Organizing a Productive Planning Session

Steps Necessary for a Beneficial Strategic Planning Retreat

May 30, 2009 Michele Dane

Strategic planning is a critical to an organization's continued success. A well managed planning retreat is a key part of the planning process.

Strategic planning is vital for successful organizations if they are to achieve their goals, allocate scarce resources efficiently and contend with other aggressive competitors. Company leadership should take time away from day to day operations to reflect on their current status and make choices about their future. Establishing a productive strategic planning retreat involves the following steps:

Prepare the Environmental Assessment

The environmental assessment creates the foundation for informed discussion during the planning session. The assessment should contain all the basic intelligence gathered about competitors and the organization, such as market share, sales, financial statements, political and economic trends, key distribution channels, customers and other important information. The planning department should compile this information and update it annually. The document should be distributed well in advance of the first strategic planning session.

Develop an Agenda for the Meeting

The agenda identifies the topics that needs to be covered, how long each segment of the planning session should last and who is responsible for facilitating the discussion. Knowing how much time can be spent on each topic gives the participants parameters within which to work and helps move the meeting along in a purposeful way.

In terms of time allocation, two hours per session seems to be what most participants can tolerate. All day retreats have their advantages but after two hours participants are often tapped out. So if it is an all day or half-day retreat – try to keep agenda items to no more than two hours.

Managing the Planning Retreat

Begin each session by clearly stating the purpose and the desired end result (e.g. identification of organizational challenges and threats, the first draft of the strategic plan, etc). Briefly review the agenda and state a commitment to keeping the process moving and concluding the meeting when the agenda indicates.

The facilitator has to see to it that the important topics are covered while allowing participants sufficient time to state their positions. Frequently, discussion is allowed to meander well beyond the time allocated and anyone’s interest. This precipitates a mad rush later in the day to wind up the discussion of key issues or strategies. As a result, important items can get short shrift.

It is also important to steer the participants away from trying to word smith the document. Inform then that the key ideas and strategies will be captured by the facilitator and staff will draft the language for the plan for their review. Trying to pick the right words during the retreat is unproductive.

Miscellaneous Considerations

Comfort during the retreat is an important consideration. For example, the room should be at a comfortable temperature and food and drink should be on hand. In addition, the necessary items (documents, flip charts, pens) should be readily available. This will set the tone for a productive retreat.

By taking these few steps, staff can ensure that the leadership of the organization have time and structure to reflect and plan for the future.

The copyright of the article Organizing a Productive Planning Session in Business Management is owned by Michele Dane. Permission to republish Organizing a Productive Planning Session in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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