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 | WILL YOUR FACILITATOR GET YOU THE STRATEGY YOU NEED?
No doubt about it, expert brings your strategic conversation to life, gives it focus, introduces new concepts and fresh ways of thinking ... and shifts your strategy from good to great.
So surely if you're going to take time out for this vital discussion with your top team - and spend whatever it takes - it's worth getting the pivotal element right.
All too often, though, organisations leave this critical decision to last. They block time in their executives' diaries and book flights, venues, meals, and even magicians and comedians ... and only then wake up and think about a facilitator.
Result: while they want someone with an "outsider's perspective" and experience ... someone who can challenge, provoke, inform, and advise them ... they all too often wind up with a mere "meeting manager."
Choosing the right person to help you craft your strategy is a make-or-break decision that should be made early and with great care. The job is not for fad-merchants or amateurs. Don't expect a motivational speaker to morph into a strategy guru, or a trainer to make the high-level inputs you need!
If you want real impact, be sure to get someone with 1) the ability to cut to the core of complex issues and identify the few drivers of your success, 2) in-depth understanding of the latest thinking on strategy, leadership, and change management, 3) loads of experience with major organisations in virtually every sector, and - oh yes - 4) professional facilitation skill too!
IN OTHER WORDS, HIRE A HEAVYWEIGHT STRATEGIST WHO WILL PROVIDE REAL MEAT TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TEAM ... NOT A LIGHTWEIGHT WHO MAY KEEP TIME AND TAKE NOTES BUT IS OUT OF HIS OR HER DEPTH WHEN IT COMES TO OFFERING INPUT OF ANY SUBSTANCE.
It may cost you more, but having a pro help you design and run your strategy workshop takes you a big step closer to getting the results you want.
What are your objectives for the meeting - i.e., what do you want to walk away with? What preparation is necessary? What should the process look like (presentations, discussions, frameworks, concepts, etc)? What should be on the agenda, and how should it flow? And most importantly, what comes next, when everyone is back at work?
Get this stuff wrong, and you'll be sure to head down the wrong path. Get it right, and your time, effort, and money will be well spent. But make no mistake: this is where you need an expert!
And by the way, you may think you can facilitate your own meeting, but that's seldom the best path. When you're part of a team, it's hard to stand outside of it; when you've been party to decisions and you're involved in the politics of corporate life, you can't easily be as objective as you should - and anyway, no one will believe you are.
So hire someone you can trust, brief them thoroughly - and early - and watch the meeting work!
To read more, click here. |
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