Facilitating business strategy workshops to suit your organisation
- Is your business undergoing significant change, or seeking the best path forward to achieve your goals?
- Do you need guidance to clarify your goals and bring focus to your direction?
- Available in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and regional centres
Strategic planning that gains consensus and defines direction
The strategic planning process means different things to different organisations. But the one constant is the desire to gain consensus and define the direction of future efforts.
Strategic planning is rational and emotional
It’s tempting to think strategic planning is a purely rational process focused on facts, figures and logical consideration of options. However, in reality the strategic planning process, whether that is updating an existing plan or creating something new, can be an emotional journey for those participating in the process.
Long-standing thought patterns, previous experiences, unconscious biases, existing relationships, power struggles and pet projects can become intertwined to confuse issues, frustrate participants and possibly hold the planning process back.
That’s where having an experienced external facilitator can be helpful. Someone to guide everyone through the process, stay on track, encourage fresh thinking, and help unite the various inputs to get the whole team pulling together.
Download the Strategic Planning Facilitation information sheet
Stuart opened up everyone’s thought processes, encouraging innovative and strategic thinking. We are now equipped with a clear, actionable plan to achieve our long-term goals.
Joel Brewer, Finance & Operations Director
Tyman International Australia
What is the strategic planning process?
Effective facilitation of the strategic planning process is based on some important underlying principles:
- Understanding your goals and desired outcomes from the strategic planning process including the key questions to be answered
- Getting input in advance of the planning session (or sessions) from a range of stakeholders which may include broad engagement with staff, executives, Board members, and customers, and collating that for discussion
- A preparatory scoping session with senior leaders to define overall parameters for the planning sessions
- Having the right participants, combining senior decision-makers, key staff and other stakeholders who are impacted by your organisation
- Reviewing relevant information in advance such as previous strategy documents, Board minutes, annual report, financial reports or management meeting reports
- Preparing an effective agenda for the group session to ensure the main focus remains the main focus
- Including appropriate team interaction to both energise and focus participants while building team morale
- Ensuring all participants have an equal opportunity for input, without individual personalities taking control
- Capturing the key outcomes and priorities with related notes and action points for future follow up
Clearly, this process is more than just turning up on the day to facilitate a conversation. As with many high value activities the secret is in the preparation. Doing the homework. Understanding key issues. Defining priorities. Gaining insights into group dynamics. Setting expectations.
The two-day strategic planning program ran very smoothly with Stuart at the helm. There was a good mix of planning, discussion and team building activities. Stuart was a clear communicator and kept the days on track.
Andrew Bell, CEO
Mountain Blue Farms
The Vectis Strategic Planning Hierarchy
The strategy development process is usually based on the Vectis strategic planning hierarchy with its layered (or cascading) sequence of exploration.
Whilst we have a process we know works to create great outcomes for clients, we’re also flexible to discuss any particular requirements a client may have.
After the strategic planning session
Writing up the notes, providing a summary of key outcomes, or drafting a strategic plan document are options which can be discussed on a case-by-case basis. Clients may have the staff to undertake this documentation step, or the external eye of the facilitator may be seen as an important component to ensure the outcomes from the session are correctly translated into the summary.
The process Stuart used to gather input from participants was extremely collaborative and well-managed. It effectively harnessed the knowledge, skills, and experience of both the board and senior management.
Camille Johnson, CEO
Golden West Apprenticeships
Operational plans ensure traction
It’s great to have clarity around your strategic direction. However the real value for the organisation is in implementing actions to deliver the outcomes defined within the strategic planning process.
Creating an operational plan, or implementation action plan, is logically the next step after the strategic planning process is complete. The process for creating an operational plan varies greatly depending on the size and structure of the organisation. If necessary Vectis can provide assistance to bridge the strategic-operational divide and assist the management team to plan and prioritise their activities.
For an effective approach to implementing planning initiatives that avoids ‘strategic stagnation’ consider following our RPA process (Reflect, Prioritise, Allocate). Read more about that on this page.
I enjoyed Stuart’s experience and leading. It allowed me to relax, enjoy the day, participate but also at times sit back and watch the team and how they interacted giving insights into dynamics.
kate van Dommele, Program Manager Allied Health
University Centre for Rural Health
Strategic planning facilitation by
Stuart Ayling
Stuart is an accomplished workshop leader, consultant and facilitator with over 20 years experience working with a diverse range of businesses and teams.
Stuart holds a Bachelor of Business (Marketing, University of Western Sydney) and a Graduate Certificate in Management (International Business, University of Queensland). He is also a member of the Institute of Management Consultants (Australia) and adheres to the association’s Code of Ethics.
Stuart has experience working with leading companies in many industry sectors including:
- Business-to-business products and services
- Manufacturers of equipment, industrial goods and food products
- Distributors of industrial products and technical goods
- Commercial trades contractors such as electrical contractors
- Service providers such as information technology and software
- Education providers such as RTO’s and adult education
- Professional services such as consultants and accountants
Strategic planning FAQ’s
(1) What gets covered during the strategy planning process?
As this is a customised process the specific content and agenda for a strategic planning session will vary from company to company. Specific requirements will be discussed with each client. However some common areas of work include:
- Undertaking some degree of engagement with planning participants, staff or other stakeholders prior to workshops being held
- Defining or refining the Vision for your organisation
- Undertaking a PESTEL or SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) from the perspective of your growth strategy
- Defining Values for the organisation
- Assessing future risks across key areas of the business
- Identifying Strategic Priorities and Key Actions under each Priority to create a framework for future implementation plans
- Developing effective processes to anchor strategic and operational reviews within the company
- Identifying appropriate KPI’s (and recognising which are leading and lagging) to monitor performance towards achieving goals
It’s worth keeping in mind the strategic planning process is a program of work not a one-off event. Some of the work is done before a group session is held, some is achieved during the session, and some is undertaken after the session and may include discussions with selected participants or stakeholders.
(2) How much time is needed?
This totally depends on what the client is aiming to achieve, and the number and availability of participants. In most cases, for established companies at least one full-day if required – preceded by significant preparation. Often we find a two-day format is required to allow time for exploration of options and involvement of the team in setting implementation actions. In some cases it can be helpful to allow time between planning sessions to enable investigation and assessment of options that have been identified before further progress is made.
(3) Who should attend planning sessions?
Effective strategic planning takes into account a variety of perspectives and utilises expertise across domains. Participants should be selected based on their knowledge of the topics being addressed and their insight into the impact of the organisation. Certainly the management team, senior staff and possibly external stakeholders could offer great value. In some situations ‘participation’ may involve responding to requests for input as part of the preparation process and may not require attendance by those providing input at the group session.
(4) We’re in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast or Toowoomba. Can we run the strategy sessions here?
Yes, most definitely. Stuart Ayling is based in Brisbane and often travels to client locations in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Keep in mind the package of work around the strategic planning process always involves some preparation and research prior to conducting any in-person strategy development sessions, and this preparation is often able to be conducted remotely.
(5) Can we run the strategy development sessions remotely?
Yes. We can keep participants involved and engaged using modern technology and good session design. Of course we don’t simply run the usual in-person format as an online session. That’s not effective. We’ll discuss the requirements with you to ensure the process is timely and manageable.
(6) Can Stuart facilitate other events for us?
Certainly. Stuart can help you get the best outcomes from company planning days, team development workshops and professional development programs across business-to-business sales, management and leadership skills, and critical thinking skills.
(7) How do we get started?
The best idea is to contact us to arrange a confidential discussion. We’ll explore your present situation and what you’d like to achieve from the strategic planning or review process.