6/12/2025, 02:00 PM – 3:00 PM CDT REGISTER NOW
Description: This course explores how architects, designers, and other professionals can apply strategic planning to navigate ongoing disruptions in business and project environments. Originally developed during the pre-COVID-19 era, the content has been reframed for a post-pandemic world characterized by continuous change—economic volatility, shifting customer expectations, workforce uncertainty, and digital acceleration.
Participants will revisit timeless business fundamentals while learning how to use strategy as a practical, adaptable tool for decision-making, positioning, and client engagement. Through real-world examples, strategic models, and guided reflection, attendees will leave with actionable insights to help them lead projects and organizations with clarity and confidence—even when conditions are uncertain.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Define the core principles of strategic planning and explain why they remain relevant in a post-pandemic, high-disruption business environment.
- Identify common sources of disruption in modern professional practice and evaluate how strategy helps professionals respond proactively rather than reactively.
- Differentiate between key strategic approaches—defensive, offensive, flanking, and guerrilla—and determine which apply best in various project or market conditions.
- Apply foundational business questions to assess internal positioning, customer engagement, and long-term planning.
- Reflect on past business challenges and articulate how a strategic mindset might reshape future decisions, improve adaptability, and reinforce leadership.
How Taught: The CES facilitator utilizes a PowerPoint presentation to provide an in-depth overview for how to differentiate your services. It will be an interactive session that encourages feedback and questions. The program ends with real solutions to effectively put strategies into place.
Target Audience: Architects, specifiers, interior designers and other design professionals. This program is basic and meets the needs of professionals at every experience level.
Facilitator Qualifications: Interline facilitator(s) have been trained on CES guidelines and presentation skills. In addition, they receive in-depth training in the field. They are our industry experts.
Instructor Bio: Jim Nowakowski has been involved in marketing and marketing communications for over 20 years. Prior to working at Interline, he served in a variety of positions in ad/PR agencies, including Creative Director, Account Supervisor and Copywriter. He also worked as a reporter for newspapers and taught English for a number of years before entering the advertising profession. His current work for both advertisers and publishers in advertising focuses on understanding communications and purchasing patterns in business-to-business. Besides industrial publications, he has worked for publishers in building construction, automotive and healthcare markets, including developing marketing communications programs, conducting in-depth market research and building customer inquiry database systems. Jim has an M.A. from DePaul University, Chicago, and a B.A. from Lewis University, Lockport, Illinois.
Costs: There is no cost for this webinar.