Hey there,

Welcome to the 5th edition of the StrategyHub behind-the-scenes newsletter. Last edition I talked about how I settled on the offer and pricing strategy for StrategyHub.

Today, I’m going to help you ask your company to invest in your professional development.

StrategyHub is just as valuable to your employer as it is to you.

The tactics, techniques, and systems you learn in StrategyHub are specifically designed to produce useful insights and tangible results for your company.

Many companies actively reimburse Learning & Development opportunities for their employees.

Even if your employer doesn’t formally offer this, companies will often make an exception if you ask proactively, and provide a strong business-driven justification.

So whether or not you have an L&D allowance, I wanted to provide you with a few resources to help you ask your boss to cover the investment of joining StrategyHub.

(ICYMI, in the last BTS email I shared some info about what StrategyHub will cost, so read that first if you haven’t already!)

Step 1: Give your manager a heads up to signal your interest and prepare the ask.

For example, you could send the following message:

Hey [Name], I just saw this strategy course and I think it’d be really useful for our work. Can I send you the details?

Step 2: Email your manager with the key details for StrategyHub.

Short, personal emails are best. Copy the template below and tweak it for your context:

Hey [Name],

I’m on the mailing list for a strategy course that looks fantastic.

It’ll be available on October 31st, and I’d like to join.

It’s a masterclass that shows how to leverage free internet data to make better strategic decisions. It’ll be around US$900, and the reviews are excellent. There are alumni from Google, McKinsey, Atlassian etc.

Here’s a bit about why I’d like to join:
- Internet-Native Approach: StrategyHub focusses specifically on modern strategic skills that are directly applicable to our digital-first business. Rather than abstract theory – it's focussed on developing practical skills, generating valuable insights, and making more data-driven decisions.
- Practical Focus: The course is packed with useful tactics and tools (like research playbooks and ready-to-use templates) that I can immediately use for our projects. It’s designed to help students apply the learnings to our work as efficiently as possible.
- Time Efficient: It’s built for busy professionals who want results, not just more information. I plan to complete it [insert your plan, e.g., "over the next month, dedicating 1-2 hours per week outside of core work hours"].
- Lifetime license: The one-time investment provides lifetime access to all materials and updates, so I can keep referring back and using them as our priorities change over time.

The instructor is well-known in the industry and he writes popular strategy case studies read by 150,000+ people.

Here’s the link: https://learn.strategybreakdowns.com/waitlist

Is it OK to expense this?

P.S. If we want more people from our team to participate, they offer team discounts.

Step 3: Follow-up if you haven’t heard back from them after 3 days.

Hey [Name], have you had time to look at the strategy course I sent you?

I really believe it’d increase my ability to create results for [your company] and help drive our business forward.

Here’s the link: https://learn.strategybreakdowns.com/waitlist

A few additional tips:

  • Tap into a conference budget. Many companies have budgets to send employees to conferences. The ROI of StrategyHub is likely far greater than any conference. You get structured content and specific outcomes, plus templates and playbooks that quickly translate your learnings into tangible wins at work.

  • Commit to knowledge sharing: If you commit to sharing key insights, techniques, and tactics with your team, that multiplies the value of the investment across your organisation.

  • Position the program as an investment, not an expense: If StrategyHub helps you drive growth / reduce costs by even a tiny amount, it pays for itself.

If you have any questions that might help you with this process, please don’t hesitate to reply to this email and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Good luck - looking forward to seeing you inside!

— Tom

You're receiving this exclusive "behind-the-scenes" newsletter because you’re one of our most highly engaged subscribers (🫶) or you've asked me to keep you posted about StrategyHub (🤝).

StrategyHub will be available on October 31st (add a reminder to your calendar: Apple  •  Google  •  Office 365  •  Outlook Web  •  Outlook  •  Yahoo)

Missed any of my previous behind-the-scenes updates? Here they are:

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