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Overview
In a time of tumultuous change, where should leaders turn for guidance and direction as they lead their companies into the future? How might leaders better understand the environment in which their business functions? Strategic thinking and planning provide a template for seeing the world and building a forward-looking plan to move your company toward its vision and financial goals. An effective strategic business plan enables leaders to answer the core questions about organizational identity and direction. In this highly interactive session, you will learn how to build a strategic thinking mindset within yourself and your team, develop a strategic business plan that meets the challenges of tomorrow, and engage key stakeholders in translating the plan into your future success.
We’ll explore such topics as:
- What strategic business planning is and its essential components.
- The role that strategic planning plays in enabling long-term company success.
- The importance of strengthening a strategic thinking mindset at every level of your company.
- The four phases of the strategic planning process.
- Methods for creating a shared vision that inspires your leaders and your frontline employees.
- How to conduct PESTLE and SWOT analyses.
- How scenario planning fits into developing a strategic plan.
Registration for Spring 2026
Location: Grainger Hall, Wisconsin School of Business, UW-Madison
Date: April 14, 2026
Time: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Fee: WEDC and the Mainstreet Bounceback Program are covering the $289 cost of this webinar for operating, for-profit businesses under 500 employees. These businesses should register here:
Businesses <500 employees, Register for Spring 2026
Fee: We have a limited number of seats available for nonprofits, pre-venture (not yet started) businesses, and those participants from a company of over 500 employees thanks to the generosity of UW-Madison SBDC’s supporters. These organizations should use the link below to register.
Pre-Venture, Nonprofits, and Businesses >500 Employees, Register for Spring 2026
Registration Deadlines
| Registration type | Date | Fee |
| Earlybird | Earlybird closes: 3/24/2026 | Earlybird Registration Fee: $260.10 |
| Late Registration | Late Registration begins: 4/6/2026 | Late Registration Fee: $317.90 |
| Course registration closes | 4/13/2026 | — |
Registration Coming Soon for Businesses >500 Employees, Pre-venture, or Nonprofit
Cancellation Policy: Due to program costs and space limitations for these programs, participants are expected to cancel their registration at least 24 hours ahead of the program. Cancellations that occur less than 24 hours prior to the start of the program will be considered no-shows and may be removed from future programming and/or charged a course fee.
Disability Statement: Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UW-Madison SBDC office at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu to request accommodations.
Jeff is a good speaker; I can’t wait to change direction with evaluations.
Foreman of Public Works, Village of West Milwaukee, 2023 participant
The instructor was well prepared, believes in his material and approaches that he has obviously seen work. He provided real templates to use and extremely useful material to allow participants to implement new processes.
Joan R. Reese, Business Advisor, Innovenn, Inc.
Instructor
Jeff Russell
Jeff Russell, (MS, UW-Madison) co-director of Russell Consulting, Inc., specializes in helping organizations achieve their goals by successfully responding to the challenges of continuous change. With a focus on leadership, strategic thinking, leading change, and performance coaching, Jeff has guided organizations as diverse as Fortune 500 firms, social and public sector organizations, and small family businesses toward their goals. Jeff received his Masters Degree in Industrial Relations from the UW-Madison where he serves as an ad hoc faculty member for the Small Business Development Center. Jeff also is an adjunct faculty member at UW-Milwaukee, and UW–LaCrosse.
Jeff and his wife and business partner Linda have co-authored nine books. Recent publications include: Change Training, Strategic Planning Training, Change Basics, Strategic Planning 101, Ultimate Performance Management, and, most recently, Fearless Performance Reviews (McGraw-Hill, 2012). For more information on Jeff and his work, visit Russell Consulting, Inc.’s website at www.RussellConsultingInc.com.
The Wisconsin SBDC Network is a proud part of the Office of Business & Entrepreneurship within the Universities of Wisconsin.
It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The Wisconsin SBDC at UW-Madison helps entrepreneurs succeed at any stage. We offer no-cost, confidential consulting and business education across a wide region, primarily serving Dane, Sauk, and Columbia counties. SBDC services are provided in a nondiscriminatory way to all legal residents and citizens in the US.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact us at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-2221.