Welcome to a New One-Year General Manager Learning Journey!
Join our Four 2-Day Modules in Shanghai starting in 2025
A slowing economy, fierce competition, and fast, disruptive change are posing unprecedented challenges to MNCs in China. Resilient, agile, and innovative enterprises can survive in this fiercely contested market - companies led by corporate entrepreneurs who understand customers well, read market trends, are adaptive, creative and know how to build high-performance teams that excel under pressure. As the business environment gets more uncertain and tougher company leaders must increase their involvement in business development, especially in China where senior managers often have more access to key decision makers. Strategic foresight, cognitive flexibility and openness to new opportunities are key. These challenges also call for new answers to leadership development.
That’s why we invite you to our third ‘Corporate Entrepreneurship in China’ program:
Delivered in a group coaching format it is flexible, highly user-focused, and practical. It provides you with just the right environment to engage in open interactions with coaches and peers and envision future developments.
Target Group
Join this INNOVA-tive one-year program and become part of the group of up to 6 leaders who see themselves as corporate entrepreneurs. Designed for general managers of mid-sized foreign-invested enterprises in China, the program integrates the perspectives of business leaders both from Asian and foreign origins.
What you can expect:
- A small group of senior international leaders working for MNCs in China
- Ongoing process of peer-to-peer consultation – participants present their strategic projects and challenges and receive input and feedback from peers and facilitators
An inspiring group learning environment
- Content flexibly adapted to the needs of participants
- Case studies from and for China
- A team of facilitators with decades of China and international experience as executive coaches
- The right dose of conceptual input
- Networking opportunities with peers in between the program modules
Methodology
The program stands out for its unique integration of case work on individual business or leadership challenges, reflection, discussion, and case- and experience-sharing. It is the participants who decide which cases or topics are discussed while the coaches give feedback, share insights and experiences, provide the framework and facilitation, give input for inspiration, and ensure that most of the space is reserved for interaction among participants. The open process of the program gives ample space for exchange and dialogue.
Benefits for Participants
At the end of this process participants have
reflected their role, their impact and the leadership challenges ahead of them
identified development areas and strategies how to take their leadership capabilities and their organizations to the next level
received input, feedback and coaching on their leadership projects and cases
borrowed from the experience of fellow executives
discussed leadership and business challenges within a group of peers.
Content & Objectives
The four 2-day-modules and main topics are:
- The GM‘s Personality - My Role, Profile & Vision
- Business Development in today’s China
- Corporate Entrepreneurship, Organizational Development and Change
- Creating the Future
Module 1:
The GM‘s Personality - My Role, Profile & Vision
Zooming out. Times of high uncertainty require adaptive leadership which is why leaders from time to time take a step back to develop a bigger perspective. Impact: deep understanding of own role as leaders and corporate entrepreneurs and their influence.
Topics:
- First Impressions, Topics, Questions and Projects
- Values, Drivers, and Aspirations, Taking Stock as a Leader
- Personal Role Map and Networks
- Crafting a Vision
Leadership in a Global VUCA Environment
- Personal POWER Sources
We set the scene for what is the essence of this program: openness, sharing and supporting each other so participants have an opportunity to receive valuable feedback from peers and coaches.
Module 2:
Business Development in today’s China
Business development in perspective. In difficult times corporate entrepreneurs increase their efforts in business development and create new approaches. Greater strategic vision enables participants’ clarity on what to do next... and how to achieve desirable outcomes. Impact: participants learn from each other and get fresh ideas how to protect and grow their business in China.
Topics:
- Business Development - Taking Stock, my strategies for the future
- business strategy,
- identifying opportunities,
- reaching out to customers, marketing initiatives.
- Best Business Practices Examples
Participants introduce their cases and discuss the challenges they face with peers which gives them the opportunity to receive valuable feedback from peers and coaches (no competitors in peer group).
Module 3:
Corporate Entrepreneurship, Organizational Development and Change
Only the fittest will survive in the fiercely contested Chinese market. Participants discuss the challenges they face in OD and how they can take their organization to the next level. Impact: case discussions and feedback from peers and coaches will help attendees to reflect their leadership challenges, steer change initiatives, develop high performing teams and adaptive, innovative organizations.
Topics:
- Developing high performing organizations
- The total motivation concept
- Successful change
- Adaptive leadership
Module 4:
Creating the Future
Enterprises must be prepared for the worst while aiming to achieve the best possible outcome.
Participants develop contingency plans and worst- / best-case scenarios for their companies, and design strategy maps describing the path towards future success. Impact: participants reach a high level of strategic clarity on what might be ahead and how to respond to different possible developments including crises.
Topics:
- Scenario planning
- Strategic dialogue
- Strategic decision-making
- Business practices, examples
Feedbacks from Participants:
"It was a true enrichment. The selected topics are exactly tailored to the needs of international managers with an entrepreneurial mindset who want to achieve success in the very dynamic and uncertain business environment of China. I enjoyed a lot the fruitful exchange with experienced coaches and managers coming from diverse backgrounds."
Rixin Zhang, GM at Vector Automotive Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
"I’d like to point out a few values which I personally took home: Getting inspiration on how to bring our organizations to the next level. Practicing new methods in strategy design which proved to be directly applicable. Receiving feedback to further develop our leadership styles. Getting fresh insights into potential pitfalls in group decision making and the many discussions we had among a small group of participants who collaborated and supported each other in a very engaging way."
Sven Ammer, CEO Asia / MD Boellhoff (Wuxi) Fastenings Co., Ltd.
"The General Manager-Program 'Corporate Entrepreneurship in China', is a great coaching and learning journey I joined in 2019/20. Laurenz and Gerald, the coaches, give you great ideas and guidance how to improve yourself and your organization. You also get real business life insights from other leaders facing similar challenges. Since it is spread over one year the program provides ample opportunities for practical application of tools and approaches and progress review with coaches and peers. I can only highly recommend this program. It has helped me and my company a lot when it came to successfully navigating through the COVID-19 crisis."
Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Hornfischer, GM & MD Operations at E.G.O. Components (China) Co., Ltd.
The Program Facilitators
This is the third time Dr Gerald Renger and Dr Laurenz Awater run this program together. They are experienced in creating an open und trustful atmosphere and a learning environment ideal for peer and group coaching.
Dr Laurenz Awater
Dr Laurenz Awater is a people and organizational development expert with more than 20 years of China experience. As founder and managing director of the INNOVA Management Institute (Shanghai) Laurenz has been supporting China-based operations of MNCs since 2003, mostly mid-sized enterprises from the industrial sector. Over the years he has worked for more than 200 multinational clients and trained and coached hundreds of managers in leadership, cross-cultural management, and strategy development. Besides his background in economics and cultural studies Laurenz has qualifications in individual psychology and executive coaching.
Dr Gerald Renger
Dr.-Ing. Gerald Renger has 30 years of experience as coach, consultant and trainer in international change and leadership across Asia, Europe, and the US. His clients include major global companies such as Daimler, VW, BMW, Heidelberger Druck, Heraeus, Porsche, Lufthansa, Atlas, Duerr, Rolls-Royce, Infineon, J. Wagner GmbH and Group, SW Machines Asia, and more. As executive coach he co-authored and facilitated the Hernstein General Manager Program of the Vienna Hernstein Management Institute which along with the Management School St. Gallen is a leading partner for executives in Europe. Since 2014 he has been collaborating with the INNOVA Management Institute and worked as executive coach and MD of deloop.asia.
