Established in 1948, Akbank is one of Turkey’s largest banks with assets over US$ 60bn, over 10,000 employees and nearly 800 branches.
GBRW was retained to develop and deliver a two-day training course for staff of Akbank’s Strategic Planning department, focusing on key themes within the strategic management process. The course provided participants with rigorous evidence-based methodologies for strategic planning, while also encouraging “outside the box” creative thinking to conceive market-beating and innovative approaches.
It focused on the tools and techniques commonly used to promote and support strategic thinking, to encourage consistent, logical, and comprehensive analytical processes, and to aid the clear presentation and dissemination of ideas. The course also covered some of the disciplines of change management, and the methodologies that can be applied to help deliver strategic change quickly and painlessly.
Throughout the two-day programme participants were encouraged to try out some of the tools and techniques being discussed. Using a series of case studies and exercises, with a focus on group participation, there was an opportunity to examine specific strategic innovations – e.g. in channel management and distribution – and to consider some of the opportunities and challenges currently facing the banking sector, in Turkey and globally.
Deliverables included:
Developed training materials, including PowerPoint presentations, case studies, and exercises.
Delivered a two-day training workshops in Istanbul for 13 managers in the Strategic Planning department.
The course curriculum covered:
– Strategy and Strategic Management in Banks
– Thinking, Problem Analysis, and Presentation Tools
– The Situation Analysis Toolkit
– Developing Strategic Options
– Building a Market-Beating Strategy
– Delivering Strategic Change and Innovation
