How Strategic Sessions can contribute to more produvtivity
Strategic sessions are meetings where managers come together to discuss plans for the company's growth. These meetings help to check the current state of the company, find its strengths and weaknesses, and come up with solutions to avoid or fix problems. They also help create a step-by-step plan to reach goals and set standards to measure progress.
A strategic session is similar to a brainstorming meeting. During it, teams talk about what’s working and what’s not, set new goals, and use tools like diagrams and charts on an online whiteboard. We use the Miro platform for this because it allows everyone to see and add ideas easily, no matter where they are in the world or what device they use.
After strategic planning, we move to tactical planning. Department heads break down their tasks into smaller, specific steps. These sessions don’t follow a fixed schedule. Some companies meet every three months, while others do it twice a year or once a year.
In our company, we hold strategic sessions every three months. We then divide our goals into smaller tasks called sprints. We decide what actions are needed to solve big problems, estimate how long they will take, and figure out which departments and resources will be involved. Sometimes, managers break down work further within their departments. After three months, we review progress against our plan.
Choose the right people to attend. Who you invite depends on the topics you want to discuss. For example, for general business strategy, invite department heads. For key metrics, include project managers responsible for those numbers. If the session focuses on data, include the team that collected the information.
Pick a date and time that works for everyone. When setting the schedule, ask for input from all participants. Avoid planning meetings right before they are needed. People might be busy or have urgent work, making scheduling hard. When announcing the date, specify how long the session will last. For example, our company reserves a full workday for these meetings. Be sure to include breaks so everyone can rest.
Create a clear agenda. Focus on the main topic, like entering a new market. Don’t list too many items, which can distract from the main goal. Cutting unnecessary questions helps keep the meeting on track. At the end, review the agenda once more and summarize what was decided.
Ask participants to prepare beforehand. Managers should know how their departments are performing, including workload and task completion. They also need current data on how they plan to reach their goals in the short and long term. If there are specific issues to discuss, managers should prepare a list of key problems.