This year’s FAMP (FEGIME Advanced Management Programme) got under way last week with a stimulating live streaming webinar tailor-made for FEGIME by SDA Bocconi School of Management. Host, Prof. Giovanni Tomasi, Associate Professor of Practice in Management Control Systems, welcomed well over 50 participants to this – the first – session of two. FEGIME Future met the Professor at the FAMP in 2018 where he played a very impressive role. And last week the session was no less motivating. The worldwide pandemic has of course changed how we do business in many ways – and the group was eager to provide Giovanni with examples. He proceeded to put these influences into the categories Demand, Workforce, Resiliency, Regulatory Uncertainty & Risk Management and examine the managerial competences required to best deal with them all. A study carried out by Forbes this year shows that “Critical Thinking” is now regarded with much more importance than it was in the same survey in 2015. Furthermore “Emotional Intelligence” & “Cognitive Flexibility” are new additions to the list in the pandemic. And this was the first mention of Giovanni’s main theme: we cannot keep on thinking in the old, pre-Covid way. Everything must be analysed and rethought – in the financial area particularly in the fields of cost management & growth management. “In the process of strategic planning – especially under uncertainty,” he stressed, “you must above all avoid a self-referential framework, or you will be unable to define a truly different strategy.” How to budget for 2021 was Giovanni’s final topic of the day and mindset plays an important role here, too. Depending on whether our outlook is more negative or more favourable will influence our budget & planning. But how do we know which is more realistic? Giovanni’s tip: develop a range of different scenarios and prepare activities according to each to help avoid unpleasant surprises. Participants now have until 28th September to complete the online survey created by Giovanni specifically for FEGIME. The data gathered will enable him to create a FEGIME benchmark for presentation and discussion at the next session and to provide further tips to help members future-proof their businesses. Join us! The next session is on 8th October at 14:00 CET.