Second Stage develops and delivers focused, custom, individualized learning programs designed for your business, for your learning style, to help you (and your staff) deal with the specific challenges faced by your business. It all happens at your location, on your schedule.
Second Stage develops learning programs for individual executives or for management staff.
In either case, the learning program will be developed and taught by someone who has been through one of the best MBA programs in the world, who has deep practical experience in managing and leading companies, and who has years of experience teaching at some of the country's best universities.
Below is a sample of a comprehensive learning program designed for the senior excutives at a New York communications company. The program is very modular, however, and clients can take just one module or any combination that meets their needs.
Curriculum
The curriculum is organized around the following key business disciplines:
Accounting
Finance
Managerial Economics
Human Resources
Management
Strategy
Leadership
As a result of going through the learning program, the company's executives are now able to handle the following business problems and challenges on their own:
Accounting
Does the company's chart of accounts adequately capture financial risks, liabilities and assets?
Does the company's chart of accounts support the financial analysis detail needed to manage a growing enterprise?
Is there a transparent "cross-walk" between the company's chart of accounts and business performance data?
Are there any international accounting issues that the company's clients are facing that could impact their strategy, operations or the markets they operate in?
Finance
What are the differing investment and financing requirements for organic vs. acquisition growth strategies?
How should the company's financial management and controls be upgraded in order to support efficient growth?
What investment and financing analysis tools are needed for making strategic financial decisions?
What tools need to be developed to adequately analyze potential mergers and acquisitions?
How do the availability of capital, liquidity issues or currency exchange risk impact the company's clients?
How do financial factors affect manufacturing and distribution decisions such as plant location, outsourcing and retail models for the company's clients?
Managerial Economics
Is the company's current pricing methodology sufficiently robust and disciplined for maximizing revenues?
What pricing models are appropriate for supporting revenue growth?
Is it possible to forecast demand for the company's services and quantify sales drivers?
Can an economic model of the company be developed to aid in strategic decision-making?
How do national economies and markets affect product and pricing decisions for multinational firms?
Human Resources
Is the current compensation plan aligned with business expansion?
Is the company well-positioned to attract and retain superior talent?
What challenges is the company likely to encounter in competing for talent as it grows?
How are the company's clients likely to be affected by changes in the workforce (age, education, ethnicity, wage rates)?
Management
What organizational structure is best suited for supporting significant revenue and staff growth?
What staffing levels, infrastructure and vendor relationships work best for a dramatically larger firm?
How can the company's current culture and values be preserved as the company grows?
How adequate is the current planning process?
What are the proper metrics (key performance measures, or KPIs) to use in measuring strategic progress?
What should the sales organization look like in order to support growth? Is the current sales model adequate? If not, what is the best sales model?
Is the current sales management process likely to promote revenue growth, and if not, how should it be changed?
How is the evolution toward flatter, less-hierarchical, more team-based and collaborative management strategies likely to affect the company's clients?
Strategy
Is the strategic objective of growing company revenues ten-fold a realistic, practical objective? What will it take to achieve that objective?
What are the company's existing competitive strengths, and are those sufficient for growth? What competitive weaknesses need to be remediated in order to achieve growth?
What should be the relative growth contribution of each of the company's business segments? Do segments need to be added or removed as target markets?
What relative growth contribution should the company's individual divisions make?
Which economic, business, social, technology and cultural trends should the company leverage for growth?
To what extent should strategic partnerships and alliances play a role in achieving the company's strategic objectives?
What strategies are the company's clients pursuing to succeed in the long-term?
What are the opportunities for the company to play a strategic role in the success of its clients?
Leadership
What leadership challenges are likely to emerge as the company grows?
Which leadership styles are best suited for supporting business growth?
How will the current leadership team need to expand and/or adjust in order to support revenue growth?
