Strategy in a World of Constant Disruption

This course explores how architects, designers, and other professionals can apply strategic planning to navigate ongoing disruptions in business and project environments. Originally developed during the pre-COVID-19 era, the content has been reframed for a post-pandemic world characterized by continuous change—economic volatility, shifting customer expectations, workforce uncertainty, and digital acceleration.

Presenter: Jim Nowakowski, President of Interline Creative Group.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Define the core principles of strategic planning and explain why they remain relevant in a post-pandemic, high-disruption business environment.
• Identify common sources of disruption in modern professional practice and evaluate how strategy helps professionals respond proactively rather than reactively.
• Differentiate between key strategic approaches—defensive, offensive, flanking, and guerrilla—and determine which apply best in various project or market conditions.
• Apply foundational business questions to assess internal positioning, customer engagement, and long-term planning.
• Reflect on past business challenges and articulate how a strategic mindset might reshape future decisions, improve adaptability, and reinforce leadership.

Instructor Bio: Jim Nowakowski has been involved in marketing and marketing communications for over 20 years. Prior to working at Interline, he served in a variety of positions in ad/PR agencies, including Creative Director, Account Supervisor and Copywriter. He also worked as a reporter for newspapers and taught English for a number of years before entering the advertising profession. His current work for both advertisers and publishers in advertising focuses on understanding communications and purchasing patterns in business-to-business. Besides industrial publications, he has worked for publishers in building construction, automotive and healthcare markets, including developing marketing communications programs, conducting in-depth market research and building customer inquiry database systems. Jim has an M.A. from DePaul University, Chicago, and a B.A. from Lewis University, Lockport, Illinois.