The fourth quarter is rolling right along, and 2025 is suddenly in view. Is your company ready to make 2025 a year of growth with a strategic plan?
At this point in the year, what I often hear from a CEO is that they aren’t quite as far along in strategic planning as they had hoped to be. Efforts to get everyone together in the same room fell short, which means they never really got a truly collaborative plan off the ground. They will make a plan to make a plan earlier next year. Of course, this cycle can repeat indefinitely. The result is that good ideas may not be given voice, and there are fewer opportunities for strong alignment among leaders.
What holds most owners back from scheduling strategic planning is that they severely overestimate the time they need to dedicate to it. I have good news about that. With the right framework in place, strategic planning workshops take 2 days on average. According to the feedback I receive from my clients, they are often the most productive 2 days leaders have experienced in recent memory.
Compare that with an ineffectively structured process that lacks the necessary framework, time, and space for generating innovative thought. This can eat up a lot of resources without ever fully capturing critical insights, perspectives, and conclusive decisions.
So the question is, can you get your leadership team together for just a couple days of collaboration and communication? If so, what you will get in return is a clear roadmap, which all of your leaders have poured into, to meet your goals and innovate within your organization and industry.
How Is a Strategic Planning Workshop Organized?
In my years of facilitating strategic planning, I have learned that keeping the process focused and concise is key to productive outcomes. What is exciting is that even within the structured framework, every workshop is as diverse as the company participating.
My job is to ensure every voice is heard, innovation is sparked, and the team is aligned. This allows us to maintain focus on the objectives and chart the roadmap that will become your strategic plan. The content and sessions of the workshop are fully customized to the company’s needs and interests.
Each workshop is customized to meet your company where you are now in order to provide the outcome desired. Workshop pre-planning is vital to setting the tone and organization of our time together. I listen closely to my clients through this segment to ensure that their objectives for the workshop are what we will accomplish.
Outcomes of a Strategic Planning Workshop
Because of the structure of our sessions, all of your leaders will come away from the workshop with clarity about how all the departments of your organization work together. This is an outcome that is extremely difficult to create in segmented meetings that take place weeks or months apart. When strategic planning doesn’t all happen at once with representation from every department, it often lacks synergy and focus.
Whether we’re bringing executives together from opposite sides of the country, or even opposite sides of a corporate campus, this time together in the same room fosters clear, respectful communication.
At the end of 2 days, your company will have a tangible roadmap for your strategic plan. The feedback I typically receive is that individuals feel confident about both where the company is headed and their personal role within it.
Department leaders are more confident in the company’s goal and their role in achieving it.
Individuals who have a personal stake in new policies or mission statements are excited to bring the rest of their team on board.
People gain important context about industry news, emerging technology, and competitor data.
New relationships are formed and solidified, creating a more cohesive leadership team throughout the organization.
The benefit of working with an outside professional facilitator for strategic planning is that the team can follow a proven framework with an objective leader who offers fresh perspectives. When we manage our time wisely and meet the expectations of those in attendance, everyone will truly appreciate the value of this process.
Is it Too Late for a Strategic Planning Workshop This Year?
If you haven’t yet done your strategic planning for next year, there is no time like the present. Especially if you don’t really have a plan at all, you have nothing to lose by getting this process in motion. I work with many companies that have recently recognized their need for strategic planning and suddenly feel very late to the game. It is absolutely worthwhile to get this year’s plan off the ground from right where they are now. We can plan future workshops at a more opportune time of the year once this one is complete.
If you keep making a plan to make a plan, you run the risk of falling irreparably behind your industry competitors. There is no need to continue being concerned that you put this essential planning process off for too long. Contact me for a discovery call to learn more about how it works. At the end of your workshop, you and your team will have clarity and a mutual understanding of where your organization is headed in 2025.
Do You Need a New Strategic Plan for 2025?
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