Managing Publishing Strategy

This is an introduction to crucial competitive strategic thinking for print or digital publishers. If you are charged with maximising the success of a list or market segment and competing effectively, this course is for you.

In two intensive days you will learn how to:

• be clear about your overarching goals and those of the organisation you work in
• analyse the opportunities and competitive environment in your market
• identify the important strengths of your organisation
• generate strategic options and choose the most successful
• create financial plans which tell the strategic story
• plan for an uncertain future
• communicate your plans concisely and effectively.

The input will come from business school models to help structure your thinking, combined with real-world experience of successful (and unsuccessful) strategic approaches from the publishing industry.

Amongst other models and theories, we will look at:

• distinctive capabilities
• resource-based and market-based approaches to strategy
• internal and external analysis
• Porter's generic strategies
• marketing warfare
• differential advantage analysis
• the Boston Matrix
• risk management
• scenario planning
• Ansoff's Matrix.

By the end of the course, you will have learned a wide range of approaches to strategy and have practical guidelines for choosing those which will help you to address your own key strategic issues most effectively.

The teaching approach is a stimulating combination of presentations, practical exercises and discussion sessions, with the emphasis on delegate interaction and application to your own strategic questions. You will leave with a wealth of new ideas and the confidence to take your products - and your career - to the next level.

Programme

Day One

• The strategy process
• Market and competitor analysis
• Creating competitive advantage
• Generating strategic options

Day Two

• More strategic options
• Financial modelling
• Dealing with uncertainty
• Risk analysis
• Strategic evaluation

Who will benefit from this course?

Publishers, commissioning editors, publishing managers and anyone else responsible for publishing strategy within educational, academic, professional or trade publishing. You will gain most benefit from this course if you are already confident with the basics of commissioning – those who are newer to this level of responsibility might benefit from first taking Commissioning and List Management.

Your tutor

Kay Symons has 30 years' experience with some of the foremost educational publishers in the UK. She worked at Heinemann for 20 years, as publishing director and MD of Heinemann Secondary and Vocational during a period of huge success from 1997-2004. After a completing an international executive MBA programme at Henley Management College, she fulfilled a number of roles working on strategic projects, as a Marketing Director and as Harcourt's first Customer Focus Director. She is now a publishing consultant and popular trainer.

We also offerJournals Management,Managing Digital Projects and, for relatively new commissioning editors,Commissioning and List Management.

Note that most of our short courses can also be run as in-company events.