“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!” – Genesis 11:6 (NLT)
The quote above was God speaking about the people building the Tower of Babel. The tower was not a good thing and God quickly stepped in to stop their progress. To me, this quote speaks to the power of a team chasing a common goal, who speak the same language. They were using the power for bad, we can use it for good.
But getting a team unified during a strategy session can be tough work. People get tired, nerves can get frazzled and the joy of building something great with people you care about can be lost. That is not good and doesn’t leave a team engaged and ready to accomplish the goal.
This week, I want to talk about how to make strategic planning fun.
I think strategy creation is always fun because I am a big dork about building great businesses that make a positive difference in the world. I am also a recovering accountant and task-oriented person. When talking strategy, I am happy to slog through the effort with no breaks. But I can end up walking alone if I don’t spice things up a bit.
So, how do you make developing strategy fun? Here are some tips I have learned over the years.
1. The Team Owns the Day: There is nothing worse than being held captive on a ship that you have no control over. That is why the day’s agenda must be held with an open hand. The team starts by agreeing to the planned destination (the outcome of the day) and the plan to get there (the agenda).
Things will take longer than expected and new ideas will come up that should change your path. Don’t be a slave to the agenda. Keep giving it back to the team so they can feel confident about the path to the outcome. They will stay more engaged and be happier with the outcomes.
2. Seek Feedback: Seek lots of it and make sure you create an environment where questions are appreciated. Give everyone the power to veto an outcome. If someone gets lost, doesn’t understand what someone is talking about or disagrees with an outcome and doesn’t say something they will disengage.
Encouraging tough conversations during the day improves the likelihood of everyone being engaged to implement the solution.
3. Get Out of The Office: If you can afford it, a great locale will brighten the mood and help avoid distractions.
4. Engage a Back-Up Team: It is difficult to be creative when you are worried about a plate you left spinning at the office. Do everything you can to put someone you trust in charge of keeping those plates spinning until you get back.5. Be Positive: Strategic planning should be a positive experience, but there can be tough conversations. Remind the team that they have been given the opportunity to create a better future for the company, themselves, and their families. That is an awesome opportunity that most people don’t get.6. Plan for Fun: Make fun activities a part of the agenda. We’ll cover some great ones in next week’s article. There is always too little time in off-site meetings, so this is hard to do. Know that an energized and creative team with a little less work time will always deliver superior outcomes.7. Pre-Work: To make time for #6, get all the pre-reading and as much of the hard work out of the way before the meeting. This creates time during the day and allows team members to think about the problems presented and potential solutions. When we have time to put a problem or topic aside and give it to our sub-conscious mind, we always come up with better solutions.How many great ideas have you had in the shower, on that run, or right as you are going to bed? Pre-work allows the team to get some distance from the tasks and will always make the team and the day more productive.8. Keep Active: Energy will drop at different times throughout the day like after a meal or a big discussion. Find reasons to get the team out of their seats with a game, reassigning seats, or by tackling an agenda item standing.9. Make The Connection and Make It Happen: One reason many executives dread strategic planning is because they never see the connection between participation and positive changes for their brands and customers. Show the team how the ideas agreed to by the group will be implemented and not end up on a shelf. Then make it happen. Make the outcomes a living, breathing part of how you do business after you leave the room.I hope that helps you spice up your next planning retreat. Strategy is really fun when you know that it will have a positive impact on the business and the lives of the people the business touches.We love helping leaders build great businesses. If you’d like to learn more you can check out our free resources at
www.valuesdrivenresults.com/resource-library/ or give us a call at (229) 244-1559. We’d love to help you in any way we can.Curt Fowler is president of Fowler & Company and director at Fowler, Holley, Rambo & Stalvey. He is dedicated to helping leaders build great organizations and better lives for themselves and the people they lead.Curt is a syndicated business writer, keynote speaker, and business advisor. He has an MBA in strategy and entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School, is a CPA, and a pretty good guy as defined by his wife and four children.
