Store ›
Browse Courses ›
Dynamic Objectives by Framework Consulting
Hi,
My name is Francis Wade and I am the owner of Framework Consulting.
A big welcome to you on your journey to leading breakthrough strategic planning retreats.
(If you would like to see a 7-minute video I use to welcome people to my retreats, click on the video on the right. It's more personal than just reading a bunch of text!)
My assumption is that you are the employee of a company which sees the need to change its future in a structured way, using the knowledge of its best staff.
You have either volunteered or been asked to lead the planning meeting that will produce these results. In other words, your efforts might be the only thing standing between a bright future and tired, stale, obsolete business-as-usual.
But where does one learn how to execute this unusual role? There's no formal education, a few books and no hands-on opportunities.
The purpose of this training is prepare you to match the expectations of your company by providing you with useful insights.
Some are critical to planning, conducting or sponsoring a meeting which produces all the essential elements of an executable, implementable strategic plan. Such a plan produces changes in behavior, and actions that change the course of your company, organization or institution.
Other insights you will learn are intended to help you avoid mistakes. As consultants to companies across the Caribbean, we have led our share of retreats, making all sorts of errors along the way. I will help you avoid the big ones.
+++
The agenda you will cover for the next 7 lessons includes a focus on six questions that confront every person who sponsors a strategic planning retreat.
Chapter 2 - How many people should I have at my planning retreat?
Chapter 3 - Do I need a facilitator at the retreat?
Chapter 4 - Why does the retreat need to focus on the current status of the company?
Chapter 5 - How do we set a long enough horizon to plan for the future?
Chapter 6 - Should we strive to be visionary or make sure we are being realistic?
Chapter 7 - Should our company diagram its strategy?
Chapter 8 - Further topics for learning, a quiz and next steps.
+++
This is a self-paced training which means that you will interact with the learning materials at your own pace. You have access via your smartphone and most tablets, so you can pop in and out as you need, whenever you want.
I recommend that you spend a day or two between each lesson, which includes a pre-recorded webinar video that goes for 20-30 minutes.
+++
So that's it! If you have questions of me about any of the above, click here to send me a message or email me at francis@fwconsulting.com. As you go along, if you have questions about the content, connect to my Facebook page.
The next lesson gives you a chance to jump right into a simulation in which you can help Grace, a sponsor of a retreat. It's an online game - have some fun with it!
(1).png)
What if everyone wants to come to the retreat?
What if all the right people don't want to attend, but want to send someone else instead?
What if your CEO insists that he is having a solo retreat - no-one else needs to watch over his shoulder as he writes the strategic plan on his own?
What if, at the last moment, uninvited board members show up?
One of the first challenges you have as sponsor is to figure out exactly who should be in attendance at your planning meeting, or not.
Our experience tells us that this is no trivial question. In fact, it shapes a number of major factors such as:
That last line is no joke. While it's fun to conduct a free-for-all session with people randomly dropping in and out, you can easily set the seeds for your own destruction by not setting the stage for a successful meeting.
Too many people in your role of Director/Conductor take a laid-back approach to retreat attendance which may be fun-filled and exciting at first... then lead to chaos.
Solve this issue in the weeks leading up to the event before it becomes a problem you can't solve because it's too late.
+++
In this chapter I offer a pre-recorded video webinar and also an article I wrote for the Jamaica Gleaner. At the very end, I'll offer some further suggestions.
Total estimated time: 35 minutes
Should you have a facilitator in your retreat or not?
If you decide to do so, should it be you?
If these two questions bug, bother or burden you at all, then this chapter is for you.
Poll your prospective attendees and you are likely to get a variety of answers. One will share a horror story about a retreat from hell which was poorly facilitated.
Another will argue that a facilitator is a must and only consultants who offer online training qualify. (Ok, I have never actually heard anyone say that, but you never know!)
Some top executives say "Don't worry, I will facilitate. No need to spend a penny."
Most of the time, however, the question isn't asked or answered. Everyone shows up, grabs a cup of coffee, sits down and just starts talking.
Some say the answer is a matter of style, culture, and preference.
In this chapter, you will develop the ammunition to defend the "right" answer.
Yes, I will make it plain that there happens to be one and if you violate the psychology behind it, you will suffer the consequences.
So, if I haven't scared you too much, coming right up in this chapter I have another webinar and also one of my Gleaner columns.
Enjoy!
(1).png)
Why are spending so much time recapping the current situation?
Aren't we supposed to be looking at the future?
Why can't we start by talking about what we want?
At the start of every retreat there's a small debate, most of which takes place in the mind of participants: How much time, if any, should be spent studying the current situation?
As in every debate, there are extreme positions. Some say that without all the proper studies completed by the relevant experts, it's impossible to even begin thinking about the future. Some companies spend so much time in this mode they rarely have retreats because it's impossible to complete all the reviews, studies and research efforts in time to start.
By contrast, there are some who resist the idea of spending too much time looking at the past. They want to start the retreat by looking at the future, fearing that there will be a loss of energy and momentum if the discussion stays stuck in the past. Plus, they don't want to get dragged into an ugly Blame Game in which fingers are pointed and culprits publicly named and shamed.
They believe that looking in the past is all about being negative. The only way to stay positive is to do the opposite, which everyone wants.
This is no esoteric argument. The agenda you build as a sponsor flows directly with the answer to the question posed in this chapter. As you may see, a wrong answer can be catastrophic.
In this chapter we offer another video and an article that addresses this question.