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A DIFFERENT KIND OF STRATEGY WORKSHOP
Are you
planning a strategy workshop?
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Keywords: Strategy workshop, business vision and planning workshop, innovation workshop, planning
days
CASE
STUDY
Background
Company A wanted a workshop for the key directors
to develop a more aligned vision and work out a practical plan to take this forward.
The issue
Most
plans are not put into practise. They become unwieldy documents. They become uninspiring and lack connection with the motivational
aspects to make things happen.
Ideas during brainstorming
sessions can get shot down as fast as they are developed – because it’s quite natural for us to (over) analyse
at the same time. The problem is that this stunts free thinking.
The solution
We devised a completely
different approach to ideas generation and planning, using ideas modelled and adapted from one of the most successful inspirational
companies in the world – The Walt Disney Company.
Added to this was a format that was designed to engage
all aspects of our minds – to reach areas that address motivation and commitment to make things happen.
Steps
The directors were
guided through the following steps
The ideas creation
room
Rules: - Come
up with as many ideas and thoughts within a specific timeframe.
- No idea is silly – any idea can lead to another
good idea from someone else.
- No analysis or criticism allowed while ideas are being generated.
The facilitator kept people ‘in role’
and also used a variety of techniques to collect and group ideas, categorise, then prioritise and select ones to be taken
forward.
The planning room
The vision created was laid at one end of a ‘spatial timeline’
(a line laid out on the floor spanning the target time period – in this case 5 years). Key dates were then added.
Everyone then took part in plotting out the milestones that needed to be reached in order to achieve the vision /
5 year goal.
Finally everyone
walked the timeline to get a feel of how the plan might play out.
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Testing
room
A working plan
had now been produced, complete with key milestones. In this room the task was to test this out and
consider: what could go wrong or prevent it happening, what were the risks involved, what could be done to mitigate risks
and problems, what changes could be made to the plan to make it even better?
Iterative process
Following
feedback from the testing room, plans were adjusted, and where needed, additional ideas created or modified in the ideas room.
Bringing
it all together – addressing the emotion and motivation
An alternative timeline (future) was set up – one where no change had taken place. This helped people to realise why they needed to make change and the consequences of
not doing anything.
Next everyone ‘walked the final positive
timeline’ – getting the change ‘into the muscle’.
Finally the team had 20 minutes to prepare a video presentation, as if they were talking to their shareholders, staff and
other stakeholders.
They needed to demonstrate:
- A
clear explanation of the vision and strategy for the business, the benefits and how this was going to be achieved.
- What
their particular role in the process was and their own commitment to it.
When filmed, this became an inspirational draft communication device to remind the directors
of the importance of taking action and what they had committed to.
And finally…
Any strategy planning
is only the first stage. Ongoing coaching and workshops can be used to facilitate the rollout and implementation. This ensures
that plans become reality and are not just filed to the bottom draw.
Acknowledgements:
Our version of the Disney Creative Strategy
has been adapted from the work of Robert Dilts.
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The
ingredients - An 80/20 Challenge facilitator
- 3 separate rooms or areas:
1. Ideas creation;
2. Planning;
3. Testing - A spatial timeline in the planning room (in this
case set out over a 30 foot floor space)
- Simple video equipment
A custom workshop for you… find out more:
If you are planning to work on a strategy, want to align people to
a common goal, or innovate new ideas, contact us to find out how we can build a custom workshop for you to ensure your time
and effort really gets the results you deserve.
© 2010 / Martin Johnson
80/20 Challenge Ltd. 01737 352000
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