Strategic Planning. So much more than just a plan..
You wouldn’t attempt to climb K2 without a plan would you? Major expeditions are complex things and business has many similarities. Expeditions tend to be the dream of one or a few people with a dream - a vision if you will. They always involve a departure point (current situation) and an overriding goal (aspired future). Along the way, expeditions aim to achieve a variety of objectives to create progress. Expeditions involve people with different skills and qualities. Expeditions need leaders, people at the front and teams providing support. Successful expeditions are usually those where there is:
K2. The most dangerous mountain in the world.
clarity
alignment
Motivation
purpose &
discipline
Expeditions take place in changeable landscapes sometimes subject to difficult and challenging events. Equally, the landscape for business is anything but static. Take your eye off the ball and market forces can overtake any business, like an avalanche or flash flood. You know what they say, “Everything is fine until it’s not..” That’s the point you’ll be grateful your team was aligned around a plan.
Who’s it for?
Whether you are running the executive team of an international corporate, a start-up, a division, regional geography, functional department or major sales account team you should be working to a strategic plan.
What’s the process?
The first step is to identify who needs to be in the room. Strategic planning is normally done at the management level so this typically means somewhere between 8 and 16 people. In order to maximise the return on the invested time, we like to start ‘setting the tone’ for the session about 1 week ahead of being together. To engage hearts and minds we put together a Pre-Workshop Pack for your team. The pack includes a short cover letter from the workshop sponsor (e.g. Chairman, CEO, Division, Department or Team Head). It also includes:
thought leadership papers on identified key topics of interest (e.g. transformation, leading change, motivational leadership, strategy etc)
outline of the workshop structure for the days ahead
1 - 3 homework assignments with templates
The structure.
Once we are all together for the workshop we will take your team through a 3 step journey involving group conversation, breakout work, sharing, discussing and refining ideas. Strategic planning is a highly creative process and some people need time to ‘get into the groove’, so we take time to build the right mindset in the room. These are the 3 steps:
understanding the current reality and the aspired future state
defining common purpose, agreeing medium term goals and short term objectives
creating the conditions for success
Of course there’s a lot of secret sauce that makes up the 3 steps, but give us a call and we’ll take you through the steps in more detail!
Where can we run it?
If you are thinking of putting this in place then you need to set aside a minimum of 2 full days, ideally somewhere off-site away from the daily office distractions. If you can’t get away, then a large meeting room (a boardroom is good) with AV facilities, a whiteboard and some flipcharts will be suitable. Ideally, the room should be roomy enough to give the participants space to move around. Access to a second room for breakout activity is also very useful. The logistics are not complicated and we help ensure that you know what needs to be in place.
other benefits
If you are already thinking of taking that first step to put in place your strategic plan then you will have already bought into the incredible transformational value it will have on your business. Having a strategic plan is vital for any business that is focussed on performance, however, there are other real benefits of spending a couple of days together if these days are ‘capitalised’ upon. We have real experience and a flair for choosing great off-site venues and advising on how to maximise the time you spend together, whether that’s on a guided tour of historical Bath or knocking over a few pins at the bowling alley.