Considering whether strategy days are worth the time and expense? When properly planned and executed, strategy days can be very beneficial for your business.  

Strategy days allow you to focus on spearheading advancement and development for your business instead of letting it stagnate. They also provide the opportunity for your team to work together creatively and brainstorm ideas you otherwise wouldn’t have devised. Having annual strategy days keeps your business focused on long-term strategies while remaining exciting and effective. 

Strategy days require considerable planning, and you should be deliberate in your strategy goals and objectives. Strategy days do not exist in a vacuum; to implement new strategies you will need to have follow-up conversations and actions afterwards. Appoint someone to plan the event who is highly organised. Alternatively, consider hiring a facilitator such as GIANT who can take the pressure off and allow your team to focus solely on business strategy. 

Strategy day planning  

Knowing how to run a strategy day is important. Plan the event with a clear strategy day agenda and goals. Things may shift around over the course of discussion, but you will be more productive following a structure. When running a strategy day, it is a good plan to separate divergent and convergent planning. 

Dedicate the morning to divergent planning, which is less constrained and focuses on generating ideas without restrictions. In the afternoon you could then focus in on convergent planning, where you home in on possible ideas and flesh out the details.

Making the most of your strategy day 

In the morning, an introductory talk by a member of the leadership team or an external speaker can engage and inspire the group while fostering discussion based on questions and topics raised.  

Begin the conversation by collaboratively setting realistic desired outcomes to achieve by the end of the day and remain focused on these objectives.  

Structure your conversations with a system like SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) or a balanced scorecard system. A facilitator can provide an objective input on the ideas raised and direct strategic discussion, streamlining the process.  

Using an interactive board allows people to write and draw through their ideas and be sure to keep detailed notes during the day. This will maintain a record of ideas raised and allow the team to feel like their ideas are being heard and taken aboard. 

At the end of the strategy day, return to your original goals, and plan the next steps to progress with the strategies discussed so these conversations are taken back to the office and persist long-term. 

You can learn more about the strategy and planning services we offer at GIANT.