The CEO has only three jobs that can't be delegated:
Making the "you bet the company" decisions.
Developing the management team. Leading the strategic planning
process.
The strategic planning retreat is the best path to fulfilling
these responsibilities. Strategic planning only works when the CEO
is committed to it and leads the process. It is key that the CEO
communicate the importance of the planning retreat to the
executive team. Informally talk to each team member one-on-one
about your goals for the retreat. Solicit agreement and buy-in on
the value and need for the meeting. Discussing the issues with
your executives before a final commitment is made, creates an
effective team planning climate.
During the retreat the CEO plays a particularly difficult role.
The CEO acts as a participant in the planning retreat rather than
the a problem solver and action oriented, time saver. CEOs are the
ultimate problem solvers. When an executive appears with a problem
the CEO looks to resolve and solve the issue or problem then and
there. In the planning meeting it is important that major issues
get surfaced, discussed to a common level of understanding and
prioritized. Trying to "solve" an issue dampens
discussion and understanding. This process of discussing issues
until the entire team "gets it" can drive a CEO up the
wall. CEOs are bright and intuitive. This combination leads to
their reaching an understating after hearing only a little bit of
information and using that understanding to formulate a solution.
In a desire to save everyone time they share their insight with a
simple "Here's what we should do" statement. Executives
who don't see where the answer came from, try to ask but usually
get squelched. Ultimately they salute and say "yes sir!"
but don't have the deep commitment that flows from a personal
understanding. Bite your lip or take a walk but allow the rest of
the team to catch up with you. (They might even come up with an
approach that's even better than your intuition.)
People listen to what you do rather than what you write or say.
In the 2 weeks following the retreat focus your actions on asking
your executives how they are doing on their close-in milestones.
Be the first to meet your milestones. Make sure that the team
understands that you take their commitment to results seriously
and expect them to achieve the goals. Further, keep your
commitment to provide the resources required by the plan. Do not
change direction because of an interesting article in Friday's
Journal and do not create an operating budget that isn't anchored
by the strategic plan.
Your team will take the plan as seriously as you do.
Pick people who can look at the business through the eyes of
the CEO. An executive is someone who cares about the entire
business not just their function, their department, their people
or themselves. This attitude is key. Your executive may not yet
have the education, experience and knowledge to excel but without
the attitude they will never be effective members of senior
management. It's expected and OK that team member's business
skills are uneven. The planning retreat is an excellent
opportunity for the team to learn and develop general business
skills.
Pick 5-12 people. The information necessary to set direction
and establish goals is in the heads of your executives. Strategic
issues are too complex and nuanced to be completely understood by
any 1 member of the team. It takes a group of people, each with
their personal view of reality, to create a common vision of the
elephant*. With fewer than 5 participants there isn't enough
diversity to get the job done. Above twelve participants there
isn't enough time for everyone to reach the common understanding
required to achieve a state of flow where everyone can see and
balance the complex interrelationships between issues. With more
than twelve participants the meeting can turn into a series of
presentations rather than an interactive session.
Select your planning team to include your direct reports,
department heads (no matter where they report in the
organization), key outside consultants and the 1 or 2 movers and
shakers that will affect your success over the next 3-5 years. A
mover and shaker might be an insightful, top sales rep or product
developer. Make sure all members participate. There are no
observers. Everyone weighs all the issues and as a team they
"place their bets and takes their chances." You can't
allow someone to stand aside and not be part of the commitment. To
this end, never include lame ducks. You are asking for commitments
and a lame duck is not in a position to make one.
* Elephant?
There once were six, blind, wise men. Word reached them of a
monstrous and wondrous animal. The six blind men traveled to the
site of this animal and 1 by 1 walked up and felt some part of it.
They then spent the rest of their days arguing over the nature of
the beast. It’s like a wall said one. No, no, no it’s a giant
snake. You’re wrong it’s a spear, a wall, a tree-trunk, a rope,
a giant fan. On and on they went. The truth is that it required a
synthesis of all their views in order to gain a true impression of
the elephant. Strategic issues in a company are like the elephant.
It requires a synthesis of many views to gain an accurate sense of
an issue’s reality.
Set a retreat date far enough in advance that the entire team
can commit to it without conflicts from weddings or major company
events such as a new product launch. Communicate clearly that this
is important stuff and the executive's calendar is to be kept
clear of any other appointments. Explain that this is all we will
be doing for those 2 days so don't assume you can overlap the
planning with a sales call or other activity.
Use an input form to gather basic information from the team.
Ask for the 5 major weaknesses, opportunities, threats, strengths
and industry trends. (The classic WOTS-up topics.) Ask for team
members' expectations, 5 top products and 5 top markets. Have a
non-team member, such as the meeting facilitator, create a single
page, numbered list of items from each topic (weakness,
opportunity, etc.) Combine duplicate items and sort the list to
obscure the author of any particular item. Ask for the top 5 in
each topic to start the process of prioritizing and focusing.
Prepare a calendar of company events to aid in the action
planning. These should be the major internal and external events
that drive the business. Typical events include annual shareholder
meetings, user conferences, contract re-compete and trade shows.
If required, address concerns team members may have during a 30
minute pre-retreat meeting. This can be an excellent time for the
team to meet the facilitator and fill out the pre-retreat input
form.
Set an expectation for intensity, dedication, and possible
evening hours. The meeting will start at the company's normal
starting time and end anytime between 6 PM and 11 PM depending on
how long it takes to address the issues. Ask people to keep both
evenings open. This is a key moment in the history of the company
and you don't want to stop short of finishing because someone has
tickets to the opera or a plane to catch.
Select someone experienced in the strategic planning process.
It stands to reason that someone who facilitates strategic
planning retreats week in and week out is going to be more
experienced and effective than someone who does it once in a while
or even once a year. The power and value of experience becomes
crucial when the planning retreat doesn't go exactly as planned.
Select someone with real-world business knowledge and
experience. This experience allows the facilitator to do a better
job of relating to basic company issues. On the other hand it is
not necessary nor even desirable that the facilitator come from
your industry. The industry knowledge and plan should flow from
the team's head, they are the ones who will be implementing it.
Sometimes it is hard for facilitators to keep their distance from
a market they grew up in.
Select someone who can establish credibility with the team.
People implement better when they believe. If the team doesn't
believe in the facilitator then they may not believe in the plan.
Be sure to select someone who has good chemistry with the CEO and
the team.
Select someone who can educate the team as well as facilitate
the process. All management teams have uneven experience. This
retreat is an excellent opportunity to learn.
Select someone who can earn the CEO's respect.
Select someone with presence. Executives and CEOs are a rowdy
bunch. You need someone who can get the group back on course when
they start of wander off.
Don't ask a team member to facilitate, especially the CEO. Team
member contributions are too intense and too valuable to be
diluted worrying about when to break for lunch, where the rest
rooms are and other meeting details. Further, a facilitator that
is seen as a neutral party can steer the group through discussions
of the really tough issues.
It is a false economy to facilitate the process yourself. Time
and time again companies find that they either don't finish the
agenda or worse yet, finish the entire agenda in a few hours
because the meeting becomes a presentation by the CEO.
Meet off-site. Meeting rooms carry their own negative
connotations. The room doesn't have to be expensive. It could be a
conference room at a colleagues' company or even a rented church
hall. Dress in business casual. The casual dress breaks the mold
and 8-12 hour meetings are more comfortable in casual clothes.
Dedicate 2 intensive days to establish an organizational state
of flow time. The 2 planning days need to be back to back. The
most popular combination is a Friday and Saturday, 1 day of
company time and 1 day of personal time.
Have and follow a posted and distributed agenda. Post the
agenda on the wall and check off the items as you go along. No
hidden agenda.
Define, explain and acknowledge the different roles of the
facilitator, participant and CEO. The facilitator is responsible
for the meeting having met the team's goals. The CEO suppresses
the normal modes of operation and acts as a participant. The team
members acknowledge that they are here to look at the business
through the eyes of the CEO. They are not here representing their
people, their departments, their functions or themselves. They are
here to look at the entire business through the eyes of the CEO.
Define, explain and acknowledge a set of meeting rules everyone
agrees to follow.
- Listen
- Stay focused
- Say what needs to be said, there are no sacred cows
- Avoid cheap shots
- Respect differences of opinion
- Focus on solving problems rather than placing blame
- Contribute only new information to the discussion
- Conduct only one discussion at a time.
Use flip charts, taping sheets to the wall as the meeting
progresses.
Maintain sizzle with foul flags to throw in front of rule
breakers, and motivational posters, etc. Using a bright yellow
foul flag, or bean bag, shows that you are serious about the rules
without putting someone down. The tossing of flags is a good way
to break the tension.
Make sure to use a quiet meeting room with enough space and
open walls. The open walls are used to post flip charts and while
setting goals.
Serve food that keeps the team alert and awake. Skip the
croissants, onion rings and pastrami, instead serve bagels, salads
and chicken.
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