The strategy offsite: setting direction when the world keeps changing
You're planning a strategy offsite. The plan you made a year or two ago was built for a world that has since moved on: new technology, new competitors, new expectations from customers and your own people.
The temptation is to update last year's plan. The opportunity is to step back far enough to see what's really changed, and set a direction big enough to be worth chasing.
What makes a good strategy offsite?
Starting in the future rather than with last year's plan, testing what the team believes against reality, and leaving with a few clear priorities and first steps. The best strategy offsites produce a direction people can explain in a sentence.
Five things to think about before your strategy offsite
Are you starting from the future or the past? Begin with last year's plan and you'll end up with a slightly better version of it.
What do you believe that might no longer be true? Every strategy rests on assumptions. List them and test them.
Is the goal big enough? Small goals get small thinking. Ask what would be possible if you aimed far higher.
What will you stop doing? A strategy that only adds things isn't a strategy. Decide what goes.
What happens in the first 50 days? Turn the direction into a few projects people can start straight away.
Why the Big Bold Mindset fits a strategy offsite
The Big Bold Mindset® is a way of thinking for achieving big bold goals in a changing world. Its starting point is simple: you can't navigate a new world using an old set of charts.
A strategy offsite is where you draw the new charts. Leadership comes in three steps: imagine a better future, see today as it really is, then close the gap. Most strategy days skip the first step.
The Big Bold Mindset® is built on 21 principles, each with a practical tool. These five fit a strategy offsite best.
Five principles for a strategy offsite
Redraw the Charts: put on the Future hat. What will we see, hear and feel five years from now?
Challenge the Impossible: opinions sound like facts. Which of our "can't be done" beliefs are opinions?
Invest in Learning: it doesn't matter who is right, only what is right. What have our experiments taught us?
Push Past Perfect: hold perfect lightly. What can we start before the plan is finished?
Inch Yourself Forward: inch by inch is a cinch, yard by yard is hard. What are the first small steps?
Where a keynote fits in a strategy offsite
A keynote at the start of a strategy offsite lifts the team's eyes from last year's plan. It sets out why the old charts no longer work and how to think about the future, before the team gets into the detail of its own strategy.
Built for your team, not taken off the shelf
Every audience is different, and every leadership team is facing its own set of issues. So no two of Caspar's keynotes are the same.
Before the day, Caspar does a deep dive into your world: what's changing, what matters most to you, and what you need people to think and do differently. Where it helps, he speaks to several of your senior leaders to get a wide view of what's really going on.
Then he crafts a keynote specifically for your offsite, applying the Big Bold Mindset principles that fit your challenges. Not the talk he gave last week, but one built for your team.
About Caspar Craven
Caspar Craven is the creator of The Big Bold Mindset® and a leadership keynote speaker. He has spoken at events in over 38 countries, for over 400 organisations going through change.
Before speaking, he spent five years at KPMG Corporate Finance, was CFO of a fast-growth tech company through its sale to private equity, and co-founded and sold a tech business. He has sailed around the world twice: first in the BT Global Challenge, then as skipper with his wife and three children under ten.
His lesson from both worlds: put people first and the results will follow. See Caspar's keynotes.
“Thank you so much for such an inspirational session. You challenged us to think Big and Bold, to take extreme ownership as we embark to being an independent company and to be resilient. The feedback from the team was amazing. We loved the provocation and all felt super inspired. Thank you!!”
Caspar has worked with organisations including BAE Systems, Burberry, GSK, Intuit, INEOS Styrolution, Johnson & Johnson, Nuffield Health, Pearson, Sage, Suntory and Thales.
Strategy offsite questions
What is a strategy offsite?
A meeting away from the office where leaders set or reset the organisation's direction, priorities and plans.
What is the purpose of a strategy offsite?
To step back from the day-to-day, see what has changed, and agree a direction and priorities the whole team will commit to.
What should be on a strategy offsite agenda?
A look at the future, an honest view of today, the assumptions you need to test, the few priorities that matter most, and the first steps.
How do you start a strategy offsite?
Start in the future, not with last year's numbers. Ask what you want to see, hear and feel in five years, then work back.
How long should a strategy offsite be?
One to three days. Bigger changes need more time for debate.
Who should attend a strategy offsite?
The leadership team, plus people who see the business from other angles, such as those closest to customers.
Should you have a keynote speaker at a strategy offsite?
An outside speaker can widen the team's view before the detail begins, and challenge assumptions in a way insiders often can't.
How do you turn a strategy offsite into action?
Pick a few projects, give each an owner, and run them in short sprints, reviewing progress every few weeks.
Can a keynote be tailored to our leadership team?
Yes, and it should be. Caspar starts with a deep dive into your challenges, often speaking to several senior leaders, then builds the keynote around what matters most to your team.
Offsite and retreat guides
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