Business Acumen - Strategic Planning Fundamentals
This 2-day programme equips Management Trainees with the core concepts, tools, and practical thinking skills required to understand how organisations set direction, make strategic choices, and translate plans into measurable action.
The programme is designed for the ELITE Management Trainee Programme, where participants are expected to strengthen business exposure, workplace effectiveness, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, adaptability, and readiness for future leadership responsibilities. The course focuses on practical strategy formulation, business environment analysis, strategic issue diagnosis, execution planning, and performance alignment.
Participants will work with realistic business scenarios, group discussions, case analysis, and a mini strategic planning challenge to strengthen their ability to think beyond daily tasks and contribute to business-level conversations.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
a) Explain the purpose, structure, and value of strategic planning in supporting organisational direction and business performance.
b) Apply basic strategic planning tools such as SWOT, PESTLE, stakeholder analysis, strategic issue mapping, and priority setting.
c) Analyse internal and external business factors to identify strategic gaps, risks, opportunities, and improvement priorities.
d) Translate strategic direction into practical action plans with clear initiatives, ownership, timelines, and success indicators.
e) Present a simple strategic plan using clear business logic, structured communication, and evidence-based recommendations.
Course Details
Trainer
Industries: Banking, IT, Supply Chain, Plantation, and Healthcare
Dr. Khairul Anuar Abdullah is a Professional Learning Facilitator and Executive Coach. He brings over 35 years of diverse leadership experience, having held senior executive roles in management consulting, investment banking, and corporate finance and operations across publicly listed companies. His strategic acumen and operational insight are shaped by his time as CEO, CFO, and Project Director - roles in which he consistently delivered measurable value and transformational outcomes.
Dr. Khairul holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University, UK, and earned his PhD from the University of Newcastle, Australia. Professionally, he is credentialed as a Neuro-Semantics-NLP Licensed Trainer and Certified Meta-Coach (ISNS, US), Certified Coach of Design Thinking (Genovasi Malaysia), Certified Trainer of Emotional Intelligence (SixSeconds), and Certified Virtual Facilitator (neOOne & DRB-Hicom University). He is also an HRDC Accredited Trainer and actively contributes to academia as a master’s level lecturer and external doctorate examiner at multiple Malaysian universities.
Dr. Khairul’s facilitation style is grounded in both theory and real-world application. His programmes are designed to build business acumen, cultivate visionary leadership, foster innovation through design thinking, strengthen problem-solving capabilities, and embed a culture of operational excellence and risk management. His ability to engage participants meaningfully, challenge their thinking, and inspire transformation consistently earns him exceptional ratings from clients and participants alike.
In every engagement, Dr. Khairul partners with organisations to unlock human potential, align talent with strategy, and foster learning cultures that drive sustained performance. His work goes beyond delivering content - it is about enabling growth, instilling the right mindset, and preparing today’s managers to become tomorrow’s leaders.
Dr. Khairul is currently the Honorary Treasurer of the Malaysian Nature Society and the Chairman of the Institute of Neuro-Semantics Malaysia. He is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Bukit Kiara Sunrise and served as a member of the Rotary District 3310’s Learning and Development team for 2024/25.
Evaluation Summary
Evaluations are collected through private QR links shared by trainers after actual training sessions.