Why do we dread the annual strategic planning session?

27 08 2013

NewsletterHead3_0The annual strategic planning session  is one of the first dates to go in to the company year planner. Two valuable days of senior management time, that takes a lot of preparation, and costs a lot of money.  It is often the only opportunity we get to step back from the business and indulge in some real creative thinking  and take our business to the next level … so why do we  dread it?

The feedback reports …  the sessions usually kick-off with divisional reports from the different business units.  By the third report you are losing the will to live and you are seriously thinking of drowning yourself in the urn of lukewarm coffee.  It is almost the same set of reports that you heard at last year’s session, at the last month’s exco meeting and the last board meeting.  By the time everyone has presented, there is not a creative thought left in the room.  No one wants to ask questions or give feedback … this will just prolong the agony.

They are not really strategic … so often the sessions become a planning and problem solving session.  The debate gets stuck in to operational details; and old problems get raised again and again.  In one organisation that I worked with, there was an annual bet between two of the directors on how long it would take the FD to raise the issue of company cars!  The level and style of debate in strategic planning sessions is often a good indication of whether senior management have lost sight of their strategic roles and become too operational in their outlook.

Nothing ever changes … the ideas have finally started to flow, themes have been identified and a plan is emerging, but time runs out.  It is agreed that team members  will take responsibility of picking up on the different themes and finalising the plans … but it takes a couple of weeks to receive the typed up versions of the scribbled flip chart sheets, and by then it is difficult to remember exactly what the important issues were.  So a few half-hearted telecoms take place but everyone is now distracted with their latest project and so the ideas fade away until next year.

So what can we do?

  • Keep the feedback sessions tightly controlled and look for creative ways to distribute the information in advance … for example create a podcast, short video, or run the presentations using a Pecha Kucha or an Ignite format
  • Set clear and strategic objectives for the session and constantly check in with these objectives so the session remains on track.  Develop a set of rules for the session that everyone signs up to.
  • Get creative … develop ‘what if’ questions to help shift thinking, develop activities that stimulate diverse ideas and create a safe environment where there is no such thing as a silly idea
  • Keep it visual … make sure that all the ideas are recorded during the session either through a dedicated scribe or using a visual mapping tool such as thinkpod, participlan or even post it notes.  This way all participants can take digital photographs of the sheets at the session and time is not wasted typing up lengthy reports.
  • Finish the plan … ideally the timing of each element of the session should be planned carefully with the majority of the time dedicated to the idea generation, and planning stages.  However, if you still run out of time, then set up a follow up session to complete it.  If the plan is not considered a high enough priority to warrant another meeting … it is a strong indication that its chances of implementation are low.
  • Communicate the plan … for the rest of the organisation the senior management strategic planning sessions is one of life’s great mysteries.  Make sure that time is allocated to share the plans with the implementation teams and there opportunities  are created to get feedback and create buy-in.
  • Track the plan … the plan needs to become a living document that is constantly updated and adapted to changing circumstances.  It must not become just another report that is added to you ‘read later’ pile

Strategic planning events is opportunity to  flex our creative and strategic muscles … we need to grab this opportunity rather than waste it listening to boring presentations and practicing our doodling skills!


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Categories : Implementation, Meetings, Strategic Planning

Meeting Agenda’s: 10 tips to make them work

9 03 2013

The agenda is a key business tool that we use to drive our business meetings and ensure that we achieve our business objectives. However, all too often either a standard agenda is used e.g.
1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Actions from the last meeting
3. Departmental Feedback sessions
4. Summary and close
… or it has been put together at the last minute with little or no thought behind it.
Here are 10 tips to create agendas that provide the framework for successful meetings:

  1. Set the objectives: it sounds obvious but even if it is a regular meeting, ensure that you are clear what the specific objectives for the meeting are.
  2. Prioritise the topics … be ruthless here … which topics are critical to the success of the meeting, would some topics be best covered in another forum? List all the topics that could contribute to achieving the objectives. and invite participants to submit ideas for inclusion (ensure you give a strict deadline for submitting ideas) then systematically sift through to select only the most critical and then rank these.
  3. Ensure there is a logical flow … when agenda’s jump around from strategic issues to operational issues, it becomes confusing. I have experienced a meeting when we switched from discussing a major acquisition opportunity to the new sales reps’ car policy and then onto new product development discussions.
  4. Do not cram the agenda … be realistic about what can be covered … cover less thoroughly rather than a long list superficially. Build in breaks so people can deal with urgent issues rather than participants being distracted during the meeting.
  5. Provide Focus and Templates for Feedback: Ensure that feedback and updates are aligned to the purpose and objectives of the meeting. I have been in meetings where the country head gave their quarterly update … we started off bright and bushy tailed with Angola … but the time we got to Zimbabwe, 11 updates later we were losing the will to live!
  6. Define the timing: allocate the suggested timing for each item on the agenda … it allows the chair to move discussions forward if no progress is being made.
  7. Ensure Participation: review the agenda … is everyone required for the whole meeting, if not either excuse them or assign a specific role such as chairing that section, taking notes etc. Meetings lose energy and focus when people become disengaged.
  8. Preparation time: ensure that the agenda and feedback templates are circulated well in advance … ideally 10 days
  9. Deal with action and matters arising prior to the meeting: these can often get the meeting off to a negative and slow start … I remember a meetings where there are the same outstanding actions were discussed for two years!. Ask participants to provide a written update prior to the meeting, and park issues that will that absorb too much time and do not contribute to the core objectives to be dealt with in a different forum.
  10. Define the rules: If meetings are to be effective they need to command respect, meetings that regularly start late, are frequently cancelled, and key players often skip, rarely deliver results.

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Categories : Implementation, Meetings, Uncategorized

Turning strategic plans into action

1 09 2012

Strategic PlanningTurning strategic plans into action

We have all been there … walked out of a two strategic planning session all fired up. Brilliant ideas were generated, different business units working together to create plans that could give a real competitive edge. We truly believed that this year it will be different … these plans will fundamentally change the way we do business, lift business performance, and inspire our teams … but six months down the track we have slipped back into our old ways and not much has changed … why?

Writing Up the Plan
Writing up the plan … all to often the reams of flip chart sheets remain rolled up in the corner of the CEO’s office waiting to be written up. There are so may hieroglyphics it is impossible for anyone not at the session to grasp the flow so it may be several weeks before the session notes are written up and circulated. By this time the momentum has been lost, and the nuances that made it so appealing forgotten.
… the solution
• Use your cell phones … get everyone to take shots of the sheets that relate to them and ask them to write up the notes

• Executive PA … allocate the role to a senior administrator, and use programmes such a mindmanager or SimpleMind to manage the content

• External facilitator … make it someone else’s problem, an external facilitator will collate all the notes and create a summary report of the session usually within 72 hours of the session

The Silent Majority
Were all the voices really heard … did everyone have the opportunity to give their input and voice their ideas and concerns … was the session dominated by the usual suspects? Unless there is authentic buy-in from all members of the team … progress is unlikely to be made.
… the solution
• The process … use a participative process such as visual mapping to ensure everyone is involved
• Voting … at key points ask people to vote on particular issues so there is clear consensus

The Detail
Strategic planning sessions are often high-energy right brain sessions, great ideas and insights but there is never enough time to create a realistic and tested implementation plan. Sweeping assumptions are made that then create problems at implementation stage and create roadblocks that are difficult to remove
… the solution
• Set up the dates for the implementation planning sessions well in advance … the final list of participants may change depending on the outcome of the initial session. Typically there will be 4 to 5 new initiatives to map out … ensure that you schedule enough time for each one.

Business as usual
The day (s) out of the office has already created a backlog of +200 emails, meetings have stacked up, a few fires need to be stamped out and suddenly the plans seem like a luxury we can no longer afford.
… the solution
• Be realistic … all too often people to commit to unrealistic deadlines during the initial session, build in some slack to the plans
• Harness your resources … involving more junior members of your team takes management but can be highly motivating for them and brings a fresh approach.

The Next Layer
Strategic planning meetings are often steeped in mystery with executive teams disappearing to game lodges and five star resorts … ‘what do they really do there?’ is a frequent question. Staff can feel frustrated that they are not able to add their ideas and insights.
… the solution
• Ideally, prior to the strategic planning session, staff should have the opportunity to share their ideas, either through departmental sessions, or using an intranet site, wiki etc
• Feedback … at the session agree what needs to be communicated to staff and the appropriate forum. Ensure that this is done within one month of the session

Shifting Sands
All business environments can be volatile, a tender opportunity arises that now necessitates a shift of focus, a senior team player is poached, a key account is lost or gained and suddenly the plans seem irrelevant and difficult to quickly adapt to environment. The old way seems the safest option
…the solution
• Regroup … there were several hundred valuable man hours invested in the initial plan … but suddenly it seems indulgent to invest a few hours to update and adapt to the new development

The strategic planning session is one of the most important events for an organisation but to be highly effective it needs to form part of a process that supports full implementation.


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Categories : Implementation, Strategic Planning


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