GRCA Executive Leadership Academy: Dynamic Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

GRCA Executive Leadership Academy: Dynamic Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage 
 
This course in the ELA series will unlock the mystery of strategic management, demonstrating how it can be effectively employed throughout the organization to build competitive advantage and create consistent high performance, leading to innovation and continuous improvement.   

Participants will examine how strategy formulation tools, coupled with comprehensive external and internal situational analyses lead to dynamic goals & objectives, and the strategies & tactics required to attain them.  This course will also address strategy implementation, as well as the strategic controls & metrics necessary to ensure progress toward goal attainment.
 
In this course, you will learn the following executive leadership skills.  How to:

• Apply the strategic management framework to identify sources of competitive advantage and innovation for your organization
• Address the three key questions of strategy formulation that lead to high performance and organizational success
• Develop meaningful strategic management tools within your organization to identify key opportunities to be exploited and threats to be mitigated
• Establish goals and objectives and the strategies and tactics to support them that will lead to a strong market position and continuous improvement
• Gain buy-in among multiple stakeholders to successfully implement strategies and achieve goals & objectives

ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
The Executive Leadership Academy is designed for experienced professionals seeking to boost organizational effectiveness and career growth. The Academy is comprised of 5 classes, taken in any order and at any time. Upon completion, graduates receive an Executive Leadership Academy diploma signifying mastery in the skills needed to propel today's organizations to high performance. The five classes include:

1. Effective Executive Leadership for High Performance
2. Leading Transformational Change & Optimizing Teamwork 
3. Dynamic Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage 
4. Financial Analysis for Executives - The Bottom Line
5. Capstone Project & Graduation Ceremony

ABOUT PROGRAM DESIGNER & FACILIATOR - Melissa Wells, M.B.A.

Melissa Wells is an award-winning educator, business leader, consultant, and entrepreneur with a track record of excellence in adult education, professional development and business leadership. She is currently a full-time faculty member of Albright College where she has chaired the accelerated Business Administration program for working adults for the past ten years. Her impressive career prior to Albright includes key roles in strategic planning, sales & marketing, and financial management with top firms like Meridian Bank and GE Capital.  In partnership with the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, Melissa has developed the Executive Leadership Academy (ELA), which provides professional development for current and emerging senior leaders.  

She also conducts professional development training for businesses, non-profits, and local government entities, and serves the community through hands-on nonprofit board work. She holds an MBA from LaSalle University and a BS in Business Administration from Albright College.  Melissa is renowned for her passion for people, which fuels her dedication to fostering an infectious culture of high-performance and teamwork through inspirational leadership. 

Areas of expertise:

• Strategic planning and strategic alliances

• Entrepreneurship and business plan development

• Leadership, corporate culture, organizational structure and change management

• Marketing strategy ? planning, implementation and control

• Sales, sales team leadership and strategic relationship management

• Human resource management and corporate training

• Project management, including implementation team leadership

• Profitability maximization, financial statement analysis, and small business structuring

• Strategic and tactical consulting services