Webinar | Think big, act small

EPISODE 5: Think big, act small. A series of six webinars enabling you to reposition, reskill and reshape your organisation, for business success right now, and for future agility.

Over 150 people joined us for the fifth webinar in our series exploring how to future-proof your organisation post-pandemic. In this webinar, Stephen Carver, one of experts in Programme and Project Management shared his perspectives and insights into the much-maligned world of project managers.

He highlighted that often organisations want the beneficial outcomes of change, but they don’t want the pain of changing to get there. He shared research data showing that those people involved in the creation of the changes are often given no development, or given the wrong type of development – focussing on skills/processes training rather than development of ability in people and conflict management. He noted that when projects go wrong, too frequently organisations will seek to blame the project manager rather than use the opportunity to take a hard look at their own systems and processes.

He shared several hints and tips, including how to deal with rule-breakers, and the importance of ring-fencing time for advance planning and simulated practice so that project managers understand their own physiological reactions to problems, thereby reducing the impact on their ability to think clearly. There was a lively discussion during the webinar, with attendees sharing their experiences of how the word “Agile” is often used as an excuse to cover up mistakes or legitimise “business as usual”.

Organisations have been forced to implement new ways of working in the current pandemic. Employees are having to rapidly adjust and learn new skills. Many organisations are finding their values and culture are becoming prominent in the public eye.

Many organisations are fighting to survive. Others are also grappling with the question “How can we learn from this experience and ensure that we, and our workforce emerge from Covid-19 better placed to respond to the next crisis?

McKinsey & Company wrote an insightful article which contained six pragmatic steps to help organisations address aspects of this question.

This prompted us to create a series of six interconnected one-hour webinars, each one of which resonates with one of the six McKinsey steps, and draws upon our faculty expertise and experience to help you ensure your organisation survives and thrives post-Covid 19.

Featuring expert faculty and partner organisations share their thinking and ideas in interactive sessions designed to support your journey through this pandemic and beyond.

Episode 1: Discovering your strategy for thriving in a the new world
Professor Andrey Pavlov, Cranfield School of Management
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Episode 2: Prospering post Covid-19 crisis: What leaders need to be and do
Paul Surridge, Principal Consultant, Mercuri Urval
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Episode 3: Delivering customised learning in today’s virtual world
David Deegan, Graham Bell, Dr Imran Zawwar, Cranfield Executive Development
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Episode 4: Innovation design thinking
Dr Imran Zawwar, Cranfield School of Management
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Episode 5: Think big, act small
Stephen Carver, Cranfield School of Management
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Episode 6: Business transformation: A story of emergence in a sea of ambiguity
Mark Threlfall, Cranfield School of Management
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