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Future Check makes companies fit for the future
August 31, 2018
The new consulting format of the WU Executive Academy
Disruption, digitization, transformation: With the newly developed Future Check, the WU Executive Academy now offers companies an innovative consulting format that takes a holistic look at the structure, culture and strategy of a company in order to make it fit for the challenges of the future. The Future Check makes it possible to identify organizational imbalances immediately and to derive tailor-made recommendations for immediate implementation.
In times of uninterrupted change and drastic disruptions that endanger one's own business, many companies find themselves in a similar situation: they have to turn on countless screws at the same time, old structures have to be broken open and new ones built. Sometimes it becomes difficult to keep a clear view of the big picture and to focus on the essentials in corporate management. But when so much is considered essential in the transforming day-to-day business, a structured view from outside is key.
Consulting tool with recommendations for immediate implementation
With the Future Check, experts from the WU Executive Academy have developed an innovative consulting format that takes a holistic view of the structure, culture, and strategy of the respective company, reveals organizational imbalances, and derives tailored recommendations for immediate implementation.
Helga Pattart-Drexler, Head of Executive Education at WU Executive Academy, and her team designed the Future Check together with experts from WU. "Our new consulting tool consists of an analysis of the company's strategy, structure and culture," explains Helga Pattart-Drexler. "It is essential that these three areas are in balance in order to create the basis for something new." Often companies would pay particular attention to the strategy, but forget about the corporate culture or the structure. "Change can ultimately fail because the structure and cultural aspects have not been taken into account or changed accordingly," says Pattart-Drexler.
Thomas Gebhard, Senior Manager of the consulting firm Dr. Nagler & Company, which advises banks and insurance companies in Germany and Austria on market data and risk management, has already tried out the Future Check:
Thomas Gebhard
- Senior Manager
- Dr. Nagler & Company
We have taken a critical look at our own development areas and examined them in detail and sharpened them. The result has shown us that there is still a lot to do to keep up with the rapid changes in the market: We have defined and prioritized specific subject areas and distributed internal responsibilities for the individual projects. The Future Check was a great opportunity to take the time for strategic questions and to get an external perspective through the support of the WU Executive Academy.
Holistic view of structure, culture and strategy
The Future Check enables companies to systematically illuminate three central areas:
Strategy: At the beginning, the participants work out a common understanding of vision, goals and measures with the experts of the WU Executive Academy. Smart sub-goals lead to the overall strategy. The focus here is on a broad management discussion in which it is important to pull together and create the framework conditions for successful implementation.
Structure: In the next step, they check the most important workflows and decision-making processes for their congruence with the strategy, analyze them with regard to efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility and optimize them accordingly. "The aim here is to adjust structural conditions with regard to new strategies in order to change them if necessary. Reducing complexity is the magic word. An organization does not become more agile or innovative just because they have strategically agreed on it," says Pattart-Drexler.
Culture: In order to understand the special significance of cultural aspects in a company, the third part deals not only with values, norms, beliefs and attitudes, but also with leadership and communication principles. Identity, individuality and personality are taken into consideration as well as willingness to change, tradition and learning within the organization.
"In many companies we see clearly that there is a tremendous need for information and discussion when it comes to bringing change into the overall organization and above all to making it feasible," adds Pattart-Drexler. "This is where the Future Check can provide excellent service."
Are you interested in making your company fit for the future? Arrange a consultation with our Executive Education experts!