Your Team Needs Strategic Thinking.
You Need It Now.

The Strategic Thinking Intensive for Teams gives your team a shared framework and a common language for any challenge in a single session.
No pre-work required. Designed and facilitated by Cecilia Lynch, with over 25 years of strategic thinking and organizational development experience.

The Real Barrier

Not All Teams Have Four Weeks to Close Their Strategic Thinking Gap.

The strategic thinking gap is real. Most teams are operating tactically when they need to think strategically. You already know this.  

But when you look at the calendar, the pre-work window isn't there.  

Maybe your team's training schedule is already committed, and the structure is set. Maybe you're running a leadership program and need a focused session that fits inside it. Maybe you've found that self-paced pre-work doesn't survive contact with a busy team.  

The gap doesn't close itself. The question is whether the right format exists to close it.

"Only 28% of executives rate their organization's strategic decisions as high quality."
— McKinsey
Strategic Thinking Intensive for Teams was built for this context. Same frameworks; expert facilitation; one session.
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Your team works on a real strategic challenge, not a case study, not a hypothetical. They leave with a shared strategic response and a personal commitment to one strategic action. That's not a lighter version of the program. That's a different format delivering the same result.

The Training

Same Frameworks. Expert Facilitation. One Session.

The Strategic Thinking Intensive is a single working session, virtual half-day or in-person full day, where your team applies strategic thinking frameworks directly to a challenge you are actually facing.  

Not case studies. Not hypotheticals. Your actual strategic problem, worked through a proven six-step process with an experienced strategist.

Pre=Session Prep

A 2–3-page Framework Quick-Reference Guide is sent to participants 5 business days before the session. No modules. No coursework. Just enough to arrive ready to work.

Expert-Facilitated Live Session

Your team works through the six-step Strategic Response Framework with a senior strategist. Applied to your real challenge. Virtual half-day or in-person full day.

Applied Deliverables

Every team produces a Shared Strategic Response Plan before the session ends. Every participant leaves with a personal commitment to one specific strategic action.


Session Structure

One Day. Six Steps. A Strategic Response You Can Act On.

Opening Block - Framework Orientation

~50 minutes virtual | ~75 minutes per participant

The session opens with the frameworks, not a lecture, not a review, but a working orientation that connects directly to the challenge your team is about to tackle.  

  • The difference between tactical and strategic thinking, and what it's costing your team right now
  • Three strategic thinking patterns that change how you approach any challenge
  • Nine strategic questions that surface what tactical thinking misses

Working Blocks - The Six-Step Strategic Response Framework

Applied directly to your team's real challenge. The same framework used in the full program.

Step 1 — Define the real problem. Not the symptom. Not the tactical pain point. The actual strategic challenge.

Step 2 — Map the systemic factors. Understand the conditions that created the challenge — not just the challenge itself.

Step 3 — Learn from what works. Identify proven approaches from any context and adapt them deliberately.

Step 4 — Build your first strategic actions. Specific, concrete, and genuinely strategic — not a task list.

Step 5 — Plan for the people who matter. Stakeholder engagement as a strategic act, not a communication step.

Step 6 — Contrast the strategic response with what you would have done before. Name the shift explicitly.

Closing Block — Commitments and Close

Each participant identifies one specific thing they will do differently, starting this week. The team reviews the completed Strategic Response Document together. The session ends with clarity, not a summary.

What Your Team Produces

Shared Team Strategic Response

Built during the live session, not summarized afterward. By the time your team leaves, this document is done.
  • The team's stated strategic problem
  • The key systemic factors at play
  • 2–3 proven approaches the team will adapt
  • 3–4 first strategic actions with specificity — what, how, when, and expected outcome
  • A stakeholder engagement plan
  • A contrast statement: the strategic response vs. what the team would have done tactically

This is not a summary of what was discussed. It is the team's first strategic response, a working document ready to act on.

Individual Strategic Commitment

Completed during the closing block. Each participant answers three questions in writing:
  • What is the one thing I will do differently starting this week?
  • What support do I need from my team to move the strategic response forward?
  • What is my first strategic action, and when will I take it?

Strategic Thinking Intensive Certificate

Issued to every participant who completes the session. LinkedIn-ready. Verifiable. Applicable across roles and sectors.

Delivery Options

Choose the Format That Fits Your Team

All tiers include: pre-session sponsor prep call, facilitator review of Challenge Discovery Worksheets, Framework Quick-Reference Guide for all participants, participant workbooks, Shared Team Strategic Response Plan, and Strategic Thinking Intensive Certificate for each participant. Travel and expenses for in-person delivery are billed separately.

Small Team Virtual

$5,500

6–12 participants
Virtual half-day (4 hours)
Single facilitator

Small Team In-Person

$8,800

6–12 participants
Full day (6.5 hours)
Single facilitator
Travel and expenses billed separately

Larger Group Virtual

$9,200
13–24 participants
Virtual half-day (4 hours)
Lead + 1 facilitator

Larger Group In-Person

$15,500
13–24 participants
Full day (6.5 hours)
Lead + 1 facilitator
Travel and expenses billed separately
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Organizations may add participants beyond the tier maximum at a per-person rate, subject to facilitator confirmation.
Multi-cohort discounts are available for simultaneous sessions.
Contact us to discuss options

Want to go deeper after the Intensive?

The Strategic Thinking Foundations for Teams is the full four-week blended program, self-paced pre-work, a longer live session, and an individual Strategic Response Plan for every participant. If your organization completes the Intensive and wants to run the full program within 12 months, the Intensive investment applies in full as a credit.


This Session Is Built For

Intact operational and functional teams facing a significant strategic challenge right now, competitive pressure, market shifts, resource constraints, or organizational change, and a timeline that doesn't allow for weeks of pre-work.
Leadership teams that need a shared strategic language and a common framework for working through direction, in a format that fits an existing offsite, leadership day, or team retreat already on the calendar.
Leadership development programs looking for a focused, applied strategic thinking session. The Intensive is designed to fit inside an existing curriculum, not replace it.
Organizations that want to see the frameworks applied to real challenges before committing to a full program. The Intensive is a complete engagement, and a natural starting point for deeper work.
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This session is not the right fit if: Your team is looking for a keynote, a motivational session, or a high-energy event without real work involved. The Intensive is a working session. Participants think hard, work in small groups, and produce a real strategic response before they leave. If that's not what your team needs right now, we'll let you know during the discovery call.

You Bring the Team. Cecilia Brings 25+ Years of Strategic Thinking Experience.

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Cecilia Lynch is a strategic thinking expert, chief strategist, and founder of both Focused Momentum LLC and Strategy Class®. She has spent 25+ years helping leaders and teams move from reactive problem-solving to strategic clarity across industries, sectors, and organizational levels.


She created Strategy Class and this team training program around one core observation: most organizations don't have a strategy problem, they have a strategic thinking problem. Close the thinking gap, and the strategy problem becomes manageable.


Cecilia facilitates every session personally. She is not sending a consultant. She is in the room or on the call with your team.

Common Questions

What pre-work is required?

Participants receive a 2–3 page Framework Quick-Reference Guide 5 business days before the session. That's it. No modules, no online platform, no coursework.


The guide covers the three strategic thinking patterns and the nine strategic questions your team will apply during the session — enough to arrive ready to work, without the time commitment of a full course.

How is this different from the Strategic Thinking Foundations for Teams? 

The Foundations for Teams is a four-week blended program: self-paced online modules, a live facilitated session, and post-session individual work. It's designed for teams that can commit to that structure and timeline.


The Intensive delivers the same frameworks and expert facilitation in a single session, with no pre-work required. If your team completes the Intensive and wants to go deeper individually or as a program, the full course is available, and the Intensive investment applies as a credit toward it.

Can we work our own strategic challenge?

Yes, and that's the point. Before the session, participants complete a short Challenge Discovery Worksheet. The facilitator reviews all submissions and works with the team sponsor to identify the priority challenge.

You're not solving a case study. You're working on something real.

How long does the session run?

Virtual: 4 hours. In-person: 6.5 hours, including a lunch break. Both formats complete the full six-step Strategic Response Framework and produce a Shared Team Strategic Response Document by the end of the session.


What if we already have a full-day program and only have a half-day slot?

The virtual half-day format runs 4 hours and is designed to stand alone inside a larger program. If you're working with a specific time constraint, discuss the details on the discovery call; the session structure can be adapted for groups with a defined slot within an existing event.

Is the certificate the same as the Strategic Thinking Foundations Certificate?

No. Participants receive the Strategic Thinking Intensive Certificate, which reflects completion of the Intensive session. The Strategic Thinking Foundations Certificate requires completion of the full online course and the blended program.

Both are LinkedIn-ready and verifiable. They reflect different levels of engagement with the material.

What happens after the session?

Every participant leaves with the Shared Team Strategic Response Document and their individual written commitment.


Participants who want to continue developing their strategic thinking skills can enroll in Strategic Thinking Foundations, the self-paced course that provides the depth and individual practice to make the shift stick. For organizations ready to run the full blended program with their team, the Intensive investment credits in full within 12 months.

Is the available for nonprofits? 

Yes. The frameworks apply across sectors, and the session is designed to work on any real strategic challenge regardless of organizational type. Multi-session pricing is available for nonprofit networks running the Intensive across multiple teams.

Ready to Close the Strategic Thinking Gap?

Write your awesome label here.
A 30-minute discovery call is the right next step. We will talk through your team's context, confirm which format fits, and determine whether this program is the right investment for where you are right now.

There is no pressure and no pitch. If this program is not the right fit, we will tell you.

Not ready for a call? Download the Strategic Thinking Readiness Assessment →

Ready to Close the Strategic Thinking Gap?

A 30-minute discovery call is the right next step. We will talk through your team's context, confirm which format fits your group, and determine whether this program is the right investment for where your organization is right now.
There is no pressure and no pitch. If this program is not the right fit, we will tell you.
Not ready for a call? Download the Strategic Thinking Readiness Assessment →