Programs

OUT OF THE OFFICE & INTO THE MARKET PLACE

How does your corporate strategy cope with the rapid shifts in demand and preference that new demographics require?

Who within your business is responsible for connecting changes in consumer behaviour to a fast, dynamic response that maximises performance and profits?

Does your business have an effective process to capture observations about change and act on them in a timely manner that makes a real difference to the organisation?

About the Program
The Leadership Consortium, Australia’s foremost business based leadership organisation, and FutureBrand Melbourne, the local arm of the highly-successful global branding organisation, have worked together to develop an innovative, future-oriented workshop for leaders in Australian corporations who are called on to respond to the questions above.

Today’s retail environment is a heady mix of the virtual and physical. Local labels compete with global brands; instant success stories thrive alongside long-standing monoliths.

The culture and practice of the retail marketplace – the sharp end of corporate activity – is daily transformed by new business models, products and services

We are seeing extreme demands and rapid shifts in consumer demographics, alongside the emergence of highly-selective, cashed-up individuals that were not recognisable a decade ago. How leaders can help their organisations capture the emerging opportunities presented by this changing environment will be the key determinant of organisational success in the 21st century.

Winning organisations find effective ways to understand and create value from change. While many aspects of leadership involve focusing inside the organisation, all leaders play a vital role in equipping their enterprise for the future by creating an outward-looking culture in which change is an opportunity, not a threat.

What’s the proposition for participants and their organisations?
The proposition of this program is that organisations will build profits and performance by improving their knowledge of external changes in consumer expectations.

Attendees will be better equipped to observe and analyse how the drivers of change are affecting the market environment. The program will deliver insights and techniques that enable participants to build effective responses to shifting patterns in choice and purchasing.

Target audience
Senior line managers responsible for marketing, communications and/or innovation, and Senior HR Managers who are concerned with people and culture in the organisation.

Ideally, two senior managers from each organisation would attend to encourage effective internal dialogue and dissemination of the information.

Program leaders
Out of the Office and into the Marketplace is a purpose-designed program that brings together some of Australia’s leading retail entrepreneurs, researchers and brand commentators. Speakers include:

		Verity Byth is joint director of the national Centre for Customer Strategy. Verity is a widely respected business strategist with a background in retailing, consumer research and management consulting. Her practical experience covers a range of industries from airlines and banking to energy. At the Centre for Customer Strategy, Byth specialises in project design and implementation, consumer research and knowledge transfer for clients including NAB, David Jones, Moet-Hennessy, Yahoo! and retail property developers such as AMP.
		Tim Riches is Managing Director of FutureBrand Melbourne, the Australian arm of one of the most influential global branding and marketing organisations. A lawyer and corporate philosopher with postgraduate qualifications in business and marketing, Tim is in high demand for his insights into consumer behaviour and the relationship between brand and innovation. He has worked extensively with Austrade, Ernst & Young, Kraft, Henry Jones Foods (IXL), Baulderstone Hornibrook, Transurban, Cricket Australia, ANZ, National Australia Bank, Optus, Volkswagen, Deakin University, University of Wollongong, Crown, Origin Energy & BHP Billiton, to name a few.
		Professor Roger Simpson is Director of the Design Centre at Swinburne University. Roger is recognised internationally as an authority on design analysis and as an award-winning designer of consumer durable products, brand and visual identity programs, marketing communications/collateral, packaging, architectural graphics/signage systems, retail presentation, modular merchandising systems, exhibitions, and e-business web sites. Roger has a variety of experience in the business side of retail and branding, with extensive and unique Australian and overseas experience in Asia, Europe, and the Americas
		Christopher Bell is CEO of The Leadership Consortium. Christopher is one of the nation’s most knowledgeable and astute observers of business trends, particularly leadership-related issues which are just beginning to emerge on the corporate radar. For the past five years he has led the design team that has seen The Consortium develop and deliver to members, a range of leadingedge executive development programs and initiatives.

Return on investment
For individuals, this program will build the capability to:

		identify changing external patterns in customer behaviour;
		develop strategies for bringing information on changing patterns into their organisations for maximum impact;
		understand their own observational and response skills, and the critical elements they need to improve their leadership capacity.

For the organisation:

		a cadre of leaders with insight and foresight into retail changes;
		intimate knowledge of developing trends in customer behaviour, with specific emphasis on demographics and cultural groups;
		enhanced internal capacity for change and adaptation to shifts in customer needs and expectations;.
		enhanced ability to respond with innovative solutions in critical business situations..

Program development
This program is a joint activity of The Leadership Consortium and FutureBrand Melbourne.

The Leadership Consortium is a member-driven organisation that exists to give its members, and through them, the wider Australian business community, the ultimate competitive edge – a leadership capability that is second to none. The Consortium is a not-for-profit organisation that designs and delivers executive development programs; brings the finest international speakers to Australia; and provides access to the best and brightest of Australia’s contemporary business leaders.

FutureBrand Melbourne is the local office of a global, future oriented, branding organisation with powerful connections to some of the most innovative and forward-looking brands in international commerce. Through research, analysis and creativity, FutureBrand specialises in navigating, for clients, the challenging terrain of goods, services and consumer groups that is a part of our shared economic future.

Investment
$880 (inc. GST) per person

Dates and Venues for 2006
Date : 9 May 2006
Nominations : close 6 April
Venue : Quay West Suites Melbourne, 26 Southgate Ave, Southbank 3006

Program activities
Out of the Office and into the Marketplace gives participants a fully-integrated and easily applied learning framework that includes:

		pre-workshop diagnostic that helps participants identify their organisation’s capacity to observe, analyse and learn from customer behaviour in ways that add value to key delivery processes;
		office to marketplace – a challenging and fun intervention that encourages participants to test their observational strategies, identify critical differentiating factors in service delivery and choice, and better understand the needs of new demographic groups;
		structured post-event activities that will help participants make use of the material in their own work situations.

This full-day program on Tuesday 9 May 2006, combines field research, analysis and response planning in a fast and diversified event that will challenge and inform participants.

Part 1 – A Conversation: the implications of leadership in light of changing customer behaviour.

		Leadership today: transforming learning into action – making meaning of changes in customer behaviour and responses, identifying shifts in brand perception and decision-making, leadership as the link enabling fast, customer-responsive action;
		Observing changing consumer behaviour: the principles of observation – identifying changes in this most important factor in the market environment, consumer behaviour, and staying in touch with the real world dynamics that drive future demand;
		Responding to changing consumer behaviour: the principles of response – tapping into new drivers of demand, linking consumer behaviour, corporate competencies and brand equity to create future business value, linking capabilities in product development, distribution and service in more innovative and agile ways.

>> Lunch <<

Part 2 - Panel discussion involving all presenters moderated by Christopher Bell.

		Review of the traditional model of leadership and, in light of the morning discussion, assembling a profile of a new leader and a template for an action plan as an output for participants;
		Identify required strategic and operational changes and assess the requisite capabilities to drive your organisation forward;
		Connect differently, more accurately, to functions within your organisation that affect customer decisions, so as to deliver improved bottom line performance.

Contact for Out of the Office bookings and enquiries

David Osborne Program Logistics Manager The Leadership Consortium email: dosborne@au1.ibm.com phone: +61 3 9626 6602