IMD business school for management and leadership courses
Catalyst
Through Catalyst, we empower organizational leaders to discover and implement innovative solutions to strategic questions, harnessing and developing the potential of their own teams.
Through our proven approach, we help our clients unlock opportunities for growth and performance improvement while building new capabilities and setting up their teams to take full ownership of the outcomes.
Creating a catalyst
A catalyst is an agent that provokes or accelerates significant change or action; it is a substance that enables a chemical reaction to proceed at a faster rate than otherwise possible. Over the past 15 years, we have developed our own catalyst, building on our expertise and experience working with clients from a variety of industries.
It all began with the publication of Must-Win Battles by IMD faculty Peter Killing and Thomas Malnight in 2005. The book was written as an essential companion for leaders who want to cut through an array of uncoordinated initiatives and bring focus and renewed energy to their organizations. The central focus was guiding organizations to identify and agree on the critical challenges that would make or break their business and help them mobilize people and resources to achieve those goals by combining strategic focus with emotional commitment.
This focus led us to establish an advisory solution for our clients and support them on their most important strategic questions. Over the years, we developed and strengthened these activities, which became our business transformation initiative, Pathfinder. In 2023, we further strengthened these advisory solutions and called them Catalyst.
The new agent of change
Today, the Catalyst unit leverages IMD’s expertise and reputation in executive education and thought leadership to provide high-impact advisory services. Building on the successful track record of previous mandates delivered in areas such as digital transformation, sustainability, and leadership development, we have now created a dedicated unit that applies a rigorous and innovative methodology to help clients solve their most pressing strategic challenges.
In 2023, we focused on developing the Catalyst strategy based on three pillars: deep understanding of our clients’ contexts and needs, co-creating tailored solutions, and delivering actionable results with lasting impact. We structured and augmented our internal team and set up relationships with external experts and collaborators from our network.
We have achieved initial success and are currently working with three blue-chip clients on major strategic initiatives.
Catalyzing transformation from within
Our catalyst unit – IMD’s world-class faculty and the most select group of expert advisors – works with our clients in a unique approach that will help their organization on a variety of topics that include:
- Strategy exploration, definition, and acceleration
- Future readiness and innovation
- Purpose discovery and cultural transformation
- Sustainability, diversity, and inclusion, and ESG strategies
- Digital transformation and AI strategies
Fast-forward solutions
Our solutions range from focused interventions that drive creative thinking to strategy acceleration engagements and corporate-wide strategic transformation projects. Grounded in IMD’s thought leadership and pedagogical excellence, our Catalyst methodology enables leaders and their teams to identify challenges and root causes, develop options for action, shape choices, and build the confidence to make bold decisions.
Through this work, the teams develop, build, and retain the ability to explore issues, shape options to address short and long-term opportunities and create their own unique and tailored strategic agenda for future success.
