Mark Chussil

Founder and CEO Advanced Competitive Strategies, Inc.

  • Portland OR

Thought-Provoking Strategic Thinking

Contact

Social

Biography

Mark Chussil is Founder and CEO of Advanced Competitive Strategies, Inc. and a 35-year veteran in competitive strategy. A pioneer in business war-gaming and strategy simulation, Mark’s designs have won a patent and a best-in-class industry award. He has designed strategy simulations and conducted business war games for dozens of companies around the world, helping them make or save billions of dollars.

A highly rated and entertaining speaker, Mark speaks about strategic thinking at conferences and in corporate workshops. He has written three books, chapters for five others, and numerous articles, and he has been quoted in Fast Company, Harvard Management Update, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications.

Mark is also a Founder of Benefitics, LLC (specializing in quantifying Social ROI for non-profit organizations), a Founder of Crisis Simulations International, LLC, an Adjunct Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Strategy at the Boston Graduate School of Business, and a member of the visiting faculty of the Indian School of Business. He was named one of 2010’s Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America, and he serves on the Board of Directors of Friends of the Children.

Prior to founding ACS, Mark was Director, Business Strategy Research at The Strategic Planning Institute (The PIMS Program) and Manager, Strategy Development at Sequent Computer Systems.

Mark earned his B.A. from Yale and his M.B.A. from Harvard.

You can see Mark's 30-minute speech on "Why Strategies Fail," for the Chief Strategy Officer Summit in New York City in December 2011, at this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baHpD87OVk0&feature=youtu.be

Industry Expertise

Management Consulting
Professional Training and Coaching
Corporate Leadership

Areas of Expertise

Strategic Thinking
Competitive Strategy
Business War Games
Executive Education

Education

Harvard Business School

M.B.A.

General Management

1979

Yale University

B.A.

Political Science (Intensive)

1975

Testimonials

Vice President, Talent Development

Credit Suisse AG

“Mark’s approach is refreshingly different from the infotainment we typically see. Mark takes you right to the core of what strategy is all about. Rather than explaining SWOT, Ansoff, and Blue Ocean for yet another time, he makes you think about how you think. It is about mental models, groupthink, and pre-conceived ideas rather than the tools you already know. His approach is not about him giving you the “right” strategy, it is about ensuring that you choose a strategy option that will achieve what you set out to achieve. As far as I am concerned, that makes much more sense than the mainstream approach. You will have to activate all your brain cells to get the maximum out of this.”

Executive President & Advisor Strategic Initiatives, Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd.

http://isb.edu/

Strategic Thinking (3-day workshop through the Indian School of Business)

“I interacted with Mark Chussil during a war game and strategy workshop he ran for our company in November 2011. I was extremely impressed by his personality, quality of thinking and preparation. This was the first time that he was visiting India and showed a great degree of cultural sensitivity which endeared him to the group. His focus on the task at hand and the outcomes needed were always sharp and he worked tirelessly to keep us all focused. I wish him all the best and hope to interact with him regularly.”

International Events Director

http://theiegroup.com

Chief Strategy Officer Summit

“As a summit organiser it's always nice when a speaker receives positive feedback from the audience. This was the case when Mark presented at the Chief Strategy Officer Summit in New York last December. His session entitled 'Why Strategies Fail?' was really interactive, he even did a short quiz! I would recommend Mark as a speaker as he keeps the audience engaged and had some thought provoking ideas throughout his session.”

Show All +

Event Appearances

Business War-Gaming: How to Stress-Test Your Options Before You Commit

Two-day open-enrollment workshop for executives  Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2009-02-11

Strategic Thinking

Three-day workshop for executive team  The Indian School of Business (Hyderabad, India)

2011-11-17

Too Bad You're Human: Why Smart Pricers Start Price Wars

The PriceX Conference  Chicago

2008-06-09

Show All +

Sample Talks

Why Strategies Fail: Human People, Biased Tools

Many of the world’s largest, most-respected companies have gone bankrupt. Why? It’s not because they were stupid, careless, or complacent; rather, it’s in spite of them being smart, careful, and dedicated. Countless other companies lose ground, miss targets, and damage careers.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

You can see a 30-minute version of this speech at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baHpD87OVk0&feature=youtu.be.

Style

Availability

  • Keynote
  • Workshop Leader
  • Author Appearance

Fees

$2000 to $15000*Will consider certain engagements for no fee