Leaders know strategy is important, though very few have experienced actual strategy in their careers.
Most leaders are adept at planning.
Both disciplines, strategy and planning, are necessary, but they should be distinct. Let's define them:
Strategy is the allocation of scarce resources to drive a desired outcome. More simply, it is the process of identifying a goal(s) and making the hard decision about using constrained resources, people, money, and time to achieve the goal(s). By extension, sometimes success starts with deciding what not to do.
Planning is a process that takes place after there is alignment on the strategic imperatives. Planning is the connective tissue between the strategy conversation and the execution teams.
So, how do you create a strategic agenda to ensure you're focusing on strategy, not planning?
First, A Story
My first management job was starting a branch office in Vancouver for a national technology reseller. I had no experience, no plan and no fear.
The first two years were a rocket ship, and then 2008. We hit a brick wall going 100 miles an hour. I had to fire 50% of the staff in one day—it was the worst day of my professional career.
After reflecting, I realized I didn't know why we had been successful. As Warren Buffet famously said, "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who has been swimming naked."
Well, guess what? I was naked, and the retreating water was icy.
My plan? Have a strategy session!
At the end of the meeting, one of my leaders asked, "Why did we go offsite for this -this is the same meeting we have every week, just longer and more boring."
I was losing their confidence and wasting their time.
Armed with a determination to succeed, a desire to learn to lead, and curiosity about strategy, I started a quest.
I have learned much about strategy over a 25-year corporate executive career, leading and growing technology companies and a consulting practice focused on improving business performance.
The building block for strategy is the offsite. There are five common traits of all exceptional strategic offsites that I will share below.
Two critical thoughts before diving in:
First, from experience, participating in and effectively facilitating a meeting is almost impossible. Throughout my corporate career, I always built relationships with an advisor who helped build the agenda and facilitate the meetings.
Second, strategy is not always linear. There must be room for detours. If the agenda is a series of back-to-back 30-minute presentations, you are doing planning.
Remember, it is as important to stick to the agenda as it is to know when to deviate from it.
Five Imperatives:
Right Brain vs Left Brain
Strategy is a thinking exercise.
Most leaders will come skidding into the session, having sent 20 emails and made two phone calls, squeezing as many operational issues as possible before being locked away in an all-day meeting.
It is critical to disrupt the operational thinking patterns early in the agenda. An opening exercise or even simply having everyone physically put away their phones, laptops, or other trade tools will represent the necessary shift into a different mode of thinking.
It is easy to slip into an operational mindset during discussions. The desire for linearity and certainty will drive the debate toward problem-solving and tactics. Ensure all participants are empowered to halt proceedings and elevate the conversation.
Keeping the conversation strategic is a vital role of the facilitator.
Set the Stage for Psychological Safety
The underpinning of a great team is trust.
While most professional teams have ethical trust, psychological trust is rare. If you paused and didn't ask a question or withheld a comment in a meeting out of fear of being judged, you have experienced a lack of psychological trust.
Creating an effective strategy is a thinking exercise in a group, the group members must be able to express themselves freely. The best groups are diverse in skills, perspectives, and experiences, so everyone within the group needs to contribute to get the best results. Starting the session with a discussion about psychological trust is essential.
If the team is relatively new, working on trust will be beneficial. Books by Lencioni make the subject accessible. With an experienced team, a reminder at the beginning of the meeting might be enough.
Free and open dialogue has to be the objective.
Keep Participants Active
There are many reasons to vary how the team works together during the offsite, and keeping them active will ensure their energy level is high.
Consider:
The maximum concentration period is about 90 minutes at a time
Physical energy is the basis for creativity
Group brainstorming reduces participation
Groupthink is a natural phenomenon
Varying team composition will improve working relationships
I highly recommend a venue with breakout space or flexible seating arrangements. Break the group into teams with specific tasks and have them report back. Use sticky note storming for rapid-fire thinking that removes the fear of judgment. Insert breaks, get people standing and stretching while discussing, and match the group's energy level to the topic.
Don't leave people rooted to a U-shaped table with a projector in the middle for two days and expect magic. To keep the participants mentally engaged, they must be physically active.
Balance Internal and External Contexts
Most offsite participants need more preparation before the meeting and more data to support the agenda. As a result, participants reference their gut feelings and speak from an internal lens.
For a great strategy session, participants must be prepared.
The agenda and supporting materials should be sent one week in advance. The data package should include current corporate performance, an economic outlook for target markets and vertical-specific performance information.
Guest presenters will add a valuable dynamic. They could be internal or external experts. When considering external speakers, focus on gaining insights into your markets or current customers representing your organization's future.
In all cases, guest speakers should be coached to ensure alignment with the primary purpose of your offsite.
Don't Leave without a Plan
Have you ever been to an energizing strategy session?
The team leaves on cloud nine, energized and ready to conquer the world. The next day, the team does the same things they did before the session.
And when the team gets back together the next quarter, they find that few objectives were achieved from the offsite.
They are not alone.
Strategy is great, but without execution, it won't impact the business.
The connective tissue between the people who formulate the strategy and the people who have to execute the plan is critical.
In the body, tendons and ligaments are the connective tissue that moves the body, connecting muscles and bones. Similarly, the strategy and the corporate assets, people, money, and time must be connected through execution for the business to move forward.
Before the team leaves the room:
Agree on the talk track the leadership team will discuss with staff. The company knows you went offsite, and many will be interested in your discussion. The team should be aligned on the message, especially if there are sensitive topics or the business is not performing. People will be listening for incongruencies.
There must be a what, by whom, by when list. These are specific and measurable goals from the meeting. They may be execution-related, idea validation-related, or items from the parking lot. They will only get done if they are assigned dates and to specific individuals.
The "what, by who, by when" list determines the value achieved from the offsite.
Your meeting rhythm is one of the most important administrative tasks for consistent corporate performance. The strategy meeting is an annual and quarterly process. Each quarter has thirteen weeks, requiring a supporting cast of meetings and accountability opportunities to ensure the strategic imperatives are achieved.
The status of an initiative should be known. I will expand on an effective rhythm in a future article.
Conclusion
The agenda and prerequisites set the tone for the meeting.
With your advisor, think about the optimal outcomes of the meeting before you start on the agenda. Then, construct the agenda to put participants in the correct mindset, leave space in the agenda for detours and ensure the meeting outcomes are assigned with dates.
If you follow these imperatives, you will have an exception strategy offsite.
If you download the pdf above a sample agenda is included.
If you need help with strategy, planning your next offsite or coaching, contact me philip@philipedgell.com
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