Strategic planning for professional service firms in the time of COVID-19

Strategic planning is a fundamental process used to drive business success. While organisations always need to navigate and plan for challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has shattered stability and continuity and upended both social norms and ways of doing business – creating a “new normal”. Prior to the pandemic, professional service firms (such as lawyers, accountants, management and technology consultants, architecture, engineering, among others) were already facing technology disruption, new business models and new ways of working, increased competition, globalisation and changing client demands.

COVID-19 has further accelerated change and professional service firms need to prepare for the “new normal” by evaluating opportunities and risks in increasingly complex and challenging markets. Business decision-makers need to make informed (and sometimes difficult) strategic choices, including setting clear strategic objectives against which to execute.

This course covers foundational elements around strategy mindset and the strategic planning process for professional service firms. In the course, learners will consider current challenges professional service firms are facing. The adage, ‘If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” remains as relevant as ever during this time.