Strategic Planning Session for Your Company

It is both valuable and necessary for companies to hold a half or full day strategic planning session at least once a year! Companies get so busy that many times they do not take time to plan for the future and make sure the right things are getting done in their business.

There are many benefits of doing planning sessions, including:

• Team building and getting everyone on the same page
• Clarifying your company vision, priorities and clarity of focus/expectations
• Showing that the owner is interested in listening to key employees

Who Should Attend?

• Those who report directly to the owner
• Members of the management team
• Accountant or other key advisor
• All employees (if possible, but does depend on the size of your company)

Good facilitation is essential at your planning sessions, especially when the value is frequently misunderstood. It is best if the owner does not facilitate the planning session and instead has someone else that knows the business owner and understands the issues and challenges the company is facing.

Roles of the facilitator during a planning session:

• Keep the group on task and on time
• Encourage everybody to contribute, participate and think “outside the box”
• Handle any conflicts that may arise
• Lead the exercises, for example, brainstorming
• Do an evaluation of the session
• Debrief with the owner after the session

It is not necessary for the facilitator to be an expert in the industry being discussed. The owner cannot dominate this meeting or become defensive, but instead needs to listen actively to the ideas and concerns of the team and appropriately provide input.

A sample agenda could look something like this:

• “Setting the stage”—why are we here and brief overview of “state of the company” (owner)
• Introduction of the facilitator (owner)
• Review the agenda (facilitator)
• Discuss the role of the facilitator (facilitator)
• Discuss ground rules for the session (facilitator)
• Self introductions (what is my job within the company)
• Company SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) via brainstorming process (facilitator)
• Identify next two years of strategic initiatives via brainstorming (facilitator)
• Narrow down the list via multi-voting technique (facilitator)
• Wrap up, evaluation of day and closing comments (facilitator/owner)

You can hold this during the normal working day, or if you have them in the evening or on a weekend, make sure the employees are compensated and thanked in some fashion.