Conducting a strategic session. Step by step guide
Conducting strategy sessions is one of the most underrated business development tools. Implementation does not require significant costs, and the possible benefits look attractive.
The main goal of the session is to take your head out of the operating system and optimally distribute resources through:
Recording current priority goals
Formation of a general strategy or business model
Coordination of the company mission and the team’s core values
Forming a general action plan for launching a new project, developing a direction or business as a whole
Identification of the main points of business growth and possible limiting factors
Definition of a list of current business hypotheses and ways to test them
An additional pleasant bonus is the alignment and increased involvement of the team.
In this article I will share my experience in conducting sessions, which I gained both in working with the founders of small startup projects and with teams of large corporate clients.
Let's start with organizational issues
When to do it?
Once a year, 2-3 months before the start of a new management year in the company or “out of necessity” (for example, when you decided to launch a new line of business within the company, you had an irresistible desire to optimize, or you feel that the owners have a different vision of the company’s development).
In what format?
From half a day to 3 days, depending on the goals, participants and size of the business. But, in any case, it is better to add additional support meetings (traction meetings) once every 1-3 months to maintain focus and additional support in the fight between priorities and routine.
Where to spend it?
It's better to go beyond the office space. As an option, go to a country hotel and supplement the strategic session with an evening program.
What composition?
There is no universal solution here. As a rule, for a large business – the management team, for a small / medium business – the owners + management team, for a startup (including intra-corporate) – the entire core team or individual founders, for a department (for example, the marketing department) – the head of the company, the head of the department and related departments (for marketing, this could be sales and production) and heads of areas in the department (for example, traffic, web design, etc.). Ideally, there should be people responsible for the results of all the main business processes of the project: finance, marketing, sales, purchasing, production, quality, HR…
Sometimes external experts can also be invited to sessions.
Ideal – 7-9 people. More than 15 – I don’t recommend it.
Who should conduct it?
Usually conducted either by the head/HR of the company, or by hiring an external contractor (facilitator/moderator), or by an entire agency. I, as an external contractor, advocate the second option. In general, with the proper skills, it can be carried out internally (including using materials, which I will discuss later), but then, in addition to skills and free time, you also need to be confident in the relative impartiality of the session leader.
What documents are produced as a result?
List of solutions
Plan with goals, objectives, deadlines, resources, responsible and next steps
Lists of ideas, hypotheses and open questions
Preparation for the strategic session
Most of the work is done before the session. Moreover, I am convinced that the success of the session depends to a much greater extent on the quality of its preparation.
It’s worth starting with an understanding of the introductory information: the purpose of the session, the main question that needs to be answered during the session, the product of the session (what should happen / appear as a result?), success criteria (how will we understand that the session was successful?), the initiator of the session, knowledge (what do we know for sure, and where are areas of uncertainty?), participants (who should be there and what are their perceptions?), current and potential problems, process (what steps do we need to take within the session?), location, previous experience (have sessions already been held and, if so, what were the results and difficulties?).
Next is the stage that many people miss in vain – preliminary interviews with participants. Such interviews will allow you to orient the session towards the right goals, foresee and smooth out possible difficulties (including potential conflicts) in advance, as well as establish preliminary contact with the participants and, in case of skepticism, “sell” them the benefits of involved participation.
Below are some useful questions for such interviews:
— Why do you think we are holding a session? What questions would you like answered? What would you like to leave with? Why is this important?
— How do you see the future of the organization? What are your company's strengths? What are you not coping with as well as you would like? Why?
— What hinders the implementation of the current strategy? What can create difficulties when implementing changes? What is your benefit from the successful implementation of the project?
— What should I, as a presenter, know before the start of the session?
The results of the session depend on the goals set and can be of the following nature: a single agreed opinion; new ideas; a specific document, such as a company vision or strategy outline, report, plan; calendar schedule of certain actions, indicating responsible persons
You can then begin preparing a session plan with precise timing, key discussion points, and target outcomes.
In its classic form, the plan for an annual strategic session can be as in the example below, but each time you need to create a plan individually, based on your goals and characteristics. Among the tools that are often suitable (if not abused) are classic consulting forms, such as SWOT (only in full format: not just write down strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities, but evaluate and compare to highlight priority actions), BCG, GE / McKinsey, Ansoffa, Hoshin-Kanri, etc.
After drawing up the plan, it is important for each of the points to understand what information (reports, materials) participants should know in advance and what materials to prepare for the session.
During the preparation process itself, it makes sense to help session participants create their presentations. Most often, as part of such presentations, you will need to talk about the results of the direction being led over the past year: 2-3 key results, 2-3 key growth areas, 2-3 ideas for non-linear growth, 2-3 things that need to be done more actively, 2 -3 things you should stop doing.
1-2 weeks before the start of the session, I also create a general chat of participants in the TG, where I share plans, organizational issues (program, time, place, clothing style, etc.) and additionally collect wishes.
Facilitation of a strategy session
Before you start, you should check all the equipment and hang up at least three sheets of flip chart (for recording decisions, plans and questions for the future), as well as a sheet with the rules.
At the beginning of the session, you need to: inform what is happening, involve participants and approve a list of rules for the session. I took my list from a book M. Wilkinson. Secrets of facilitation. SMART Guide to Working with Groups (you can read the summary follow the link):
— everyone has the right to speak out, including with a proposal to speed up or slow down
— decisions on proposals from participants will be decided by voting
– only one person can speak at a time
— you can’t use the phrase “it won’t work” (in its various variations), instead you need to say specifically what exactly might not work
– Electronic etiquette must be observed
– in case of a drop in energy level, we will use “recharging” (let’s come up with an exercise together), each participant can offer to “recharge” at any time
— the role of the participants is active participation and exchange of experience, my role is to make the process more efficient and focused
– timing must be respected
— focus on covering 100% of the agenda and working through each item to at least 85%
— additional rules from participants
Then go according to plan, each time before starting to consider a new issue, reviewing what has been done and what is to come and explaining how the new item fits into the purpose of the session. And also recheck the dynamics of the session through appropriate questions to the audience: do they feel progress? aren't you tired? Is the pace okay?
Among the facilitation tools, it is worth using:
— Clarifying questions: “Did I understand correctly that…?”
– Continuing questions: “What else? What other…?”
— Work in small groups
— Idea generation tools
— Various group decision-making tools: voting by simple majority, consensus (which must be reached in no more than 3 stages of voting alternating with discussion) or using point systems (pasting stickers of different weights on preferred options). In any case, decision-making should begin with joint determination of criteria, lobbying (whoever wants can speak in favor of one of the options) and, only then, voting.
At the end of the session, you should review what has been achieved: results, decisions, actions (can be divided into categories: those that could be implemented, those that need to be implemented and that will definitely be implemented), open questions and get feedback from the session participants.
Post-session support
After the session is completed, it is worth discussing the results, preparing a summary of the session – a document containing a list of decisions made, planned actions and identified issues for future discussion.
And I always advocate additional supporting activities in the form of traction sessions to implement / adjust what was planned as part of the annual strategic session.
Link at me.
