Retreat to Advance

For leading organizations (and for those seeking to improve) getting their senior leadership team together for a day or two to work through their strategy and planning is a must. Commonly referred to as a “retreat” (for reasons that are unclear to me) these sessions, when well planned and executed are an essential element of their success.

Call it what you will (I prefer a “strategy session” to “retreat”) there are many ways businesses approach this. Here’s a formula that will give organizations of any size, scope or specialty the best chance for strategic success.

The Three P’s of Productive Meetings: The best way to get underway is to begin with the end in mind. Framing the agenda in advance with the objective of the session clearly stated is a good place to start. I’m often surprised when meetings are held without an agenda or clearly stated intentions. Consider the purpose of the meeting and the desired outcomes. Begin by recording the expectations of each participant; that is, what they are looking to get out of the session.

The first “P” happens before the meeting, and this means preparation. What will each participant need to do, review, prepare, present or share at the session? What key strategic questions will be asked and how will they respond? Are there important data points they should have at the ready? What questions, issues, opportunities, or obstacles are they prepared to share with the group?

The second “P” is for participation. One reason for keeping the number of participants at a reasonable number (5-7 is ideal for a strategy session) is to help avoid the phenomenon knows as “social loafing.”  That is, the larger the group, the easier it is for members to sit back and let others carry the discussion and weigh in on important, or sometimes, sensitive matters. There is nowhere to hide with a smaller group, and everyone should be expected to listen actively, engage, ask questions and participate fully.

The third “P” comes following the meeting and this means performance. Each participant will be assigned responsibility for moving key initiatives identified during the strategy session forward. They will be expected to report out at the next quarterly strategy session and this means executing on these responsibilities.

More on the essential elements of strategic sessions that bring results next time.

For more information on ways your organization can benefit from strategy and planning sessions, contact me at joe@ajstrategy.com