Establishing and maintaining a hefty share of any market today is difficult. With more and more competition out there and more and more new products entering the market all the time, along with new technologies that are emerging, executives and managers must constantly stay on top of the game or be sunk. Older, practiced leaders cannot afford to pause and rest on their past successes, and the younger generation must jump in with both feet, prepared to be aggressive.

A little education can go a long way towards making you a good leader. Even though you may hold a degree in business from Harvard, you can still be left in the dust unless you keep up with new technology, innovative practices, and changing consumer needs. The courses at the Caltech Industrial Relations Center are developed to teach you skills to take back and apply on the job, skills created to be used on a permanent basis, not just for a one-time project.

Among their many offerings are courses on wisely working with people without breeding hostility, aligning all of the divisions within your company to integrate new ideas and function efficiently with united goals in mind, implementing modern technology, marketing in China and India, creating alliances with other companies, and the strategic marketing of technology products.

Strategic marketing is a very useful three day course covering three main topics: creating of a sound product strategy, identifying places for growth, and beating the competition. You will learn ways to analyze and gauge your customer base and invent solutions for different segments of the market. You will see how finding influential opinion leaders in the market can help you win it, and you will acquire the tools to maneuver competitively to build a market leadership position.

Anything you can learn to get a competitive edge in today's market is wise. Learning how to succeed and contend in high value markets can give your company the boost you have been striving for, and strategic marketing can make that tangible.