Note: This course contains the use of artificial intelligence:

- Udemy Role-Play AI feature to make the course more practical and interactive;

- AI-generated Voice-Over since some students complained about my heavy accent;

This course is structured around four key sections, carefully designed to help you think, advise, and facilitate like a true strategist. Each section blends core strategy concepts, advisory techniques, and practical guidance on leading strategic conversations.

Whether you work with clients, lead your own organization, or advise portfolio companies, these sections will help you sharpen your thinking, structure your sessions, and engage decision-makers with confidence.

Section 1: How Do You Compete? Understanding Strategy Fundamentals to Guide Better Conversations

In this section, we set the foundation by exploring how organizations create competitive advantage. You’ll learn how to structure conversations around the essential components of strategy, ensuring your advice or facilitation is grounded in proven principles. We cover:

- How companies compete — through cost leadership, differentiation, focus, and beyond.

- Business models as a source of advantage — how to use the Business Model Canvas to analyze and improve business models.

- Corporate strategy and portfolio thinking — understanding how diversified companies allocate resources and manage their business units.

- Strategic positioning — using the Strategy Diamond to shape conversations around where and how organizations compete.

This section is packed with practical frameworks that help structure strategic dialogues — whether with CEOs, founders, or leadership teams.

Practice Opportunity: Throughout this section, you’ll find hands-on role-play scenarios to apply frameworks like the Business Model Canvas, Strategy Diamond, and BCG Matrix in realistic, advisory-style conversations.

Section 2: How Do You Create Strategy? Exploring Different Strategic Approaches and How to Facilitate Them

Organizations don’t all create strategy the same way — and understanding these differences is critical for anyone advising or leading. In this section, we dive into the major schools of strategy creation, helping you recognize how your clients, teams, or organizations approach strategic thinking — and how you can guide them more effectively.

We explore:

- Classic, deliberate strategy models — structured planning, long-term goals, and analytical rigor.

- Emergent, adaptive approaches — embracing change, learning, and experimentation.

- Positioning approaches (Porter) vs. entrepreneurial approaches (Mintzberg) — knowing when each applies.

- Innovative models — such as Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Blitzscaling — and how these challenge traditional strategy thinking.

- Collectivistic approaches — how strategy can emerge through collaboration, dialogue, and iterative exploration.

You’ll leave this section with a deeper appreciation for how different contexts require different strategy habits — and how to challenge assumptions constructively.

Practice Opportunity: You’ll engage with practical scenarios that let you apply strategic thinking through tools like SWOT analysis and market experimentation — helping you practice the art of guiding teams beyond static plans.

Section 3: How Do You Build Buy-In? Facilitating Strategic Dialogues that Drive Alignment and Action

Even the best strategy fails without alignment and commitment. In this section, we shift from frameworks to the human side of strategy conversations — how to facilitate breakthrough dialogues, challenge thinking, and move leaders from debate to decisions.

We cover:

- The dynamics of strategic conversations — how to ask questions that unlock insight, not just opinions.

- How to lead through dialogue, not dictation — fostering clarity, alignment, and ownership.

- Techniques for overcoming resistance and cognitive bias — helping leaders confront blind spots.

- Using structured models for conversations — from the Six Thinking Hats to solution-focused methods like OSKAR and PRACTICE.

- Moving from analysis to action — how to close conversations with momentum, not just more complexity.

This is where you learn how to turn strategic insights into committed decisions — through conversation, facilitation, and challenge.

Practice Opportunity: You’ll have the chance to apply these techniques in simulated scenarios — from tense leadership discussions to structured team decision-making exercises.

Section 4: How Do You Diagnose? Leading Discovery Conversations That Shape Strategic Focus

Effective strategists are great diagnosticians. This final section helps you master the art of discovery — asking the right questions, uncovering the real issues, and shaping clarity through structured inquiry.

We explore:

- How to structure discovery conversations — moving from symptoms to root causes.

- Diagnosing industries and markets — using Porter’s Five Forces and other tools to analyze competitive dynamics.

- Identifying internal misalignments — from strategy to execution gaps.

- Designing strategic interventions — how to frame insights and next steps.

You’ll leave this section ready to lead conversations that not only reveal opportunities but also frame actionable, aligned strategies.

Practice Opportunity: Through realistic case-based exercises, you’ll practice leading diagnostic conversations that sharpen strategic focus and drive decisions.

Applied Practice: Role Play Activities

Throughout the course, you’ll find role-play scenarios designed to help you apply what you’ve learned in realistic, business-relevant contexts.

These scenarios allow you to practice advising, facilitating, and leading conversations on strategy topics — from business models to competitive analysis, from innovation to leadership alignment.

Note: These exercises are designed to evolve — we continuously refine and add new scenarios based on learner feedback and emerging trends, ensuring the course stays fresh and relevant.

What You’ll Gain By the End:

- A structured, professional approach to strategy conversations

- Practical tools to advise, challenge, and align leadership thinking

- Confidence in using proven frameworks with flexibility, not rigidity

- The ability to lead discussions that turn analysis into action

- Real-world practice through simulated scenarios