Fall is a great time for your annual strategic planning retreat, as it allows you and your team to prepare your plan for 2016 before the new year begins\u2014and for Interiorscape companies, before the busy holiday season.<\/p>\n
If you haven\u2019t scheduled your retreat yet, I highly recommend doing so as soon as possible so that you don\u2019t miss out on this excellent opportunity to bring your team together and go into 2016 with direction, focus, and momentum.<\/p>\n
As you plan your retreat, there are some best practices to follow regarding where to hold your retreat, who should attend, what the outcomes should be, etc. This blog post is a quick overview of these best practices. For more detailed information, please contact me directly.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s best to get away from your normal surroundings, if possible. I recommend holding your retreat a minimum two-hour drive from your office so that attendees are able to disconnect physically and mentally from their daily routines. These daily routines occupy the minds of attendees and use up precious mental capacity.<\/p>\n
When people get away from their normal lives, they make arrangements for all of those details consuming their minds. They make arrangements for children, parents, spouses, pets, etc. With clear minds, they are then able to direct their energy toward the task at hand\u2014creating a great plan for 2016.<\/p>\n
A \u201cgetaway\u201d retreat doesn\u2019t need to be extremely expensive. There are plenty of affordable \u2014even free\u2014 options available. With a little bit of effort and creativity, the right venue will surface. Who do you know who has a vacation home that would accommodate your team?<\/p>\n
The strategic planning team should consist of the organization\u2019s senior management team\u2014its leadership team. This team includes the general and his or her captains. The old adage, \u201cless is more,\u201d applies here. If the group is too large, it becomes difficult to make decisions, maintain unity, and produce an optimal outcome. A group of 3-5 is ideal.<\/p>\n
The attendee list should also include an outside facilitator. Facilitation is difficult and exhausting all by itself. I personally have facilitated hundreds of strategic planning sessions, and I can\u2019t imagine how anyone could fill the shoes of the facilitator and be an active participant without sacrificing one or the other in a significant way.<\/p>\n
The primary outcomes of the strategic planning retreat are:<\/p>\n
The annual strategic planning retreat is not a one-time event or something to do only in \u201cgood\u201d years. It is not an employee appreciation event either. It is part of an ongoing strategic planning process involving an annual retreat, quarterly review sessions, and weekly accountability check-ins.<\/p>\n
When it comes to strategic planning, how is your organization doing? Is your fall retreat planned yet? If not, how will your organization achieve its goals without taking time to clarify its long-term vision, mid-term goals, and plan for 2016?<\/p>\n
Now go forth.<\/p>\n
Featured image by Office Now<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fall is a great time for your annual strategic planning retreat, as it allows you and your team to prepare your plan for 2016 before the new year begins\u2014and for Interiorscape companies, before the busy holiday season. If you haven\u2019t scheduled your retreat yet, I highly recommend doing so as soon as possible so that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":7904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"twitterCardType":"","cardImageID":0,"cardImage":"","cardTitle":"","cardDesc":"","cardImageAlt":"","cardPlayer":"","cardPlayerWidth":0,"cardPlayerHeight":0,"cardPlayerStream":"","cardPlayerCodec":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-operations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n