, move towards a resolution are at play in both Training and Piano Compositions! Scheduled Courses Unfortunately this course is not one that is currently scheduled as an open course, and is only available on an in-house basis. Please contact us for more information.
DATE: Thursday 8th June TIME: 4pm LOCATION: Studio A MAX ALBRECHT is the creative director and founder of Critical Mask Pictures, a production company that focuses on narrative filmmaking. Max will be joining us on Thursday afternoon to discuss how best to market yourself and find work as a freelancer in the film and television industries. With years of experience under his belt, this will be a great Life Skills Session to attend to learn about life after CFS. Max will also discuss his experiences founding a production company and operating as a sole trader, so that attendees can learn of all the many ways to make a living independently in the business. A Q+A Session will take place for anything specific people wanted to ask. Be sure to book your free ticket in advance so that you don't miss out!
DATE: Thursday 18th July TIME: 4pm LOCATION: Studio A MAX ALBRECHT is the creative director and founder of Critical Mask Pictures, a production company that focuses on narrative filmmaking. Max will be joining us on Thursday 18th July to discuss how best to market yourself and find work as a freelancer in the film and television industries. With years of experience under his belt, this will be a great Life Skills Session to attend to learn about life after CFS. Max will also discuss his experiences founding a production company and operating as a sole trader, so that attendees can learn of all the many ways to make a living independently in the business. A Q+A Session will take place for anything specific people wanted to ask. Be sure to book your free ticket in advance so that you don't miss out!
Gain practical skills in influencing and decision-making, perfect for anyone working in team-based or project-focused environments, with interactive, hands-on learning. Course overview Duration: 1 day (6.5 hours) This is a highly interactive and practical course which will help you to use influencing and decision making techniques. This workshop has been specifically designed to give you an opportunity to learn and test a range of influencing and decision making models and techniques. The course is aimed at anyone who interacts with others on a regular basis, especially those in project management disciplines, multi disciplinary, matrix type organisations where healthy debate and challenge are key to achieving optimum resolutions. Objectives By the end of the course you will be able to: Utilise a variety of new techniques to enhance your influencing skills Recognise the impact of non-verbal communication and use it to enhance influencing behaviours Use language skills necessary to get your message across in an influential way Apply different techniques for dealing with aggression Understand VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguous Use Perception, Bias, Decision Making and Judgement Understand personal preferences and approaches to Decision Making Speed read others approach to decision making Apply Mindsets, Skillsets and Toolsets for decision making Content What is influencing? Sources of power Influencing skills Choosing the right approach Developing Skills Communication skills – the language of influence Different influencing techniques and when to use them Having the confidence to challenge Dealing with confrontation and challenges in a confident manner The Decision Lifecycle – Personal Preferences Understand the human facts that influence decision making Understanding personal preferences and approaches to Decision Making Understand the impact of Perception, Bias and judgement in decision making Speed reading others approach to decision making Frameworks to provide context for decision making Understand the business factors that influence decision making - VUCA The Cynefin Framework – decision making in complex situations Understanding which business context, you operate in – simple, complicated, complex or chaotic Understanding how to decide in complexity Practical Practical exercises Case studies Personal action planning
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