NFPA Executive Leadership Program Conducts Second Session at Kellogg

The NFPA Executive Leadership Program is an in-depth and interactive program that helps emerging leaders in the fluid power industry develop their network and advance their management and leadership skills through tailored content. Its sessions are presented in collaboration with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, with Kellogg faculty helping to curate interactions among program participations.

A third cohort of scholars are now engaging in this program, with their second in-person session just completed in October 2024 at Kellogg on the campus of Northwestern University. The session’s focus was on Strategy and Execution, with the participants engaging in lecture, discussion, and case study explorations.

Strategic Frameworks – Professor Matt Ranen

A strategy is an explicit set of decisions regarding where we compete, how best to win, and what distinct capabilities and resources (i.e., people, capital, intellectual property, relationships, assets) will most enable success. It also includes understanding what we are willing to forgo or not do to focus more on what’s important. A good strategic process involves using excellent judgment to make these decisions with agility, flexibility, and foresight as conditions change and opportunities arise. However, without sufficient stability, strategy can be mercurial and erratic. Finding the right balance is the daunting role of senior leadership. In this active, experiential session, program participants:

• Gained an understanding of the strategic choice cascade framework for business success.
• Identified ways to answer the fundamental strategic questions.
• Learned how strategy informs more specific planning decisions.
• Committed to using the strategic tool kit to view their respective businesses.

Removing the Friction from Strategy Execution – Professor Loran Nordgren

The strategy establishes the playing field, and execution makes the plays. Understanding the restraints and removing the sources of friction in implementing a plan is essential to winning the game. Having a behavior design that addresses and overcomes the resistance strategy execution can mean life or death for strategic innovation. In this case-based session, program participants:

• Gained an understanding of the friction that impedes strategy implementation.
• Added to their toolkit for accelerating strategic innovation.
• Used tools and frameworks in a case to make a crucial operations decision.
• Identified how they will use these tools in their respective businesses.

This is a high-impact leadership development program, where each participant is using a customized leadership competency assessment to guide their progress through each session, and paired up with a learning partner to help ensure accountability and action between each set of sessions. The remaining four sessions for this cohort are:

Dec 2024 – Strategic Negotiation

Feb 2025 – Cultivating Culture, Values and Virtues

Apr 2025 – Presentations with Presence

Jun 2025 – Leading Under Pressure

Plans are already underway for a fourth cohort – scheduled to begin in August 2025. Now is the time to reserve a spot for your up-and-coming professional in this unique and impactful program. Contact Eric Lanke at elanke@nfpa.com for more information.