SCM3: Business Acumen and Strategy (Melbourne)

Lead with insight, steer with strategy.

Course description:

This one-day Strategic Communication Management (SCM) course focuses on the intersection of communication and business strategy, preparing you to lead with confidence at the highest levels. From financial literacy to strategic decision-making, you’ll acquire the skills to integrate communication seamlessly into broader business objectives, ensuring your voice is a critical part of the leadership conversation.

Gain the business acumen needed to navigate complex organisational landscapes and make informed strategic decisions. 

What to expect:

• Evolve and sharpen your strategies to thrive in complex and ever-changing stakeholder environments.
• Deepen your understanding of your leadership style and leverage it to forge powerful, influential relationships.
• Boost your emotional intelligence and coaching abilities, enabling you to navigate tough conversations with confidence and finesse.
• Hone your listening and questioning skills to offer valuable, insightful counsel at the highest levels.
• Use diverse influencing techniques and embrace multiple perspectives to establish yourself as a respected strategic advisor and essential business partner.

Who should attend:

This course is perfect for experienced communication professionals in senior positions who are looking to enhance their expertise in strategic communication and seamlessly integrate it with broader business strategies.

Career level: Strategic Advisor, Business Leader

Course outline:

Exploring strategy

• Understanding business strategy and how communication strategy fits
• Navigating a strategic planning process
• Examples of good strategy

Measuring strategy and applying business acumen

• Research and analysis as part of the strategy process
• Applying the right measures to your strategy
• Budgeting and basic financial planning
• Demonstrating ROI

Getting your stakeholders onboard

• How trusted are you?
• Explore change and stakeholder management, the lessons to learn
• Influencing and coaching through your strategy
• Implement, embed and monitor your strategy

Putting it all into practice 

• Build your strategy
• Develop a rollout plan

About the trainer

Adrian Cropley OAM, FRSA, IABC Fellow, SCMP, GCSCE

Founding Partner, Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence 

A certified strategic communication management professional and past global chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Adrian Cropley is widely recognised as one of the world’s foremost experts in strategic communication. He is the founder of the Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence and CEO at Cropley Communication. 

With a career spanning over 30 years, Adrian has worked with clients all over the world, including Fortune 500 companies, on major change communication initiatives, internal communication reviews and strategies, professional development programs, and executive leadership and coaching. Adrian pioneered the Melcrum Internal Communication Black Belt program in Asia-Pacific and is a sought-after facilitator, speaker and thought leader.

In 2018 Adrian was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the community and the advancement of the communication profession in Australia. He was named an IABC Fellow in 2020. Adrian is a member of the Program Advisory Committee for RMIT’s School of Media and Communication. 

Sia Papageorgiou FRSA, FCSCE, SCMP

Managing Partner, Centre for Strategic Communication Excellence

Armed with an impressive collection of more than 50 awards for strategic communication excellence and leadership, Sia Papageorgiou is dedicated to elevating the value and visibility of communication professionals, empowering them to become trusted, strategic, and in-demand advisors. 

She is a certified strategic communication management professional (SCMP), a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, and past president of the Victorian chapter of the IABC. She’s also a former board director at IABC Asia-Pacific and past chair of the Global Communication Certification Council. In 2021, IABC Asia-Pacific named Sia Communicator of the Year and in 2022 she was awarded the prestigious IABC Rae Hamlin Award in recognition of her exemplary service in advocating the Global Standard of the Communication Profession and evangelising the power and possibility of communication.

The GovComms Institute, a global platform for government communication professionals, named Sia, “one of the superstars of the communication profession.” With every initiative she leads, every team she trains, and every professional she coaches, Sia continues to set the gold standard for strategic communication excellence, inspiring others to reach their highest potential.